memeorandum: You Know It's a Tough Market When Ben Bernanke Can't Refinance (Elizabeth Campbell/Bloomberg)

10:45 AM ET, October 3, 2014

Top Items:

James Hohmann / Politico:

Are big three senate races slipping from Dems? — It's been the most remarkably enduring story line of Election 2014: three Democratic senators defying their states' deep red complexion and their president's abysmal approval ratings to stay competitive in races that should have, on paper, been lost long ago.

Chris Cillizza / Washington Post:

28 words that Democrats really wish President Obama didn't say today — President Obama was at Northwestern University on Thursday to deliver an economic speech that, he and his team hoped, would lay out the case for why the public is better off today than they were six years ago — even if they didn't feel it in their everday lives.

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Washington Free Beacon, Betsy's Page, Hinterland Gazette, National Review and The Daily Caller

Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:

Charles Krauthammer: The real reason winning the Senate matters — You can win midterm elections without a positive agenda. You can't win presidential elections that way. It is therefore vitally important for Republicans to win the Senate in 2014. Here's why.

Discussion: National Review

Gabrielle Canon / Mother Jones:

Budget Cuts “Eroded Our Ability to Respond” to Ebola, Says Top Health Official — On Tuesday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the first case of Ebola diagnosed in the United States; the infected patient was a man who traveled from Liberia to visit family in Texas.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, BillMoyers.com, The Mahablog, Americans Against the …, Daily Kos, Campaign for America's Future and The Huffington Post

Sarah Ferris / The Hill:

Ebola becomes political fight — Ebola is becoming an issue for the midterm election campaign, with several Republicans using the spread of the virus to the United States to criticize President Obama's leadership. — Republican lawmakers are accusing Obama of underplaying the threat.

Discussion: Daily Kos

New York Times:
Delay in Dallas Ebola Cleanup as Workers Balk at Task

Discussion: ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, The Daily Caller, NPR and Washington's Blog

John Stanton / BuzzFeed:
Who's Actually Leading The U.S. Response To The Ebola Epidemic

Discussion: VodkaPundit and CNN

Lisa Maria Garza / Reuters:
Health Officials Say Up To 100 People May Have Been Exposed To Texas Ebola Patient

Discussion: The Huffington Post and Reuters

Stephen F. Hayes / Weekly Standard:

The Return of the GOP Hawks — Not that they ever really left. — The Republican flirtation with dovish noninterventionism is over. It wasn't much of a fling. — For five years, we've been hearing that foreign policy and national security issues would split the Republican party.

Discussion: The American Conservative, Washington Monthly, Politico, OnPolitics, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Moderate Voice, The Daily Caller and ABC News

Jonathan Allen / Bloomberg:

Bogus Congressman Said to Get Backstage at Obama Event — An unidentified man posing as a member of Congress made it into a secure area backstage at President Barack Obama's appearance at a Congressional Black Caucus Foundation awards dinner in Washington Sept. 27, according to a White House official.

Discussion: Hinterland Gazette, Business Insider and Washington Free Beacon

NBC News:

NBC News Freelancer in Africa Diagnosed With Ebola — An American freelance cameraman working for NBC News in Liberia has tested positive for Ebola and will be flown back to the U.S. for treatment.

Discussion: CNN, ABC News, The Huffington Post, The PJ Tatler, Reuters, The Right Scoop, KFOR-TV, Weekly Standard and Instapundit, more at Mediagazer »

Thomas Burr / Salt Lake Tribune:

Despite voter-registration snafu Mitt Romney not shunning GOP — Mix-up » Errant form also lists old address next to warning that false information could be a misdemeanor. — | The Salt Lake Tribune — Washington • Mitt Romney, whose name keeps popping up as a possible three …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Washington Post and OnPolitics

Elizabeth Campbell / Bloomberg:

You Know It's a Tough Market When Ben Bernanke Can't Refinance — Ben S. Bernanke said the mortgage market is still so tight that he's having a hard time refinancing his own home loan. — The former Federal Reserve chairman, speaking at a conference in Chicago, told moderator Mark Zandi …

Discussion: Weekly Standard, InsideSources, New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal

Laura Vozzella / Washington Post:

McAuliffe aide suggested job for senator's daughter if he remained in his seat — RICHMOND — Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe's chief of staff left a voice-mail message for a Democrat who was on the verge of quitting the General Assembly in June, saying that the senator's daughter might …

Discussion: Hot Air and Talking Points Memo

Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:

Obama: Obamacare A Threat To Freedom On Fox News But It's Working In Reality — President Barack Obama swiped Fox News in a televised speech on Thursday, in which he mounted an aggressive defense of his economic record. — “There's a reason fewer Republicans are preaching doom on deficits …

Discussion: Liberal Values

The White House:
Remarks by the President on the Economy — Northwestern University

Discussion: Power Line, Shakesville, Washington Post, Campaign for America's Future, Eclectablog and White House.gov Blog

Fox News:

Panetta unloads on White House for pulling US forces out of Iraq — In this Feb. 22, 2013 photo, then U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta addresses a news conference during a NATO meeting at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels. (Reuters) — Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta …

Discussion: Fox News Insider and Scared Monkeys

Leon Panetta / TIME:
How the White House Misplayed Iraqi Troop Talks

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Speaker.gov, mccain.senate.gov, Lawfare, Power Line, Fox News Insider and “The Lid”

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:

Joe Biden On His Own Job: “Isn't It A Bitch?” — BIDEN'D. — Vice President Joe Biden joked to Harvard Institute of Politics on Thursday evening about the post of vice president. — “Ain't that a bitch,” Biden said to a student who identified himself as the vice president of the student body.

Discussion: Weekly Standard

The Atlantic Online:

Is Support for Gay Marriage Dropping? Don't Count On It — Last week, a Pew Research Center poll showed a 5-point drop in support for same-sex marriage between February (54 percent) and September (49 percent) of this year. The result set off much media speculation about the larger public-opinion trends.

Manny Fernandez / New York Times:

Decision Allows Abortion Law, Forcing 13 Texas Clinics to Close — DALLAS — Thirteen abortion clinics in Texas were forced to close immediately after a federal appellate court on Thursday sided with Texas in its yearlong legal battle over its sweeping abortion law and allowed the state …

Discussion: Dallas Morning News, Liberaland and American Prospect

Chris Thomas / WWBT-TV:

Henrico teen beaten at school, charged with assault — A Highland Springs High School student is now officially facing assault charges after being brutally attacked at school. Eric spent nine days in the hospital after a fight at Highland Springs High School left him with a long list of injuries.

Discussion: Towleroad News #gay, Raw Story and LGBTQ Nation

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:

How The Washington Post's Carol Leonnig Broke Open The Secret Service Scandal — NEW YORK — With the Secret Service under fire for a series of security lapses in presidential protection, there is one journalist who seems to have all the information. The White House, Congress and even Julia Pierson …

Discussion: Washington Post, Hot Air, The Federalist and The Daily Caller, more at Mediagazer »