Top Items:
Washington Free Beacon:
Cutter: Benghazi Is Only an Issue ‘Because of Romney and Ryan’ — Obama deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter said Thursday that the “entire reason” the terrorist attack at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi that killed four Americans has “become the political topic it is” is because Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan talk about the attack.
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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 …
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.
Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:
Stephanie Cutter Says Libya Is A Political Topic “Because Of Mitt Romney And Paul Ryan” — The Obama campaign's deputy campaign manager said the attack was being politicized by Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan today on CNN. “The entire reason this has become the political topic it is, is because of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan.”
Discussion:
GOP 12, The Spectacle Blog and The PJ Tatler
Ezra Klein / Washington Post:
What I learned debating Paul Ryan — In February 2010, I sat down to talk health-care policy with Rep. Paul Ryan. Ryan wasn't yet the lion of the right that he is today, but he had a reputation as an unusually wonkish legislator, and he didn't disappoint.
Discussion:
GOP 12, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Daily Caller, The Daily Dish and Pew Research Center …
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Sarah Parnass / ABCNEWS:
Getting to Know ABC News VP Debate Moderator Martha Raddatz
Getting to Know ABC News VP Debate Moderator Martha Raddatz
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, The Daily Caller, The Daily Beast, Election 2012, Politico and Politicker
Mike Allen / Politico:
Biden seeks to calm left — Ryan to claim misrepresentations by Obama — New swing-state polls …
Biden seeks to calm left — Ryan to claim misrepresentations by Obama — New swing-state polls …
Discussion:
Boston Globe, New York Times, The Daily Beast, americanthinker.com and PolicyMic
David Weigel / Slate:
Can Joe Biden Save Barack Obama?
Can Joe Biden Save Barack Obama?
Discussion:
New York Magazine, CNN, The Atlantic Online, The Week and PolicyMic
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:
Politico, Associated Press, PolicyMic, Capital Tonight and Althouse
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:
Talking Points Memo, ABCNEWS, ThinkProgress, Swampland, The Week, The Maddow Blog, Wonkblog, theGrio, New York Times, Guardian, Daily Kos, Gawker, The Raw Story, Election 2012 and The Hinterland Gazette
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Rebecca Leber / ThinkProgress:
Romney: 'We Don't Have People Who Die Because They Don't Have Insurance' — Mitt Romney doubled down on his suggestion that uninsured Americans can find the care they need in emergency rooms, telling The Dispatch that people will always receive the treatment they need, and do not die or suffer because they can not pay for care.
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Daily Beast and Shakesville
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 …
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John Podhoretz / New York Post:
An ‘Appropriate’ fiasco — Bizarre testimony on Libya
An ‘Appropriate’ fiasco — Bizarre testimony on Libya
Discussion:
Washington Post, Real Clear Politics, americanthinker.com, Betsy's Page, Power Line and ABCNEWS
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.
Michael Warren / Weekly Standard:
Video: Unions Fine Members Who Don't Show Support for Elizabeth Warren — A GOP source sends along this video, shot by a Republican tracker, of a union member supporting Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren outside of a debate Wednesday night in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Discussion:
The Lonely Conservative and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
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Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Warren up 6, Obama up 14 in Massachusetts
Warren up 6, Obama up 14 in Massachusetts
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Da Tech Guy's Blog
Ryan J. Reilly / Talking Points Memo:
DNC Fires Employee Featured In James O'Keefe Video — The Democratic National Committee on Wednesday fired a Texas staffer who appeared to offer to help someone figure out how to vote simultaneously in two states in undercover video released by conservative activist James O'Keefe.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, BuzzFeed, Mediaite, Watchdog News and The Lonely Conservative
Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:
GOP Plans Congressional Investigation Into September Jobs Number Conspiracy — House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) told Fox News on Wednesday that he would hold hearings into the September job numbers, buying into a widely-discredited conspiracy theory that President Obama faked …
Discussion:
The Maddow Blog, Business Insider and New York Magazine
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Arthur Delaney / The Huffington Post:
Darrell Issa Looking Into September Jobs Report [UPDATE]
Darrell Issa Looking Into September Jobs Report [UPDATE]
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Fox Business Video and Daily Kos
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, Instapundit and Weasel Zippers
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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:
The Huffington Post, Polling Matters, Ricochet Conversations Feed, Hot Air and americanthinker.com
RELATED:
Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
Obama gets a boost after Gallup tweaks polling methodology
Obama gets a boost after Gallup tweaks polling methodology
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers
Jonathan Lai / Philly.com:
Romney calls girl at center of T-shirt controversy — Mitt Romney called Samantha Pawlucy on Wednesday, a spokeswoman for the campaign confirmed by email this morning. — The Romney campaign will not be issuing a formal statement, according to spokeswoman Kate Meriwether, who declined to provide details.
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, Riehl World News and Election 2012
John Sides / The Monkey Cage:
Romney's Pivot to the Center Hasn't Worked. (But It Didn't Need To.) — Perhaps you've heard about Romney's pivot to the center in last week's debate—what it means, whether it will work, how Obama is responding, etc. Yesterday, Bill Clinton described his reaction to Romney's performance thusly: “Wow, here's old moderate Mitt.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Via Meadia, The Daily Dish and Mother Jones
Tyler Durden / Zero Hedge:
Data Massaging Continues: Initial Claims Tumble To 339K Lowest Since 2008, Far Below Lowest Expectation — This is just getting stupid. After expectations of a rebound in initial claims from 367K last week (naturally revised higher to 369K), to 370K (with the lowest of all sellside expectations at 355K) …
Discussion:
protein wisdom, The Gateway Pundit, The Right Scoop, The PJ Tatler and The Lonely Conservative
Sean Higgins / Washington Examiner:
Obama campaign refers to liberal bloggers as “tinfoil hat crowd” — The Obama campaign referred to several major liberal bloggers as the “tinfoil hat crowd” in a statement to Fox News Wednesday. The campaign was responding to the cable channel's request for a comment on an Internet conspiracy theory many of them had promoted.
Marc A. Thiessen / Washington Post:
The real Libya scandal: The failure to respond — Today marks exactly one month since terrorists attacked the U.S consulate in Benghazi, Libya, killing our ambassador and three other American personnel. In the weeks since, Washington has been gripped by the unfolding scandals …
Discussion:
protein wisdom, Israel Matzav and RealClearPolitics Video Log
Roger Ebert / Roger Ebert's Journal:
Who do you believe—Mitt, or your lyin' memory? — A depression has descended upon me. I look at the blank screen, and those are the words that come into my mind. I do not believe for a second that Mitt Romney will win the election. I do believe that at this moment he is tied, 50-50, in various national polls.
Discussion:
Politico, The Hinterland Gazette and Weasel Zippers
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
Paul Krugman:
The IMF and the GOP — Econowonks are still buzzing about the new IMF World Economic Outlook, which offered grim warnings about the world economy, and also argued forcefully if discreetly that a big reason for the worsening outlook is that policy makers have gotten the basic economics wrong.
Discussion:
FT Alphaville, Mother Jones, Prairie Weather and Business Insider
Rebecca Berg / BuzzFeed:
Indiana Republican Trolls The Wrong Joe Donnelly On Twitter — Some random guy is getting attacked by Richard Mourdock's Senate campaign. — Image by Staff / Reuters — WASHINGTON — It's important in politics to know your enemy — and your enemy's Twitter handle.
Discussion:
Hotline On Call