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.

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

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.

Yemen security chief at US Embassy killed in Sanaa  —  SANAA, YEMEN - A masked gunman assassinated a Yemeni security official at the U.S. Embassy in a drive-by shooting in the capital Sanaa on Thursday, officials said.  —  The Yemeni officials said the killing bore the hallmarks of an Al Qaeda attack …

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.

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.

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.

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 …

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.

Poll: Adult Industry Backs Obama, Romney Limps  —  LOS ANGELES — The adult entertainment industry overwhelmingly favors re-electing Barack Obama to a second term as president, according to the results of a new industry poll conducted by media organization XBIZ.