memeorandum: Romney Surrogate: Colin Powell Endorsed Obama Because He's Black (Talking Points Memo)

2:40 AM ET, October 26, 2012

Top Items:

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

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

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, New York Post, KDVR.com, Election 2012, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, The Hill, The Caucus, The Lonely Conservative, GOP 12 and The Hinterland Gazette

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:

Romney Campaign Chair: Colin Powell Endorsed Obama Because He Is Black — In an interview with CNN's Piers Morgan this evening, Romney Campaign Co-Chair and former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu (R-NH) offered a surprising theory on why General Colin Powell endorsed President Obama for reelection today — because both men are black:

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

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

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

Discussion: Ballot Box, The Hinterland Gazette, theGrio, Washington Free Beacon, Reuters and Talking Points Memo

Quin Hillyer / American Spectator: The Dishonorable Colin Powell

CBS News:
Colin Powell endorses Barack Obama for president

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

Donovan Slack / Politico:
Obama: Kids know Mitt's a bullsh**ter

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

BuzzFeed:
Obama Says Ayn Rand Is For Teens

Discussion: Hit & Run and alicublog

Mike Allen / Politico:
ROMNEY TRANSITION PLANS: early Dem outreach; pragmatism over ideology …

Discussion: CNN, Weasel Zippers, Guardian, Yellow Hammer Politics, Atlas Shrugs, Hit & Run and Gawker

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 — Let's get one thing straight from the start. I am not defending Richard Mourdock's position on abortion, including his opposition to a rape exception. So take that twitchy finger off the “send” button. However, I do want to examine …

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

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

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Moderate Voice, AMERICAblog, Politico and The Maddow Blog

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

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

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

Discussion: Guardian and The Raw Story

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

Oct. 24: In Polls, Romney's Momentum Seems to Have Stopped — The term “momentum” is used very often in political coverage — but reporters and analysts seldom pause to consider what it means. — Let me tell you what I think it ought to mean: that a body in motion tends to stay in motion.

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

Jon Cohen / The Fix:
Post-ABC tracking poll: Romney 50 percent, Obama 47

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

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

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

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: The Jawa Report, Weasel Zippers and Pundit & Pundette

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

Discussion: Weekly Standard and Investor's Business Daily

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, New York Magazine, Michelle Malkin, Hot Air, Gawker, The Lonely Conservative, Washington Examiner, No More Mister Nice Blog and Instapundit

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, BBC and The Peking Duck, more at Mediagazer »

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: 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, Conservatives4Palin, The Atlantic Online and Doug Ross

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 »

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

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

Murray Waas / The Boston Globe:

Romney rejected new birth certificates for gay parents — As governor, he ordered review for each child — It seemed like a minor adjustment. To comply with the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling that legalized gay marriage in 2003, the state Registry of Vital Records and Statistics …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Advocate, Addicting Info, AMERICAblog, Poliglot, Towleroad News #gay and Daily Kos

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 …