memeorandum: McAuliffe aide suggested job for senator's daughter if he remained in his seat (Laura Vozzella/Washington Post)

12:40 PM 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.

Discussion: Power Line

Maggie Haberman / Politico:

Exclusive: Hillary Clinton plans midterm blitz — Hillary Clinton has mapped out much of her political schedule through Election Day, an itinerary that focuses on helping Senate candidates and includes trips to a half-dozen states, including Kentucky and presidential early states Iowa and New Hampshire …

Discussion: Political Insider blog and Taylor Marsh

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: RedState, Washington Free Beacon, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Betsy's Page, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, 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

John Fund / National Review:

Obama's Éminence Grise — As the Obama administration crashes and burns, insiders begin to blame Valerie Jarrett. — Are significant chunks of the mainstream media in despair over Barack Obama? This past week, Obama used 60 Minutes to attempt to shift blame for the failure …

Discussion: Power Line, JustOneMinute and The PJ Tatler

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: Talking Points Memo, Hinterland Gazette, Business Insider and Washington Free Beacon

Alex Roarty / National Journal:
Ebola Scare, Secret Service Enter Campaign Politics

Discussion: WRAL-TV and Daily Kos

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: Talking Points Memo, Washington Monthly, Politico, Hit & Run, Hot Air, OnPolitics, No More Mister Nice Blog, Fox News and ABC News

Daniel Larison / The American Conservative:
Lindsey Graham: The Embodiment of Everything Wrong with the GOP

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

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

Gabrielle Canon / Mother Jones:
Budget Cuts “Eroded Our Ability to Respond” to Ebola, Says Top Health Official

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

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

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

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

Discussion: CNN and VodkaPundit

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: WTVR-TV and Talking Points Memo

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
McAuliffe aide offered job to daughter of Democrat who left VA state legislature

Discussion: RedState

Irin Carmon / msnbc.com:

5th Circuit decision to close most of Texas abortion clinics — The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals Thursday allowed Texas to begin enforcing tough new abortion restrictions that will effectively close all but eight abortion facilities in the nation's second-largest state.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Monthly, Washington Post and Associated Press

Manny Fernandez / New York Times:
Decision Allows Abortion Law, Forcing 13 Texas Clinics to Close

Discussion: American Prospect and Dallas Morning News

Rusty Marks / Charleston Gazette:

Sources: Charleston cop suspended over videos — Charleston Police Lt. Shawn Williams talks to the media on the West Side in April. Williams has been suspended from the force and is under investigation. — CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Charleston police lieutenant on paid administrative leave …

Discussion: Liberaland and Raw Story

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 PJ Tatler, Scared Monkeys, The Huffington Post, 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, Liberaland 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, Wall Street Journal and Campaign for Liberty

Peter Hamby / CNN:

Could Rand Paul support gay marriage? — Charleston, South Carolina (CNN) — Campus politics aren't always a clear winner for Rand Paul, as he discovered here this week during an appearance at the College of Charleston. — The Kentucky Republican and potential 2016 contender opened …

Discussion: Washington Post and The Daily Caller

The White House:

Remarks by the President on the Economy — Northwestern University — THE PRESIDENT: Hello, Evanston! (Applause.) Hello, Northwestern! (Applause.) Thank you so much. Everybody, have a seat. Have a seat. It is so good to be here. Go 'Cats! (Applause.)