memeorandum: Obama Holds Lead in Florida and Ohio Polls (Neil King Jr/Wall Street Journal)

11:10 AM ET, November 3, 2012

Top Items:

Exclusive: Christie was Mitt's first choice for VP — One of the most tantalizing subplots of the 2012 campaign has been the curious and sometimes controversial performances of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Now, campaign insiders tell POLITICO that Christie was Mitt Romney's first choice …

Discussion: Connecting.the.Dots

Politico:

Romney holds all-star Ohio rally — WEST CHESTER, Ohio — Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan fired up the Republican base here Friday night with the biggest rally yet of their campaign as they headed into the final weekend before Election Day. — On a frigid fall night — you could see your breath in the air …

Discussion: Ballot Box, The PJ Tatler and CNN

Neil King Jr / Wall Street Journal:

Obama Holds Lead in Florida and Ohio Polls — President Barack Obama holds an edge over Mitt Romney in Florida and Ohio, the two largest battlegrounds in determining who will win the White House on Tuesday, new polls show. — The Wall Street Journal/NBC News/Marist Poll surveys …

Discussion: Politico

Mark Murray / First Read:

Polls: Obama stays ahead in Ohio, deadlocked with Romney in Fla. — Three days until Election Day, President Barack Obama maintains his lead in the key battleground state of Ohio and is locked in a close contest with Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney in Florida, according to new NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist polls.

Discussion: Battleground Watch, Cheap Talk and Prairie Weather

Justin Sink / Ballot Box:
Romney surrogates fan out across US

Discussion: ABCNEWS

CNN:

In fiery speech, Giuliani calls on Obama to resign, faults him for Libya — (CNN) - Not long after taking a few seconds of silence for those affected by Superstorm Sandy, Rudy Giuliani began ripping into President Barack Obama on Friday while speaking at major campaign event for Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan in Ohio.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

Paul Steinhauser / CNN:
CNN Poll: Obama 50% - Romney 47% in Ohio

Discussion: ABCNEWS, The Hill, JOSHUAPUNDIT, Business Insider, Politico, GOP 12 and Election 2012

Gabriella Schwarz / CNN:
TRENDING: Axelrod: Obama closing argument ‘from his loins’

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Weasel Zippers and National Review

Michael Barone / Washington Examiner:

Going out on a limb: Romney beats Obama, handily … Fundamentals usually prevail in American elections. That's bad news for Barack Obama. True, Americans want to think well of their presidents and many think it would be bad if Americans were perceived as rejecting the first black president.

Discussion: Questions and Observations, The Agonist, americanthinker.com, American Power, The Lonely Conservative, Taylor Marsh, Hot Air, The PJ Tatler, Power Line, Zandar Versus The Stupid, The Gateway Pundit, New York Magazine, Conservatives4Palin, National Review and New York Times

Jeremy Herb / Ballot Box:

Obama: Millions ‘still picking up the pieces’ — In his last weekend address before Election Day, President Obama opted not to mention the campaign, instead talking about the recovery efforts after Hurricane Sandy. — “This weekend, millions of our fellow Americans are still picking …

Discussion: Politico and CNN

Ben Shapiro / BREITBART.COM: NBC PREPS HURRICANE SANDY FUNDRAISER STARRING OBAMA CELEBS

NBC.com:
NBCUNIVERSAL ANNOUNCES ‘HURRICANE SANDY: COMING TOGETHER,’ A BENEFIT TELETHON TO AID VICTIMS OF HURRICANE SANDY

Discussion: NBC.com Entertainment News, Crooks and Liars, Mediaite, The Huffington Post and Guardian

Nigel Jaquiss / Willamette Week:

Department of Justice Investigating Alleged Ballot Fraud At Clackamas County Elections — A Clackamas County elections worker is under criminal investigation for tampering with ballots, WW has learned. — The underlying allegation is that the woman, whose name has not been released …

Discussion: Firedoglake, The BRAD BLOG and The Stranger …

Washington Post:

Mitt Romney's campaign insults voters — THROUGH ALL THE flip-flops, there has been one consistency in the campaign of Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney: a contempt for the electorate. — How else to explain his refusal to disclose essential information?

Discussion: Prairie Weather, Brad DeLong and Politico

John Hinderaker / Power Line:

Oceans of Red Ink — I feel a sort of kinship with Michael Ramirez: if I were a genius and could draw really, really, well, I would be just like him. His latest will appear in newspapers tomorrow; it blends old themes (Obama's pretensions and the federal debt) with new ones :

Michael Cooper / New York Times:

Hurricane Sandy Threatens to Disrupt Voting on Election Day — Some New Jersey voters may find their hurricane-damaged polling sites replaced by military trucks, with — in the words of the state's lieutenant governor, Kim Guadagno — “a well-situated national guardsman and a big sign saying …

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Alex Seitz-Wald / Salon:

Fox attacks Bruce Springsteen for hosting charity concert — Fox and Friends think the Boss' hurricane relief benefit is actually secret Obama propaganda — In case you somehow don't know by now, Bruce Springsteen loves his native New Jersey, and pretty much everyone in New Jersey loves him.

Discussion: The Mahablog and Wonkette

Marc Caputo / Naked Politics:

Miami Herald FL Poll: Romney 51%-Obama 45% — Mitt Romney has maintained a solid lead over President Barack Obama in the latest Miami Herald/El Nuevo Herald poll of likely voters who favor the Republican by six percentage points. — Romney's strengths: independent voters and more crossover support …

Discussion: Hot Air

Noel Sheppard / NewsBusters.org blogs:

Bill Maher Warns Romney Supporters: ‘Black People Know Who You Are and They Will Come After You’ — Bill Maher on HBO's Real Time Friday might have said one of the most disgraceful things uttered during the 2012 campaign season. — “If you're thinking about voting for Mitt Romney …

John Nolte / BREITBART.COM:

OBAMA: VOTING ‘BEST REVENGE’ AGAINST ROMNEY — As is often the case when he goes off-teleprompter, at a campaign stop in Ohio today, Obama revealed a side of himself we haven't seen since Hurricane Sandy gave him the opportunity to play The American President for a few days.

Discussion: Washington Post, Right Wing News, Examiner, The Hill, No More Mister Nice Blog and The Jawa Report

John McCormack / Weekly Standard: From “Hope and Change” to “Revenge”

New York Times:

Staten Island Was Tragic Epicenter of Storm's Casualties — The soggy marshes and still-damp ruins of homes on Staten Island yielded a grim postscript to the toll from Hurricane Sandy on Thursday, as search teams discovered more bodies where the storm's giant wall of water had smashed its way through.

Discussion: Mother Jones, New York Magazine and The Gist