memeorandum: How Ahmed's clock became a false, convenient tale of racism (Kyle Smith/New York Post)

11:20 AM ET, September 20, 2015

Top Items:

Eric Bradner / CNN:

Poll: Fiorina rockets to No. 2 behind Trump in GOP field — Washington (CNN)Carly Fiorina has rocketed into second place in the Republican presidential field on the heels another strong debate and Donald Trump has lost some support, a new national CNN/ORC poll shows.

Discussion: NBC News, Talking Points Memo, Political Wire, OnPolitics, Althouse, Slantpoint, Hot Air, Mashable and Rasmussen Reports

Chris Strohm / Bloomberg Business:

Republican Ben Carson Says Muslim Shouldn't Be U.S. President — The Islamic faith isn't “consistent” with the U.S. Constitution, and a Muslim shouldn't be president, Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson said. — “I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation …

Discussion: ABC News

ABC News:

???This Week??? Transcript: Donald Trump and Sen. Marco Rubio — THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT FOR ??? THIS WEEK??? ON SEPTEMBER 20, 2015 (BEGIN VIDETOAPE) ANNOUNCER (voice-over): Starting right now on ABC, THIS WEEK, Trump under fire. The GOP front-runner taking heat for what he didn't say.

Discussion: Political Wire

CNN:

Trump to CNN: ‘I love the Muslims’ — Urbandale, Iowa (CNN)Donald Trump on Saturday responded to a question from CNN about whether Muslims pose a danger to the country, saying: “I love the Muslims. I think they're great people.” — The Republican presidential front-runner made the comment …

Discussion: Raw Story, Daily Mail, Washington Post, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Slantpoint and BarbWire.com

Nick Gass / Politico:

Ben Carson: America's president can't be Muslim — <p>The president of the United States should not be a Muslim, Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson declared during an interview airing Sunday morning. And Islam, a faith professed by some 3 million Americans, is not constitutional …

Discussion: Power Line

Alison Elkin / Bloomberg Business:

“It wasn't people from Sweden that blew up the World Trade Center,” he said. — Donald Trump on Sunday doubled down on last week's controversial comments about Muslims. — Trump, the front runner for the 2016 Republican nomination, was asked on CNN's State of the Union about his campaign rally in New Hampshire on Thursday.

Discussion: Politico

Ed Demaria / NBC News:

Ben Carson Does Not Believe a Muslim Should Be President — Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson said he would not support a Muslim as President of the United States. — Responding to a question on “Meet the Press,” the retired neurosurgeon said, “I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation.

Discussion: Political Wire

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
White House rips Trump over birther reaction

Discussion: ABC News and Politico

Ta-Nehisi Coates / The Atlantic:

The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration … Never marry again in slavery. — Margaret Garner, 1858 — Wherever the law is, crime can be found. — Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, 1973 — I. — “lower-class behavior in our cities is shaking them apart.”

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Raw Story, Guardian, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Unfogged

Kyle Smith / New York Post:

How Ahmed's clock became a false, convenient tale of racism — When is America going to get serious about the problem of white kids getting suspended from school for nothing? — By now you've heard the story of Ahmed Mohamed, crowned by the Daily Beast “The Muslim Hero America Has Been Waiting For” …

Discussion: The Virtual Militia Musters …

Sarah Palin / Facebook:

I Guess Muhammad's Pencil Box is Cooler Than the Palin Kids' — “It doesn't look like a pencil box to me.” I love Bristol's perspective on this. You have to read this: — http://www.patheos.com/.../obama- invites-kid-mistakenly-arre.../ — Talk about the dangers of a reactionary-slash-biased media!

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Raw Story, Pharyngula, BizPac Review, Slate, BREITBART.COM, Hot Air, Mock Paper Scissors, Slantpoint and Talking Points Memo

Mike Lillis / The Hill:

Democrats: Sanders unelectable — The surging popularity of Sen. Bernie Sanders has done little to alleviate the chief concern that Democrats have about his presidential bid: Namely, that he's simply unelectable on a national stage. — The Vermont Independent has quickly closed the gap …

Discussion: Booman Tribune

Robert King / Washington Examiner:

Castro praises Pope's anti-capitalism stance — Share Tweet Reddit Digg Mail Print SMS More — Pope Francis has arrived in Havana this afternoon and starts a historic 10-day visit to Cuba and the United States, according to reports. — Cuban President Raul Castro welcomed Pope Francis in a long speech at the airport.

Discussion: telesurtv.net, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Gateway Pundit and Twitchy

Cortney O'Brien / Townhall.com:

‘That Face’ Surpasses Trump in New Hampshire — Donald Trump will certainly want to take a closer ‘look at that face’ now that Carly Fiorina has surpassed him in a new New Hampshire poll. In a Voter Gravity survey conducted the day after Wednesday night's second presidential GOP debate, Fiorina comes out on top:

Discussion: Guardian, Joe.My.God., No More Mister Nice Blog and Voter Gravity