memeorandum: TRENDING: McCain says Mourdock endorsement up in the air (Kevin Liptak/CNN)

10:35 AM ET, October 25, 2012

Top Items:

Colin Powell endorses Barack Obama for president — PLAY CBS NEWS VIDEO — (CBS News) Former Secretary of State Colin Powell broke with the Republican party during the 2008 election, to endorse then-candidate Barack Obama for president, calling Obama a “transformational figure.”

Discussion: msnbc.com, ABCNEWS, New York Magazine, AEIdeas, PoliPundit.com, The Gateway Pundit and Towleroad News #gay

Justin Sink / Ballot Box:

Colin Powell again endorses Obama — Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said Thursday that he would again endorse President Obama, breaking from the Republican Party to support the incumbent president. — “You know I voted for him in 2008 and I plan to stick with him in 2012 and will vote …

Discussion: CNN, Reuters, GOP 12, msnbc.com and The Hinterland Gazette

Alex Altman / Swampland:

TIME Poll: Obama Leads by 5 in Ohio — President Barack Obama, joined by Vice President Joe Biden, speaks during a campaign event at Triangle Park in Dayton, Ohio, on Oct. 23, 2012. — Buoyed by early voting in his favor, Barack Obama leads Mitt Romney by five points in the pivotal state of Ohio, according to a new TIME poll.

Discussion: Wonkblog, msnbc.com, Daily Kos, NewsBusters.org blogs, First Read, ABCNEWS, Politico, The Reaction, Taylor Marsh, The Moderate Voice, National Review, Plunderbund, Ballot Box, Associated Press, CNN and The PJ Tatler

Talking Points Memo:

Colin Powell Endorses Obama, Will ‘Stick With Him In 2012’ — Colin Powell, former secretary of state under President George W. Bush, endorsed President Obama for re-election in 2012, saying that he supported him in 2008 and will “stick with” Obama in 2012. Powell made the announcement in an appearance on “CBS This Morning” Thursday.

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Obama lead in Virginia up to 5 points — A new Public Policy Polling survey in Virginia, conducted on behalf of Health Care for America Now, finds Barack Obama expanding his lead in the aftermath of his debate victory Monday night. He now has 51% to 46% for Mitt Romney, up from a 49/47 advantage last weekend.

Discussion: Ballot Box

James Taranto / Wall Street Journal:

In Defense of Richard Mourdock — It is his Democratic opponent who is engaging in Akin-style sophistry. — With less than two weeks to go before the election, the left is anxious to talk about abortion, and you can see why. To be sure, Gallup found in May that Americans are considerably likelier …

Discussion: Booman Tribune, The Fix, alicublog, Hot Air, Ballot Box and National Review

Justin Sink / Ballot Box:

Obama tells Leno: ‘Rape is rape’ — During an appearance on “The Tonight Show” taped Wednesday evening, President Obama slammed Richard Mourdock over the Republican Senate candidate's controversial comments about pregnancies resulting from rape. — Asked by host Jay Leno about Mourdock's comments …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Daily Kos, CNN, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/* and The Hill

Kevin Liptak / CNN:
TRENDING: McCain says Mourdock endorsement up in the air

Discussion: First Read, Talking Points Memo, Politicker, Taegan Goddard's …, AMERICAblog, Sister Toldjah and The Huffington Post

National Review:
Reading God's Will in Indiana

Discussion: The Daily Beast

Michael McAuliff / The Huffington Post:
Richard Mourdock Rape Comment Reveals Stark Divide, Harsh Question For GOP

Discussion: CNN, Plunderbund, Daily Kos, Taylor Marsh, Roll Call, Ballot Box and The Raw Story

Associated Press:

AP-GFK POLL: ROMNEY ERASES OBAMA LEAD AMONG WOMEN — WASHINGTON (AP) — What gender gap? — Less than two weeks out from Election Day, Republican Mitt Romney has erased President Barack Obama's 16-point advantage among women, a new Associated Press-GfK poll shows.

Discussion: National Review, Hot Air, Associated Press and americanthinker.com

Meghashyam Mali / Ballot Box:
AP poll: Romney leads Obama 47-45, tied among female voters

Discussion: Politico

Alina Selyukh / Reuters:
Romney steals narrow lead from Obama as election nears

Discussion: Liberal Values and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Matt Bai / The Caucus:

How Bill Clinton May Have Hurt the Obama Campaign — When the histories of the 2012 campaign are written, much will be made of Bill Clinton's re-emergence. His convention speech may well have marked the finest moment of President Obama's re-election campaign, and his ads on the president's behalf were memorable.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, The Daily Beast, Rush Limbaugh and Washington Free Beacon

Paul Mirengoff / Power Line:

Bill Clinton — from savior to potential scapegoat in less than two months — If President Obama loses this election, the Democrats will need a scapegoat. The obvious scapegoat would be Obama himself. But he's been getting free passes all of his life, and the left-liberals who comprise …

Discussion: Connecting.the.Dots

Jonathan S. Tobin / Commentary Magazine:
Dems Begin the Post-Obama Blame Game

Discussion: americanthinker.com and Hot Air

Lloyd Grove / The Daily Beast:

Dear Donald, It's Over — It's not us. It's you. You've been annoying in the past. You've also been good copy. But your latest pitiful attempt to keep your name in headlines is one empty bid for attention too many. By Lloyd Grove. — It's been fun, Donald.

Discussion: Poynter, ABCNEWS, FIRST DRAFT and Reuters

Katie Glueck / Politico:
Donald Trump mocked on Twitter

Discussion: The Hinterland Gazette, Guardian, Taylor Marsh, JustOneMinute, The Atlantic Online, Daily Kos and Weasel Zippers

Monica Langley / Wall Street Journal:

For Clinton as Top Diplomat, Tumultuous Closing Chapter — Hillary Clinton's final weeks as Secretary of State were supposed to be more of a victory lap. But that quickly changed after the disastrous events in Benghazi. WSJ's Monica Langley and Jerry Seib discuss the end of her tenure and future prospects.

Discussion: Washington Wire, Politico, Election 2012, American Power and New York Magazine

Jon.Ralston / Ralston Reports:

My column: Why Romney hasn't surrendered Nevada — Mitt Romney campaigned in Nevada today for the second consecutive day. The question is: Why? — Any reasonable analysis of the early voting numbers so far shows that the Democratic machine is crushing the Republicans' Rube Goldberg contraption.

Discussion: Ross Douthat

Scott Whitlock / NewsBusters.org:

Chris Matthews, Who Used the Phrase ‘Shuck and Jive,’ Now Calls Sarah Palin Racist for Saying ‘Shuck and Jive’ — Liberal cable anchor Chris Matthews, who in 2010 used the phrase “shuck and jive,” on Wednesday assailed Sarah Palin as racist for using the phrase “shuck and jive.”

Discussion: Politicker, NewsBusters.org blogs, Conservatives4Palin, Weasel Zippers and Washington Post

Sarah Palin / Facebook:
Obama's Shuck and Jive Ends With Benghazi Lies

Discussion: Politico, Sun-Times Politics, CNN, msnbc.com, Angry Black Lady Chronicles and New York Magazine

Ryan J. Reilly / Talking Points Memo:

Rep. Jim Moran's Son Resigns Over James O'Keefe Video — Patrick Moran, son of Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA), resigned from his father's campaign on Wednesday after conservative activist James O'Keefe released a video that appears to show him offering advice to an undercover videographer who claimed to want to commit voter fraud.

Discussion: James O'Keefe's Project …, The Gateway Pundit, Los Angeles Times, Michelle Malkin, Associated Press, The Raw Story, The Daily Caller, The PJ Tatler, Hotline On Call, Nice Deb, New York Magazine, Washington Examiner and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Mike Lillis / The Hill:
Rep. Moran's son resigns from father's campaign amid voter fraud scandal

Discussion: Politico, The Heritage Foundation, americanthinker.com and Hot Air

Steven Pinker / Opinionator:

Why Are States So Red and Blue? — Regardless of who wins the presidential election, we already know now how most of the electoral map will be colored, which will be close to the way it has been colored for decades. Broadly speaking, the Southern and Western desert and mountain states …

Discussion: normblog

The New York Times Company:

The New York Times Company Reports 2012 Third-Quarter Results — The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT) announced today a 2012 third-quarter diluted loss per share from continuing operations of $.02 compared with diluted earnings per share from continuing operations of $.04 in the same period of 2011.

Discussion: New York Times and Poynter, more at Mediagazer »

Ben Armbruster / ThinkProgress:

GOP Rep Says Strike On Iran's Nuclear Facilities Would Not Be An Act Of War — Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said on CNN last night that neither he, nor the Iranians, would consider an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities an act of war.

Discussion: The Agonist