memeorandum: Britain rejects US request to use UK bases in nuclear standoff with Iran (Nick Hopkins/Guardian)

5:10 AM ET, October 26, 2012

Top Items:

Kevin Liptak / CNN:

Sununu cites race as factor for Powell's Obama endorsement — (CNN) - John Sununu, a top surrogate for Mitt Romney's presidential campaign, said Thursday that Colin Powell's repeat endorsement of President Barack Obama could be explained partly by the two men's shared race.

Discussion: The Hinterland Gazette and The Caucus

Talking Points Memo:

Romney Surrogate: Colin Powell Endorsed Obama Because He's Black — Former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu, a Romney surrogate, said on Thursday night that the reason former Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsed President Obama today was due to the color of his skin.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Connecting.the.Dots, The League of Ordinary … and The Caucus

Washington Post:

Washington Post endorsement: Four more years for President Obama — View Photo Gallery — Washington Post endorsements in 2012: A roundup of the Post editorial board's picks for November 6, including Virginia's and Maryland's Senate and House races, Maryland's referenda, and the D.C. Council race

Discussion: NewsBusters.org, KDVR.com, Election 2012, New York Post, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, The Hill, The Lonely Conservative, The Caucus, GOP 12, Rumproast, The Hinterland Gazette and The Page

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:
Romney Campaign Chair: Colin Powell Endorsed Obama Because He Is Black

Discussion: Gawker

Kevin Robillard / Politico:
John McCain: ‘Gen. Powell, you disappoint’

Discussion: FOX News Radio, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Reuters and Ballot Box

Quin Hillyer / American Spectator:
The Dishonorable Colin Powell

Discussion: CBS News, Intercepts, Hot Air, The Moderate Voice and PoliPundit.com

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
McCain: Powell ‘harmed’ his legacy by endorsing Obama

Discussion: Ballot Box, msnbc.com, Washington Free Beacon, theGrio, The Hinterland Gazette, Reuters, Talking Points Memo and The PJ Tatler

Rolling Stone:

Obama and the Road Ahead: The Rolling Stone Interview — In an Oval Office conversation with a leading historian, the president discusses what he would do with a second term - and his opponent's embrace of ‘the most extreme positions in the Republican Party’

Discussion: CNN, TBogg, Liberal Values, msnbc.com, Newsy, The Hill, Washington Monthly, Washington Examiner, Washington Free Beacon and Election 2012

Donovan Slack / Politico:

Obama: Kids know Mitt's a bullsh**ter — President Obama sat for an interview with Rolling Stone for next month's issue and Playbook has the first look at the story by Douglas Brinkley: … That's some frank language from Obama, who has a genuine disdain for GOP challenger Mitt Romney, as POLITICO's Glenn Thrush has reported.

Discussion: Sister Toldjah, Hot Air, The Daily Caller, Scared Monkeys, Sun-Times Politics, Examiner, Weasel Zippers and Conservatives4Palin

BuzzFeed:
Obama Says Ayn Rand Is For Teens

Discussion: Hit & Run and alicublog

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:
Obama: Romney's a ‘Bulls—’

Discussion: CNN, Jammie Wearing Fools and Althouse

Jordan Zakarin / Hollywood Reporter:

Tina Fey Blasts GOP, Richard Mourdock, Todd Akin on Rape Comments (Video) — The “30 Rock” creator had harsh words for anti-choice politicians, cracking, “What is happening? Am I a secretary on ‘Mad Men?’” — Tina Fey doesn't need Saturday Night Live to take cracks at politicians.

Discussion: Taylor Marsh

Amy Sullivan / The New Republic:
Why Liberals are Misreading Mourdock

Discussion: Morning Call, Taylor Marsh, The Mahablog, The Agonist, Balloon Juice, Hullabaloo, Daily Download, The Daily Beast, Politico, Washington Monthly, Booman Tribune and AEIdeas

Michael Cooper / The Caucus:
Mourdock's Comments Pose Dilemma for Romney

Discussion: NewsBusters.org, New York Times, Daily Kos, msnbc.com, ABCNEWS and blogs.telegraph.co.uk

CBS News:
Haley Barbour: Mourdock's rape remark “kinda crazy”

Discussion: The Raw Story and Guardian

Jason Howerton / TheBlaze.com:

JOE BIDEN TO FATHER OF FORMER NAVY SEAL KILLED IN BENGHAZI: ‘DID YOUR SON ALWAYS HAVE BALLS THE SIZE OF CUE BALLS?’ … The father of one of the former Navy SEALs killed in the terrorist attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya says President Barack Obama wouldn't even look him in the eye …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, The Jawa Report and Pundit & Pundette

Scott Johnson / Power Line:
Who decided not to save Tyrone Woods?

Discussion: Weekly Standard and Investor's Business Daily

Jon Cohen / The Fix:

Post-ABC tracking poll: Romney 50 percent, Obama 47 — Republican Mitt Romney has edged ahead of President Obama in the new Washington Post-ABC News national tracking poll, with the challenger winning 50 percent of likely voters for the first time in the campaign.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, Taylor Marsh and Guardian

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Oct. 24: In Polls, Romney's Momentum Seems to Have Stopped

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, New York Magazine, The New Republic, Politicker, Prairie Weather, Princeton Election Consortium, The Other McCain, Washington Post, Taegan Goddard's …, The Caucus, Towleroad News #gay, Washington Monthly, AMERICAblog and Althouse

The Fix:
2012 voters: The deepest racial split since '88

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Joshua Keating / FP Passport:

Is the Obama campaign taking commercial ideas from Vladimir Putin? — I see the Obama campaign has a new YouTube ad featuring Girls star (and fellow Oberlin alum!) Lena Dunham: — “Your first time shouldn't be with just anybody. You want to do it with a great guy,” she says, referring to casting your first ballot for Obama.

Discussion: Twitchy, Power Line, Balloon Juice, Hot Air, Gawker, New York Magazine, Michelle Malkin, The Lonely Conservative, Washington Examiner, No More Mister Nice Blog and Instapundit

Philip Giraldi / The American Conservative:

How to Bomb Iran — An Israeli attack is risky—and it might not even eliminate Iran's nuclear facilities. — Israel Defense Forces / Flickr — During the Napoleonic Wars, when it was reported that the French were preparing to invade England, Admiral John Jervis said …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

Nick Hopkins / Guardian:
Britain rejects US request to use UK bases in nuclear standoff with Iran

Discussion: Israel Matzav, Firedoglake, JOSHUAPUNDIT and The Agonist

David Barboza / New York Times:

Family of Wen Jiabao Holds a Hidden Fortune in China — BEIJING — The mother of China's prime minister was a schoolteacher in northern China. His father was ordered to tend pigs in one of Mao's political campaigns. And during childhood, “my family was extremely poor,” the prime minister, Wen Jiabao, said in a speech last year.

Discussion: New York Magazine, Guardian, News Desk and The Peking Duck, more at Mediagazer »

The Right Scoop:

DISGUSTING: New Obama ad asks who would you rather do it with, Obama or Romney? — Talk about desperation. They've finally sunken to a new low trying to get the youth vote by comparing voting for the first time to having sex for the first time. “You're first time shouldn't be with just anybody.

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, LifeNews.com, The Atlantic Online, Conservatives4Palin and Doug Ross

Anne Sorock / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:

Obama supporters rally around anti-Mormonism — What would you think if you were told that the most bigoted, intolerant, hateful, and xenophobic political messages this election cycle are being spread by Obama supporters? — From ridiculing and disrespecting the Mormon religion …

Discussion: alicublog and The Daily Dish

WZMX Hot 93.7:

The Naked Cowboy Announces Support For Romney — While Barack Obama has cornered the market on support from rappers and the hip-hop community, Mitt Romney has nabbed an endorsement of one of New York's iconic figures. The Naked Cowboy, the most recognized of all Times Square street performers …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Jeff Bercovici / Forbes:

Keith Olbermann Casts A Wide Net In Job Search — What's next for Olbermann? (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife) — Think Keith Olbermann has burned his last bridge in the television business? He doesn't think so. — Seven months after he got dismissed by Current TV …

Discussion: New York Magazine, Mediaite and The Daily Caller, more at Mediagazer »

Zeke Miller / BuzzFeed:

Biden To Oshkosh On Friday, Where Company Is Laying Off Workers Due To Defense Cuts — The Pentagon buys fewer vehicles from Oshkosh Corp. — A military vehicle passes by the Oshkosh plant in Wisconsin October 12, 2011. — Image by Darren Hauck / Reuters

Discussion: JSOnline

Susan M. Cover / Portland Press-Herald:

Obama spokesman: President supports Maine's Question 1 — A spokesman for President Barack Obama released a statement today indicating the president's support for Question 1, Maine's same-sex marriage ballot question. — “While the president does not weigh in on every single ballot measure in every state …

Discussion: Advocate, Towleroad News #gay, Poliglot and AMERICAblog