NBC/WSJ/Marist poll: Romney gains in key swing states  —  A week after President Barack Obama's lackluster debate performance, Republican challenger Mitt Romney has made some gains in three key swing states among those most likely to vote, according to the latest round of NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist polls.

Obama and the L-Word  —  ‘Liar’ is potent and ugly—with a sleazy political pedigree.  —  The election campaign of the 44th U.S. president is now calling another candidate for the American presidency a “liar.”  This is a new low.  It is amazing and depressing to hear this term being used …

Letting us in on a secret  —  When House Republicans called a hearing in the middle of their long recess, you knew it would be something big, and indeed it was: They accidentally blew the CIA's cover.  —  The purpose of Wednesday's hearing of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee …

Fewest Americans since Feb. 2008 seek jobless aid  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid plummeted last week to seasonally adjusted 339,000, the lowest level in more than four years.  The sharp drop offered a hopeful sign that the job market could pick up.

Bus Driver Tells 12 Year-Old He Should Have Been Aborted Because of Romney Yard Sign  —  A bus driver told a 12 year-old student that he should have been aborted because his family had a Romney-Ryan sign in their yard.  —  Freedom Eden reported: … UPDATE: The bus driver was fired after the report on Mark's show.

GOP senators to White House: Cyber order would be ‘a mistake’  —  A trio of centrist Senate Republicans on Wednesday urged President Obama to hold back on issuing an executive order that would protect critical infrastructure systems from cyberattacks and encouraged him to work with Congress to pass legislation instead.

The Dark Side of Jefferson is the Dark Side of America  —  This Henry Wiencek piece at Smithsonian on Thomas Jefferson's dark side has half-perplexed me, yet the reactions show why it is so necessary.  The piece essentially argues that Jefferson was a cold calculating slaveholder …

CBS 5 Poll: Romney Gains 8 Points On Faltering Obama In California  —  SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5) — The effects of President Barack Obama's falter in the first debate with Mitt Romney are not just being felt in battleground states, according to KPIX-TV CBS 5′s latest tracking poll of California …

Oct. 10: Is Romney Leading Right Now?  —  Polling since the debate in Denver last week has generally been very strong for Mitt Romney.  But there have also been a couple of rays of hope for Democrats and President Obama.  —  One hypothesis is that Mr. Romney's debate bounce was initially very strong, but has since faded some.

Morning Jay: Politics and the Gallup Poll  —  Since about the beginning of President Obama's tenure, the Gallup poll has generally been one of the least positive polls for the Democratic party.  This has prompted outrage and pressure from the left—even from presidential advisor David Axelrod.

Mitt Romney's tax mythology, made simple  —  I've said this before, but Mitt Romney's new formulation of his tax plan — one he used at the debate, and which he repeated to Wolf Blitzer yesterday — makes it absolutely clear that he's lying about something.  You don't need complicated Tax …

Romney Campaign Looks to Capitalize on Image Voters Saw in Debate  —  BOSTON — Inside Mitt Romney's campaign headquarters over the past few days, the data pouring in was unmistakable.  Aides scouring the results of focus groups and national polls found that undecided voters watching …

FLASHBACK: MODERATOR RADDATZ STUNNED DEMOCRAT JOHN SILBER'S CAMPAIGN FOR MA GOVERNOR IN 1990 DEBATE  —  Ahead of Thursday evening's highly-anticipated debate between Vice President Joe Biden and Republican challenger Rep. Paul Ryan, pundits are wondering whether the moderator, ABC News' Martha Raddatz …

Downturn and Legacy of Bush Policies Drive Large Current Deficits  —  Economic Recovery Measures, Financial Rescues Have Only Temporary Impact  —  Some lawmakers, pundits, and others continue to say that President George W. Bush's policies did not drive the projected federal deficits of the coming decade …