memeorandum: Focus Was on Tripoli in Requests for Security in Libya (New York Times)

2:25 PM ET, October 13, 2012

Top Items:

Ben Geman / Ballot Box:

Springsteen, Bill Clinton seek to swing Ohio for Obama — The rocker and the former president will appear at a pro-Obama event in the battleground state next week. — Bruce Springsteen, whose music has been the soundtrack for President Obama's campaign rallies, will join former President Bill Clinton …

Discussion: Politico

Alex Pappas / The Daily Caller:

Author Ed Klein: As Benghazi blame nears Hillary, Clintons grow furious — With tensions between President Obama and the Clintons at a new low, former President Bill Clinton is moving fast to develop a contingency plan for how his wife, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton …

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Doug Ross, iOwnTheWorld.com, Right Wing News, The PJ Tatler, National Review, The Agonist, Chicago Boyz, American Power, neo-neocon, BuzzFeed, Whiskey Fire, ABCNEWS and Hot Air

New York Times:

Focus Was on Tripoli in Requests for Security in Libya — WASHINGTON — In the weeks leading up to the attack last month on the American diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans, diplomats on the ground sounded increasingly urgent alarms.

Discussion: JustOneMinute, New York Magazine and Politico

James Risen / New York Times:

After Benghazi Attack, Private Security Hovers as an Issue — WASHINGTON — Lost amid the election-year wrangling over the militants' attack on the United States Mission in Benghazi, Libya, is a complex back story involving growing regional resentment against heavily armed American private …

Discussion: Prairie Weather and Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

Oct. 12: Romney Debate Gains Show Staying Power — Mitt Romney continues to surge in the FiveThirtyEight forecast, and Friday may have featured his best set of polls all year. — The best way to track a change in the polls is to look for instances in which the same firm has surveyed the same state …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Outside the Beltway, Mediaite, Daily Kos and The Hinterland Gazette

Annie-Rose Strasser / ThinkProgress:

Moody's Chief Economist On Romney's Tax Plan: 'The Arithmetic Doesn't Work' — The fact that Mitt Romney's tax plan is mathematically impossible was reinforced again on Friday, when Mark Zandi, a former John McCain campaign adviser and Chief Economist at Moody's Economy, admitted as much.

Discussion: Firedoglake

John Amato / Crooks and Liars:

Obama Should Slam Romney On His ‘Six Studies’ Falsehood Over Tax Plan — Every time RMoney's tax-cut and federal-deficit plan is brought up by himself or his surrogates, you hear the line about five to six studies being done that prove their numbers are correct.

Discussion: The Reality-Based Community and Hot Air

Kasie Hunt / Associated Press:

Romney and Obama Focus on Debate Preparations — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is preparing for his second debate with President Barack Obama but taking time to tell voters in Ohio that enthusiasm for him is surging both in this critical state and across the country.

Discussion: Politico

Mickey Kaus / The Daily Caller:
Obama's got drama now

Discussion: Doug Ross, Foreign Policy and Michelle Malkin

Alana Goodman / Commentary Magazine:
Did Intelligence Tell WH There Were Protests in Benghazi?

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Power Line, ThinkProgress, Mother Jones and ABCNEWS

Washington Post:

Romney tries to bury Obama in ads — Republican nominee Mitt Romney and his allies are banking heavily on a high-risk, high-reward media strategy in the final weeks of the campaign, hoping that burying President Obama in ads will give them a crucial edge on Election Day.

Sam Baker / The Hill:

Sen. Ron Wyden rejects Ryan's debate claim he supports GOP Medicare plan — Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden (Ore.) did not appreciate Paul Ryan calling him a supporter of the Romney-Ryan Medicare plan during Thursday's vice presidential debate. — Ryan mentioned his work with Wyden to argue …

Jjesselli / The Smoking Gun:

Cleveland Bus Driver Suspended After Decking Unruly Female Rider With Brutal Bolo Punch — Buster — A Cleveland municipal bus driver has been suspended after video surfaced this week showing him decking a mouthy female rider with a bolo punch. — The confrontation between …

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, The Gateway Pundit and Riehl World News

Philip Klein / Washington Examiner:

How Biden could become Romney's VP … It might be hard to believe after his assault on Mitt Romney in last night's debate, but there's a scenario under which Joe Biden could serve as Mitt Romney's vice president. — As noted in an earlier post, there are plausible scenarios under …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, iOwnTheWorld.com, Hot Air, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Lonely Conservative and Politico, more at Mediagazer »

Michael D. Shear / New York Times:
In Biden's Debate, Aides See Inspiration but Don't Expect Imitation

Discussion: JustOneMinute, Media Decoder, The Huffington Post, The Caucus, No More Mister Nice Blog, CNN, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, BuzzFeed and Reuters

Nicole Perlroth / New York Times:

Cracks in Maryland and Washington Voter Databases — Computer security experts have identified vulnerabilities in the voter registration databases in two states, raising concerns about the ability of hackers and others to disenfranchise voters. — In the last five years …

Discussion: Prairie Weather

Daniel Trotta / Reuters:

“Million Muppet March” planned to defend U.S. backing for PBS — (Reuters) - Plans to save Big Bird, the fuzzy yellow character on U.S. public television's “Sesame Street,” from possible extinction are taking shape in the form of a puppet-based protest next month dubbed the “Million Muppet March.”