memeorandum: Polls: Obama, Romney tied in Co., incumbent has narrow Nev. edge (Domenico Montanaro/First Read)

7:25 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 Caucus and The Hinterland Gazette

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

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

Discussion: Gawker

Washington Post:
Washington Post endorsement: Four more years for President Obama

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

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

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

Quin Hillyer / American Spectator:
The Dishonorable Colin Powell

Discussion: CBS News, Intercepts, Hot Air, Ballot Box and The Moderate Voice

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

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: She The People, Morning Call, Taylor Marsh, Balloon Juice, The Agonist, The Mahablog, Hullabaloo, Daily Download, The Daily Beast, Politico and Washington Monthly

Michael McAuliff / The Huffington Post:
Richard Mourdock Backed By GOP Leaders Mitch McConnell, John McCain After Rape Remarks [UPDATE]

Discussion: The Fix, Talking Points Memo, AMERICAblog, The Moderate Voice and CNN

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

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

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

Discussion: The Raw Story and Guardian

Cameron Joseph / Ballot Box:
Democrats launch ad attacking Richard Mourdock's abortion comments

Discussion: Politico and The Hill

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, Nice Deb, 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

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: Balloon Juice, CNN, TBogg, Liberal Values, msnbc.com, Weekly Standard, The Hill, Newsy, 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, Scared Monkeys, The Daily Caller, Sun-Times Politics, Examiner, Conservatives4Palin and Weasel Zippers

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

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

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

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

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

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

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

Domenico Montanaro / First Read:

Polls: Obama, Romney tied in Co., incumbent has narrow Nev. edge — The race between President Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney is locked in a dead heat in Colorado, while the president maintains a narrow edge in the other Western swing state of Nevada. — Read the full Nevada poll here (.pdf)

Discussion: KDVR.com, Politico and CNN

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

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