memeorandum: 5 Things to Watch for in Presidential Debate (Associated Press)

9:50 AM ET, October 16, 2012

Top Items:

Elise Labott / CNN:

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.

mccain.senate.gov:

U.S. Senator John McCain - Arizona — Filter by: — STATEMENT BY SENATORS McCAIN, GRAHAM AND AYOTTE ON SECRETARY CLINTON'S COMMENTS THIS EVENING ON BENGHAZI ATTACK — Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators John McCain (R-AZ), Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) …

Discussion: Mediaite, Jammie Wearing Fools and Washington Examiner

CBS News:

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton takes “responsibility” for Benghazi attack — PLAY CBS NEWS VIDEO — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sought to take responsibility for the attacks on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, on Sept. 11 in a series of interviews on Monday.

Discussion: Bloomberg, The Agonist and The Heritage Foundation

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:
Hillary Clinton To Obama In 2008: “The Buck Stops In The Oval Office”

Discussion: Hot Air and Weekly Standard

John Heilemann / New York Magazine:
If Obama wins, it may be because the former president saved his presidency …

Discussion: Politico and Marbury

Bruce Kesler / Maggie's Farm:
Hillary Doesn't Get Obama Off The Hook

Discussion: Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS

Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Hillary: I take responsibility for Benghazi

Discussion: Roger L. Simon and Patterico's Pontifications

Mario Trujillo / The Hill:
Clinton on Libya attack: ‘I take responsibility’

Discussion: CNN, ABCNEWS, The Caucus and Politico

Monica Langley / Wall Street Journal:
Clinton Accepts Blame for Benghazi

Discussion: Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog and Washington Post

Fox News:
Clinton takes responsibility for consulate security, blames confusion on ‘fog of war’

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Power Line, American Power and Algemeiner.com

Reuters:
Exclusive: U.S. officials unhappy with handling of Benghazi suspects in April attack

Discussion: The Jawa Report, New York Times, Politico, NewsBusters.org blogs, Hot Air, Jihad Watch and Telegraph

CNN:
Clinton: I'm responsible for diplomats' security

Discussion: FP Passport, Power Line, Mother Jones and Outside the Beltway

USA Today:

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.

Kos / Daily Kos:

Daily Kos/SEIU State of the Nation poll: Romney's best numbers of the week — Public Policy Polling for Daily Kos & SEIU. 10/12-14. Likely voters. MoE ±2.5% (10/4-7 results) … Obama 46 (47) — Romney 50 (49) — At a time when other polls are moving back in the president's direction …

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …, Weekly Standard and The Hinterland Gazette

Felicia Sonmez / Election 2012:

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 …

Associated Press:

5 Things to Watch for in Presidential Debate — Five things to watch for when President Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney meet in their second debate: — 1. A REBOUND? After taking a drubbing in the first debate, Obama's under big pressure to step up his game Tuesday night.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog and Pirate's Cove

CNN:
Romney to get first question at debate

Discussion: The Hill

Byron York / Washington Examiner:
Obama-Romney II: Prez needs to win by knockout

Discussion: Wall Street Journal

Associated Press:
PIZZA HUT RETHINKS PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE STUNT

Discussion: Vanity Fair and Politico

Quinnipiac University:

Release Detail — October 16, 2012 - Romney Closing In On Obama In Pennsylvania, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Casey-Smith Senate Race Too Close To Call — Watch Video: Assistant Director Tim Malloy discusses poll results — Clip Information and Download: — FLV File - For Website (1920x1080 / 50.8MB)

Discussion: Washington Wire, Jammie Wearing Fools, Business Insider, Hot Air, The Lonely Conservative, Morning Call, Hotline On Call and First Read

Mark Leibovich / New York Times:

Paul Ryan Can't Lose — On a Monday night in late September, Paul Ryan sat on the edge of a couch in his suite at the Cincinnatian Hotel, his left fist clenched so tightly around the neck of his bottle of Miller Lite that I could see the veins bulging in his hands.

Discussion: Marbury

H. Ross Perot Sr / Des Moines Register:

H. Ross Perot: We can't afford Obama — Our country faces a momentous choice. The fact is the United States is on an unsustainable course. At stake is nothing less than our position in the world, our standard of living at home and our constitutional freedoms. — That is why I am endorsing Mitt Romney for president.

Discussion: The Hill, Politico, Guardian and CNN

Matt Cover / CNSNews:

Obama: ‘We Got Back Every Dime’ of Bailout; CBO: Bailout Will Lose $24 Billion — (CNSNews.com) - President Barack Obama said on Thursday that “we got back every dime we used to rescue the financial system.” — According to the Congressional Budget Office, however, the government will lose about $24 billion on the bailout.

Discussion: Politico, The Heritage Foundation, Betsy's Page, Weasel Zippers, The Other McCain and protein wisdom

Associated Press:

Ex-Sen. George McGovern, who lost presidency to Nixon in historic landslide, in hospice care — PIERRE, S.D. — Longtime former U.S. Sen. George McGovern, the Democratic presidential candidate who lost to President Richard Nixon in a historic landslide, has moved into hospice care near his home in South Dakota, his family said Monday.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Hotline On Call and Outside the Beltway

Mark Halperin / The Page:

The Romney Scenario — Here's why some Democrats are worried tonight. If Romney wins the three Southern battlegrounds (FL, NC, and VA) and OH, he is at 266 electoral votes. Leaving the other five battlegrounds unallocated, that means Obama would be at 237 and Romney would only need to win …

Discussion: Guardian and Hot Air

Howard Berkes / NPR:

Poll: Romney Near Landslide In Rural Swing Counties — As Mitt Romney and President Obama get ready for their second debate, a new bipartisan survey shows a surge for Romney in a key voter group following their first debate Oct. 3. — The random cell phone and landline poll …

Discussion: Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog and National Review

John Hinderaker / Power Line:

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 …

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:
For Every Person Added to Labor Force, 10 Added to Those Not in Labor Force

Discussion: Hot Air, Scared Monkeys, The Lonely Conservative, The PJ Tatler and Doug Ross

Michael Barbaro / The Caucus:

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.

Discussion: Connecting.the.Dots, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Liberal Values and FREEDOM EDEN

Mark Halperin / The Page:

The 2012 Debates - Memorandum of Understanding Between the Obama and Romney Campaigns — (EARLIER: Moderator Role Under Scrutiny — Before the Debate) — I wrote Sunday about those provisions spelling out the campaigns' conception of the role of the moderator for Tuesday's town hall debate.