memeorandum: This is the way Trump ends — SAN PEDRO, Calif. — It had all the makings of A Moment. (Andrew Romano/Yahoo)

9:15 AM ET, September 17, 2015

Top Items:

Ben Schreckinger / Politico:

Trumped: His 14 most memorable debate lines — Donald Trump did it again. After an explosive first debate in which Trump clashed with the moderators and stole the show, the bomb-throwing frontrunner came out swinging at the second Republican debate in Simi Valley, California, on Wednesday.

Discussion: The Hill, Weekly Standard, ABC News and Bloomberg.com news

Dan Balz / Washington Post:

The rest of the field figured out how to make Trump not quite as dominant — SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — Something unusual happened here Wednesday when the Republican presidential candidates met for their second debate: For the first time since he joined the race, Donald Trump wasn't the commanding presence on the stage.

Discussion: New York Times, Politico, Wall Street Journal, BuzzFeed, Taylor Marsh, Political Wire, ABC News, WPRI-TV, Guardian, Washington Post and Business Insider

Michael Warren / Weekly Standard:

Carly's Night — From the beginning of her campaign for president, Carly Fiorina has had to deal with lowered expectations, encapsulated in a frequent question: Aren't you just running for vice president? “People ask that because I'm a woman and I'm not a politician,” she told me earlier this year.

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico, No More Mister Nice Blog and CNN

Ben Schreckinger / Politico:

A Trump lie: He tried to expand casino gambling in Florida — Jeb Bush said Donald Trump gave him money in the form of political donations and then tried to get him to expand casino gambling in Florida.Trump denied it — “I promise you, if I wanted it, I would've gotten it,” …

Discussion: Bloomberg Business and JustOneMinute

Eli Stokols / Politico:

Trump fails to stampede GOP herd — SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — For once, it wasn't all about Donald Trump.While the billionaire businessman continues to dominate the polls, he took serious heat from all sides during the second Republican presidential debate here, with Trump's rivals managing …

Discussion: Daily Kos and The Moderate Voice

Elizabeth F. Ralph / Politico:

‘Look in the Mirror, Fat Boy’ — Ronald Reagan's sons discuss Donald Trump and 2016. — Ronald Reagan's sons have one thing to say to Donald Trump: We knew Ronald Reagan. Ronald Reagan was our father. And you're no Ronald Reagan. — The conservative 40th president has been a touchstone …

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, Hit & Run, Hot Air, Talking Points Memo and Wall Street Journal

Andrew Romano / Yahoo:

This is the way Trump ends — SAN PEDRO, Calif. — It had all the makings of A Moment. — On the eve of the second Republican presidential debate, set to take place Wednesday at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, Calif., GOP frontrunner Donald Trump boarded the mighty USS Iowa battleship …

Discussion: Reason, Liberaland, Washington Post and Betsy's Page

James Nash / Bloomberg Business:

Long Shadow of Donald Trump Dominates Debate He Missed — The four candidates who faced off in the “undercard” Republican presidential debate Wednesday in California have 70 years of elected experience among them, including 24 years in the Senate and 19 years in governor's offices.

Discussion: Hot Air and Politico

John Harwood / CNBC:
10 questions for Carly Fiorina

Discussion: The Hill, Business Insider, Washington Post, Philly.com, The Gateway Pundit, Slantpoint, Jezebel, Taylor Marsh, No More Mister Nice Blog, Hot Air, Talking Points Memo and The PJ Tatler

Rick Wilson / Politico:
It's Time to Declare War on Donald Trump

Discussion: DownWithTyranny!, Hit & Run, Talking Points Memo, The Brody File, Hot Air, CNBC and ABC News

Arit John / Bloomberg Business:
To paraphrase the stars of the cutthroat reality TV competitions …

Discussion: Politico and Bloomberg.com news

Washington Post:
Wednesday's GOP debate transcript, annotated

Discussion: Hit & Run, Campaign for America's Future and Mashable

Ben Brody / Bloomberg Business:
The experts speak. — As 15 Republican presidential candidates head …

Discussion: Politico

Brian Beutler / New Republic:
What's at Stake in the Second Republican Debate: Full Panic in the GOP

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Booman Tribune and WBUR

Ricochet:
The Debate We Were Supposed to Have

Discussion: Hot Air, Politico and Instapundit

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:
The GOP debate: 5 things to watch

Discussion: Bloomberg View, Bloomberg Business, Bloomberg.com news, The Daily Beast, ABC News and Daily Kos

The Hill:

Obama invites suspended Muslim teen to the White House — A Texas teenager who was suspended from school for bringing a homemade clock to class received a 21st century invitation from President Obama on Wednesday to visit the White House. — Instead of making a traditional phone call …

Discussion: BREITBART.COM, The Federalist and Dallas Morning News

Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D. / BREITBART.COM:
White House Invites Several Opponents of Catholic Teaching to Greet Pope Francis

Discussion: LifeNews.com and Naked Politics

Terrence Dopp / Bloomberg Business:
Boy Arrested for Building Clock Gets a White House Invite From Obama

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Twitchy and Politico

Bloomberg Business:
Obama Says U.S. Ready to Act Against China Over Hacking

Discussion: Politico

Ben Brody / Bloomberg Business:
Obama Jabs at Trump's Slogan, Saying 'America's Great Right Now'

Discussion: Associated Press, Politico, ABC News, The Gateway Pundit, The Atlantic, Guardian, UPROXX, Talking Points Memo and Mashable

Brent Budowsky / The Hill:

Biden-Warren in 2016? — Until now, my position regarding the 2016 campaign has been to support Hillary Clinton for president and to be extravagantly friendly toward Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and his supporters, who embody the heart, soul and idealism of the Democratic Party at its best.

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

Hillary Clinton Is Stuck In A Poll-Deflating Feedback Loop — It's the candidates who play the long game, and play by the establishment's rules, who usually win presidential nominations. Political parties have lots of ways to influence the race in favor of these candidates …

Discussion: NewsBusters, Bloomberg View and Instapundit

Anna Palmer / Politico:

McCarthy, Ryan call for end to Boehner drama — The only two viable potential replacements for John Boehner as speaker of the House say they back the Ohio Republican and will oppose any effort to remove him from power. But other high-ranking Republicans are testing the waters …

Discussion: Political Wire

Billy House / Bloomberg Business:
Boehner Confronts Choices, None Easy, to Avoid Shutdown

Discussion: Politico, neo-neocon and Hot Air

Tal Kopan / CNN:

Republican presidential debate: Live updates — Welcome to the CNN live blog, where we'll be bringing you all the best moments from the debate — on the stage, on social media and behind the scenes. — Your host for the evening is CNN political reporter Tal Kopan, who will also be bringing …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Slantpoint, The Gateway Pundit and Associated Press

Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:
How you can stream the GOP debate

Discussion: VentureBeat, Mediaite, Hot Air, The Daily Caller and Wall Street Journal

Milo Yiannopoulos / BREITBART.COM:

Sexbots: Why Women Should Panic — Sex with robots will be ‘the norm’ in 50 years, say experts. Men are considering the prospect with curiosity and a sense of humour. But academics and feminists are terrified and calling for them to be banned. Let me tell you why.

Discussion: Rush Limbaugh and Joe.My.God.

Mark Zuckerberg / Facebook:

You've probably seen the story about Ahmed, the 14 year old student in Texas who built a clock and was arrested when he took it to school. — Having the skill and ambition to build something cool should lead to applause, not arrest. The future belongs to people like Ahmed.