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 …

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 …

WISCONSIN SENATOR'S SON BEATEN TO PULP BY ANTI-ROMNEY THUGS  —  Early Friday morning, thugs presumably supporting President Obama beat up the son of Wisconsin State Senator Neal Kedzie outside of his apartment in Whitewater.  Kedzie caught the two men removing a Romney sign outside of his apartment around two o'clock in the morning.

Staying Classy  —  I guess this is what happens late in the tight presidential race.  Ronna Romney is the ex-sister-in-law of Mitt Romney.  She's apparently remained close to the Romney family.  She has a minor role in the Romney campaign in Florida and has recently appeared at campaign events in Michigan with her daughter.

Clark Kent makes a major life change in new ‘Superman’  —  Mild-mannered reporter leaves The Daily Planet  —  2:22PM EDT October 22.  2012 - The Daily Planet has a new job opening.  —  In Superman issue 13, the Man of Steel's alter ego, mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent …

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!

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:

Begala: Obama Has Given Up On North Carolina  —  Democratic strategist Paul Begala, a senior adviser to the pro-Obama super PAC Priorities USA Action, said that Mitt Romney is likely to win North Carolina and that the Obama campaign may be giving up there during an appearance on CNN Monday.

Nate Silver's Flawed Model  —  “Oh, people can come up with statistics to prove anything, Kent.  Fourteen percent of people know that.”  — Homer Simpson.  —  In the days before the first debate in Denver, President Obama held more than a four-point lead in the Real Clear Politics average …

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.

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 …

Yes, Jim Fallows, Debates Do Matter (But Not As Much As You May Think)  —  In the aftermath of the first presidential debate, as swing state polls began to converge with the national tracking polls, former Carter speechwriter and Atlantic magazine correspondent James Fallows tweeted …

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 …

How to Crash an Economy and Escape the Scene  —  Is it time to put the Great Recession behind us?  —  Not in terms of the economy — which remains bogged down with high unemployment, low growth and other aftershocks — but rather when it comes to demanding a rigorous effort to hold Wall Street bankers …

We shouldn't have a ‘foreign policy’ debate  —  The first presidential debate focused on “domestic policy.”  Tonight's presidential debate will focus on “foreign policy.”  I'm going to focus on the fact that this distinction is ridiculous.  —  A volunteer prepares labels for seats …

Blimp-Like Aircraft With Mitt Romney Ad Crash Lands in Davie  —  Aircraft carrying GOP presidential hopeful's message goes down in South Florida  —  A blimp-like aircraft bearing a message from Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney crash-landed in Davie Sunday night, officials said.

Romney Warned In 2003 Of “Temptation” To Use National Security To “Take Political Shots”  —  The former Massachusetts Governor has hammered President Obama for Benghazi, but in 2003 thought partisan politics should be avoided when dealing with nation security.

Post-ABC tracking poll: Obama 49 percent, Romney 48 percent  —  President Obama and Mitt Romney head into the final debate still deadlocked among likely voters nationally: 49 percent side with the Democratic president, 48 percent with the Republican challenger, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Romney Campaign Flops Twice On Marriage Amendment And Same-Sex ‘Benefits’  —  Mitt Romney's campaign seemed to flip-flop last week on whether he supports an amendment to the U.S. Constitution banning same-sex marriage, but the convoluted clarification demonstrated that his positions on the issue …

The Cuban Missile Crisis @50: A Reconsideration  —  Today is the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's nationally televised address informing the nation of the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba, and his intention to make sure they were removed.  The Kennedy glorification industry …

At debate, read between the lines  —  Editor's note: David Gergen is a senior political analyst for CNN and has been an adviser to four presidents.  A graduate of Harvard Law School, he is a professor of public service and director of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.

Nobody Mentions Climate Change.  But Somebody Did Something About It.  —  President Barack Obama disembarks from Air Force One under a rainfall at Akron-Canton Regional Airport in Akron, Ohio, on Sept. 26, 2012.  —  I constantly whine about the Beltway media, and I believe global warming is the most important issue facing humanity.

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.

Romney Wouldn't Meet Defense Spending Pledge for Years  —  Mitt Romney's pledge to spend at least 4 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product on the military isn't an immediate goal or even one he is sure to meet in a first term as president, according to a defense adviser.