Battleground Tracking Poll: Mitt Romney takes lead  —  DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — Mitt Romney has taken a narrow national lead, tightened the gender gap and expanded his edge over President Barack Obama on who would best grow the economy.  —  A new POLITICO/George Washington University Battleground Tracking Poll …

Intelligence Stressed Libya Protest Scenario  —  In Reports to Obama, CIA Didn't Alter Assessment of Trigger for Violence for 10 Days, Even as Witness Accounts Disputed It  —  WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama was told in his daily intelligence briefing for more than a week after the consulate siege …

Revenge of the Soccer Moms: Why Are Women Abandoning Obama?  —  CHANTILLY, Virginia — Remember the War on Women?  —  A few months ago, it seemed like the battle for women's votes was one Democrats had decisively won.  While (male) Republican politicians talked about transvaginal ultrasounds …

Mitt Romney's toughest debate  —  Mitt Romney has a clear-eyed and self-aware view of his chances in the final debate Monday, according to top advisers: It will be almost impossible to win, since the debate is focused exclusively on foreign policy, a strength for President Barack Obama.

Oct. 21: Uncertainty Clouds Polling, but Obama Remains Electoral College Favorite  —  The bad news for President Obama: it's been almost a week since the second presidential debate, in Hempstead, N.Y., one that instant-reaction polls said was a narrow victory for him.

Soledad O'Brien to Rudy Giuliani: ‘Let me finish’  —  CNN host Soledad O'Brien and Rudy Giuliani clashed on Monday, with the the former New York City mayor accusing O'Brien of trying to blame George W. Bush for the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

The bias of Bob Schieffer: Top 7 moments  —  In August, I blasted the Commission on Presidential Debate's choices of three Beltway lib journo-tools — CNN's Candy Crowley, PBS's Jim Lehrer and CBS's Bob Schieffer.  So far, they've acted just as expected and predicted.  As I noted:

Donald Trump claims Barack Obama bombshell  —  Donald Trump said Monday that he will reveal “very big” news about President Barack Obama by Wednesday but declined to give any hints about his plan, he said on “Fox & Friends.”  —  “Something very, very big concerning the president of the United States,” he said.

Wow, CNN ...  Check out the front page feature story on CNN right now.  A eye-popper even in the long sad tale of CNN's decline.  Screen cap after the jump ...  CNN front page, 9:14 AM, October 22nd, 2012.  —  I'll note that the piece itself is not nearly as bad as the headline.

Russell Means, Who Revived Warrior Image of American Indian, Dies at 72  —  Russell C. Means, the charismatic Oglala Sioux who helped revive the warrior image of the American Indian in the 1970s with guerrilla-tactic protests that called attention to the nation's history of injustices …

Akin Adviser: If A Dog, McCaskill Would Be A ‘Bullshitsu’  —  Rick Tyler, an adviser to Republican Senate candidate Todd Akin in Missouri, tweeted Monday that if Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill were a dog, she would be a “Bullshitsu.” … The comment comes after Akin drew fire …

Lance Armstrong Is Stripped of His 7 Tour de France Titles  —  The International Cycling Union announced on Monday that it would not appeal the United States Anti-Doping Agency's ruling to bar Lance Armstrong for life from Olympic sports for doping and for playing an instrumental role …

Spelling is hard: Obama supporters wear ‘Foward’ T-shirts at Biden rally, tweet #Foward; Update: #Foward hashtag hilarity … Oh, dear!  Seriously, our aching sides can't take much more.  But, wait, there's more!  It wasn't just one woman who was wearing a T-shirt reading “foward”; it was two!

Michelle: Vote Early Because Your Toilet May Be Overflowing on Election Day  —  (CNSNews.com) - First Lady Michelle Obama encouraged her husband's supporters to vote early, because you may find your “toilet overflowing” on Election Day.  —  “You can also tell people that they don't have to …

THE CHOICE  —  The morning was cold and the sky was bright.  Aretha Franklin wore a large and interesting hat.  Yo-Yo Ma urged his frozen fingers to play the cello, and the Reverend Joseph E. Lowery, a civil-rights comrade of Martin Luther King, Jr.,'s, read a benediction that began with …

ObamaCare: Rhetoric Vs. Reality  —  WASHINGTON — Just recently, the Internal Revenue Service issued an 18-page, single-spaced notice explaining how to distinguish between full-time and part-time workers under the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare").  The difference matters …

Reporter ‘not allowed’ to talk to voters at Biden event  —  Joe Vardon, a reporter with the Columbus Dispatch, says campaign aides stopped him from speaking to voters at a rally featuring Vice President Joe Biden in Canton, Ohio, today.  —  “Reporters NOT ALLOWED to talk to voters at Biden/Canton event,” he tweeted.