memeorandum: Obama: Millions ‘still picking up the pieces’ (Jeremy Herb/Ballot Box)

8:25 AM ET, November 3, 2012

Top Items:

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: CNN

Justin Sink / Ballot Box:

Romney surrogates fan out across US — Mitt Romney used a star-studded rally Friday night in West Chester, Ohio, to launch his final push before Election Day. The event featured nearly every one of the Republican presidential candidate's top surrogates in an attempt to rally support in the crucial battleground state.

Discussion: ABCNEWS

Politico:

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 …

Paul Steinhauser / CNN:

CNN Poll: Obama 50% - Romney 47% in Ohio — (CNN) - With four days to go until the presidential election, a new poll indicates the race for arguably the most important battleground state remains very close. — According to a CNN/ORC International survey released Friday …

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

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.

Discussion: Prairie Weather

CNN:
In fiery speech, Giuliani calls on Obama to resign, faults him for Libya

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

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: American Power, The Lonely Conservative, Hot Air, Power Line, The Gateway Pundit, New York Magazine, The PJ Tatler, Conservatives4Palin and National Review

Molly Ball / The Atlantic Online:
Who's Really Winning Early Voting?

Discussion: The Daily Pulp, Politico, The Latest Word, The Maddow Blog, The Greenroom, GOP 12, Washington Monthly, National Review and The Buzz Florida Politics Feed

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

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

Discussion: Mediaite, Guardian and The Raw Story

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 …

Byron Tau / Politico:

White House: NYC marathon a local issue (Updated) — White House press secretary Jay Carney said Friday that any decision about the New York City marathon should be left to local officials. — President Obama is focused on mobilizing “an unprecedented federal response” to Hurricane Sandy, Carney told reporters on Air Force One.

New York Times:
Staten Island Was Tragic Epicenter of Storm's Casualties

Discussion: New York Magazine, Mother Jones and The Gist

Ken Belson / New York Times:
New York City Marathon Will Not Be Held Sunday

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and New York Post

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 …

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 …

The Fix:

The Obama defectors — Barring some kind of last-minute surge, President Obama is going to fall well shy of the 52.9 percent he won in the 2008 election. It might still be good enough to win, but it won't be resounding. — But just who exactly has deserted Obama over the last four years?

Discussion: neo-neocon, The PJ Tatler, Washington Post, Instapundit, AEIdeas and PoliPundit.com

Emily Schultheis / Politico:
Mitt Romney's Pennsylvania gamble

Discussion: Morning Call, Hot Air and Taylor Marsh

CNN:
Clinton to head to PA in battleground state swing

Discussion: Politico, Zandar Versus The Stupid and New York Times

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 :

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, The Hill, Examiner, No More Mister Nice Blog and The Jawa Report

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

Paul Krugman:

Karl Rove's Mission Accomplished — The estimable Rick Perlstein has a fascinating essay about the seamless continuum from direct-mail marketing scams to direct-mail right-wing fundraising, and from there to the whole character of modern movement conservatism. Go read.

Discussion: Balloon Juice, The Daily Beast 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

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

House Republicans may actually add to their majority on Election Day — The Fix now projects that the 2012 race for the House is likely to be close to a draw, and there is even a fair chance that Republicans will add to their biggest majority in six decades on Tuesday.

Discussion: Power Line and The Greenroom

Wall Street Journal:

Noonan: How Far Obama Has Fallen — From historic figure to beleaguered incumbent in less than four years. — So where are we? A softly catastrophic storm left us, in the Northeast, shocked at the depth and breadth of its power to destroy. Everyone who could be was hunkered down Monday waiting it out …

Discussion: neo-neocon and Hot Air