memeorandum: GOP staffer fired from the House panel investigating Benghazi attacks (Tom Hamburger/Washington Post)

7:55 PM ET, October 11, 2015

Top Items:

Poll: Donald Trump still leads, Ben Carson in second — The race for the GOP nomination — Donald Trump continues to lead the field nationally in the race to become the Republican nominee for president. Twenty-seven percent of Republican primary voters support Trump …

Discussion: Political Wire, Washington Post, Outside the Beltway, Business Insider, OnPolitics and Patterico's Pontifications

Frank Bruni / New York Times:

The Republicans' Ugly Revolt — OVER the last two decades, through Bob Dole and George W. Bush and John McCain and Mitt Romney, it has become an article of faith that the Republican presidential nominee is a person blessed by, or acceptable to, the party's establishment, meaning the elders …

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:

Romney's path to GOP nomination eludes Jeb — On paper, Jeb Bush's 2016 campaign mirrors Mitt Romney's 2012 efforts, but Bush faces a far steeper climb to the nomination, political watchers say. — With three popular outsider candidates leading the race, rising establishment contenders …

Discussion: Political Wire and Progress Pond

Dan Balz / Washington Post:
Back in the pack, this is not the campaign Chris Christie envisioned

Discussion: Bwog

Mark Halperin / Bloomberg Business:

Joe Biden and Paul Ryan Face Decisions That Could Shape Politics for Years to Come — The two men who faced off in the 2012 vice presidential debate are each at a crossroads. — MarkHalperin — Former rivals Vice President Joe Biden and Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan are facing looming decisions …

Discussion: Political Wire

Bradford Richardson / The Hill:

Founder: Freedom Caucus not sold on Ryan — Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the founder of the House Freedom Caucus, says his group is not sold on Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) for Speaker. — “Well, look, Paul Ryan is a friend, I meet with him every single week, we talk about policy, I think he's be a great messenger.

Discussion: Political Wire

Ross Douthat / New York Times:
Wanted: a Tea Party Speaker

Discussion: National Review and Daily Kos

David Edwards / Raw Story:

ABC host destroys Bobby Jindal's ‘no-fly zone’ plan with four simple words: 'ISIS doesn't have aircraft' — DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY! — Republican presidential candidate Bobby Jindal said over the weekend that he had a plan to defeat ISIS using “no-fly zones” …

Discussion: ABC News, addictinginfo.org and LiberalAmerica.org

Sarah Boxer / The Atlantic:

The Exemplary Narcissism of Snoopy … It really was a dark and stormy night. On February 12, 2000, Charles Schulz—who had single-handedly drawn some 18,000 Peanuts comic strips, who refused to use assistants to ink or letter his comics, who vowed that after he quit, no new Peanuts strips would be made …

Ryan Martin / Indianapolis Star:

Indy woman uses medieval combat training, sword to stop intruder — Rule No. 1: Don't break into the home of a woman with medieval combat training. — CONNECT — When a man broke into Karen Dolley's home on Thursday night, her training in medieval combat came in handy. So did her sword.

Discussion: Refinery29, Raw Story, WCTX-TV, Daily Mail, Scared Monkeys, Althouse and Moe Lane

Bradford Richardson / The Hill:

McConnell denounces Obama's ‘mind-boggling’ foreign policy — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell railed against President Obama's foreign policy on Sunday, calling his philosophy “mind-boggling” and evidence of a belief in “American retreat around the world.”

Edward Klein / New York Post:

Clinton's camp says she ‘could have a serious meltdown’ — U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton — Hillary is furious — and while Clinton advisers think that may save her, it's making the lives of those who work for her hell. — “Hillary's been having screaming …

Discussion: BizPac Review and Althouse

Christian Datoc / The Daily Caller:

DNC Chair: Republicans Are Saying 'Yeah, Let's Kick Women ... Out Of This Country' [VIDEO] — Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz told CNN's Dana Bash Sunday that all of the remaining Republican presidential candidates are trying to “out-Trump Donald Trump” and are saying, “yeah, let's kick women.

Discussion: MichelleMalkin.com, The Hill, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Instapundit and The Gateway Pundit

Nicholas Kristof / New York Times:

The Asian Advantage — THIS is an awkward question, but here goes: Why are Asian-Americans so successful in America? — It's no secret that Asian-Americans are disproportionately stars in American schools, and even in American society as a whole. Census data show that Americans …