Top Items:
Domenico Montanaro / First Read:
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.
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Wall Street Journal:
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 …
Discussion:
The Maddow Blog, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, The Week and Instapundit
New York Times:
Voters Give Romney Better Grades for Leadership, Polls in 3 States Find — WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney is seen by more voters in three battleground states as a strong leader after his dominant debate performance last week, but perceptions that the economy is improving remain a buttress …
Discussion:
Hullabaloo, The Caucus, Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times, Jammie Wearing Fools and Prairie Weather
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
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.
Discussion:
The New Republic, The Daily Dish and Taegan Goddard's …
CBS News:
Poll: Romney edges Obama in Colo., narrows gap in Wis. — On the heels of last week's presidential debate, Mitt Romney has emerged with a one-point edge over President Obama in Colorado and has cut the president's lead in half in Wisconsin, according to a new Quinnipiac University/CBS News/New York Times poll.
Discussion:
Gallup, Business Insider, Weasel Zippers, The Raw Story and Outside the Beltway
Jparkercbs / CBS San Francisco:
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 …
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, Wake up America, Jammie Wearing Fools and Riehl World News
Janet Hook / Wall Street Journal:
Race Tightens in Two States
Race Tightens in Two States
Discussion:
Washington Wire, The Atlantic Online and Politico
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
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 …
Discussion:
Daily Kos, The Week, The Maddow Blog, New York Times, emptywheel, AMERICAblog, The Mahablog, Prairie Weather, News Desk, Wired, The Hill and Taylor Marsh
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John Podhoretz / New York Post:
An ‘Appropriate’ fiasco — Bizarre testimony on Libya
An ‘Appropriate’ fiasco — Bizarre testimony on Libya
Discussion:
Real Clear Politics, americanthinker.com and Betsy's Page
Rep. Mike Kelly / Washington Times:
Libya security cut while Vienna embassy gained Chevy Volts
Libya security cut while Vienna embassy gained Chevy Volts
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and The PJ Tatler
Sarah Bufkin / The Huffington Post:
Jason Chaffetz Admits House GOP Cut Funding For Embassy Security: ‘You Have To Prioritize Things’
Jason Chaffetz Admits House GOP Cut Funding For Embassy Security: ‘You Have To Prioritize Things’
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, CNN, New York Times, Liberty Street and The Lede
Jennifer Martinez / The Hill:
GOP senators to White House: Cyber order would be ‘a mistake’
GOP senators to White House: Cyber order would be ‘a mistake’
Discussion:
Booman Tribune
Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:
Mother of Slain State Dept. Official Tired of Being Lied To and Stonewalled by Obama Administration
Mother of Slain State Dept. Official Tired of Being Lied To and Stonewalled by Obama Administration
Discussion:
CNN, Politico, The PJ Tatler and The Lonely Conservative
Mike Allen / Politico:
Biden seeks to calm left — Ryan to claim misrepresentations by Obama — New swing-state polls: CO, VA, OH, WI, FL — Brooke Brower baby — MORNING MINDMELD: Conversations with advisers to the V.P. candidates suggest that both will be very aggressive tonight.
Discussion:
New York Times, The Daily Beast, americanthinker.com and CNN
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Jim Kuhnhenn / Associated Press:
Analysis: High Stakes for Vice Presidential Debate
Analysis: High Stakes for Vice Presidential Debate
Discussion:
CNN, Politico, Taylor Marsh and Pew Research Center …
Justin Sink / The Hill:
Cutter: Presidential race ‘the same’ as before debate
Cutter: Presidential race ‘the same’ as before debate
Discussion:
CBS News, Naked DC, Weasel Zippers and Jammie Wearing Fools
Andrew Dugan / Gallup:
Vice Presidential Debates Rarely Influence Voters
Vice Presidential Debates Rarely Influence Voters
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, The Caucus, The Fix, PolicyMic, New York Times and Election 2012
Dana Bash / CNN:
CNN exclusive: Ryan's debate prep as meticulous as he is
CNN exclusive: Ryan's debate prep as meticulous as he is
Discussion:
PolicyMic, Althouse, Capital Tonight, Politico and No More Mister Nice Blog
John Cassidy / News Desk:
Why This Veep Debate Matters a Lot
Why This Veep Debate Matters a Lot
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, Althouse, The Week and The Daily Dish
Associated Press:
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.
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Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Jobless Claims Fall — The number of U.S. workers filing applications for jobless benefits fell last week, a hopeful sign for the job market following the recent drop in the unemployment rate to its lowest level since January 2009. — Initial jobless claims—a measure of layoffs …
Discussion:
Hit & Run and Business Insider
Steve Benen / The Maddow Blog:
Jobless claims show sharp improvement, drop to Obama-era low
Jobless claims show sharp improvement, drop to Obama-era low
Discussion:
Balloon Juice, Mother Jones and The Lonely Conservative
Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit:
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.
Discussion:
LifeNews.com and Weasel Zippers
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Ta-Nehisi Coates / The Atlantic Online:
Lena Dunham Is Not Your Problem — The Girls creator and her $3.7 million book advance have come under intense scrutiny they don't quite deserve. — Lena Dunham — Andrew Sullivan rounds up two differing opinions on the $3.7 million book advance given to Lena Dunham.
Discussion:
Salon and Taylor Marsh
Erik Loomis / Lawyers, Guns & Money:
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 …
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh
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Henry Wiencek / Smithsonian Magazine:
The Dark Side of Thomas Jefferson
Jay Cost / Weekly Standard:
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.
Discussion:
Polling Matters, The Huffington Post, Ricochet Conversations Feed and americanthinker.com
Joe Vardon / The Columbus Dispatch:
He tells ‘Dispatch’ those with pre-existing condition would have chance to get insurance — A Mitt Romney administration overhaul of President Barack Obama's health-care law would provide those without insurance who have a pre-existing condition the opportunity to gain coverage …
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Gawker, The Raw Story and Election 2012
Eric Lach / Talking Points Memo:
The Obama Mega Donor Who Got Lost In The Crowd — There are only a few dozen Americans who have given at least $1 million to super PACs this election cycle, and Kareem Ahmed is one of them. If you manage to talk to him, he'll tell you a lot. He'll tell you all about a class of pharmaceuticals …
Discussion:
Washington Free Beacon