Swing States poll: Women push Romney into lead  —  IN THE SWING STATES, THE POWER OF WOMEN  —  A new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll of the Swing States shows Mitt Romney with a lead among likely voters as he strengthens his standing with women in the nation's top battlegrounds.

Clinton: ‘I take responsibility’ for security ahead of Benghazi attack  —  Lima, Peru (CNN) — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the buck stops with her when it comes to who is to blame for security ahead of a deadly assault on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya.

Charity president unhappy about Paul Ryan soup kitchen ‘photo op’  —  Paul Ryan and his wife Janna wash pots at St. Vincent De Paul dining hall.  (Associated Press)  —  The head of a northeast Ohio charity says that the Romney campaign last week “ramrodded their way” into the group's Youngstown soup kitchen …

Romney Is Attacked by His Father's Longtime Aide  —  A longtime aide to George W. Romney issued a harshly worded critique of Mitt Romney, accusing him of shifting political positions in “erratic and startling ways” and failing to live up to the distinguished record of his father, the former governor of Michigan.

FLOTUS: Reach out to ‘knuckleheads,’ tell them to vote  —  First lady Michelle Obama is encouraging supporters to reach out to the “knuckleheads” in their life to ask them to vote for President Obama.  —  Speaking in Delaware, Ohio, the first lady encouraged people to cast their net wide …

Our Awful Economy, In One Chart  —  Michelle Obama says we are “in the midst of a huge recovery.”  That claim is laughable to anyone who has lived through the last four years; this simple chart from the Senate Budget Committee highlights one of the central failings of Obamanomics …

A reminder about the last plant-infested, CNN-run town hall debate  —  CNN's Candy Crowley will be moderating tomorrow night's second presidential debate.  It will be a 90-minute town hall forum at Hofstra University on Long Island, east of New York City.  Both the Obama and Romney campaigns signed a …

The Tea Party Will Win in the End  —  This is a nation that loathes government and always has.  Liberals should not be deluded: The Goldwater revolution will ultimately triumph, regardless of what happens in November.  —  Were the 2012 campaign a Hitchcock movie, Mitt Romney would be the MacGuffin …

Bush in the Wilderness  —  And should that happen, the answer in be 2016 may be a GOP nominee with the courage of his more centrist positions.  In other words: Jeb.  Even his own son, George P., acknowledges that his father's declaration that 2012 was “probably my time” contains a significant caveat.

Mitt Romney: The Great Deformer  —  Is Romney really a job creator?  Ronald Reagan's budget director, David Stockman, takes a scalpel to the claims.  —  Bain Capital is a product of the Great Deformation.  It has garnered fabulous winnings through leveraged speculation in financial markets …

“Would You Consider Voting for President Obama?”  —  A man rang my doorbell Saturday afternoon to ask me that question.  I was busy working on a few projects at the time, so his question caught me off guard.  The first thing that came out of my mouth was a very loud, “Absolutely not!

Oct. 14: Breaking the State-National Poll Stalemate  —  For the last week or so, we have been hoping to decode a confusing polling landscape.  President Obama still appeared to hold a narrow Electoral College lead on the basis of state-by-state surveys, while national polls were suggestive …

Disappearing story lines: An extra boost for Obama  —  Around the time of the Republican National Convention, the single word on the lips of most of the press corps was “likability.”  Mitt Romney did not have it.  We have never elected someone with such a negative image.  He was a stiff.

November 7th  —  Though their agendas are hidden, both Romney and Obama have plans to dramatically remake the size and character of American government.  Very, very quickly.  —  If you ask Barack Obama or Mitt Romney, or merely wander in front of a television when they are speaking …

Taxes, charity cost Romney 57.9 percent of income … With President Obama expected to use his second-chance debate this week to portray Mitt Romney as an uncaring rich guy, a new analysis of the GOP candidate's wealth shows that the millionaire was so generous that he kept just 42 percent of his income.

Why the early vote looks good for Democrats  —  It's still very early in the early voting process, but at least for now, Democrats can be optimistic that they are building a lead in the 2012 presidential race.  —  Absentee and early voting data from nine states that are generally viewed …

Romney Camp: Obama Not Macho Enough For Latinos  —  Romney gains in Florida.  Democrats say the polls are skewed.  —  President Obama at a Univision Forum last month.  —  Mitt Romney aides say he has made crucial gains among Florida's Hispanic voters by portraying Obama as fatally weak …