memeorandum: Lecture Me. Really. — BEFORE the semester began earlier this fall … (Molly Worthen/New York Times)

11:45 PM ET, October 18, 2015

Top Items:

Ezra Klein / Vox:

Donald Trump has figured out Jeb Bush's greatest weakness as a candidate — I don't know if Donald Trump will win the Republican nomination. But even if he doesn't, it's increasingly clear he's going to destroy Jeb Bush before he loses. — Over the past week, Trump and Bush …

Discussion: Mother Jones, Philly.com, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Hullabaloo, NBC News and Washington Monthly

Karoun Demirjian / Washington Post:

Trump triples down on George W. Bush's responsibility for 9/11 — Donald Trump says he doesn't flat out blame former president George W. Bush that the Sept. 11 terror attacks happened on his watch. But he can think of three reasons why one could hold Bush responsible.

Discussion: Power Line, The PJ Tatler, addictinginfo.org, Business Insider, Prairie Weather and Jihad Watch

David Edwards / Raw Story:

CNN host destroys Jeb Bush: You blame Hillary for Benghazi but insist brother blameless for 9/11 — Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush struggled on Sunday to explain how he could blame Hillary Clinton for the attacks in Benghazi while insisting that George W. Bush was blameless for the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Discussion: NPR

Sara Jerde / Talking Points Memo:

Jeb Bush: ‘Does Anybody Actually Blame My Brother For 9/11?’ — Republican presidential candidate and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush on Sunday discussed comments GOP rival Donald Trump made about his brother and former President George W. Bush. — And one point in the interview he asked …

Discussion: Telegraph, BizPac Review, bradford-delong.com, NBC News, Mashable, Fox News Insider, Mediaite, CNN and The Gateway Pundit

Daily Mail:
Smoking gun emails reveal Blair's ‘deal in blood’ …

Discussion: Power Line, The Free Thought Project, Daily News Bin, Guardian, American Thinker, Washington Monthly and The Last Refuge

Bradford Richardson / The Hill: Trump: My immigration policies would have prevented 9/11

Kyle Balluck / The Hill:
Carson: Bush ‘certainly’ not responsible for 9/11

Discussion: Washington Post, Hot Air, Guardian and RedState

Select Committee on Benghazi, Democrats:

CIA Debunks Gowdy's Allegation That Clinton Email Contained Classified CIA Source — WASHINGTON—Today, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, the Ranking Member of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, sent a letter to Chairman Trey Gowdy to correct the public record after the CIA debunked Chairman Gowdy's accusation …

Discussion: Daily Kos, New York Times, Latest, Slantpoint and TalkLeft

CBS News:

Benghazi chairman to GOP colleagues: “Shut up” — Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-South Carolina, the man running the special House Committee to investigate the 2012 Benghazi attacks, has a message for his Republican colleagues and friends: “Shut up talking about things that you don't know anything about.”

Discussion: Newsweek, TalkLeft, Business Insider, Independent Journal and Mediaite

Michelle Ye Hee Lee / Washington Post:

Trey Gowdy to GOP colleagues: ‘Shut up’ if you're not on Benghazi panel — The chairman of the House committee investigating the deaths of four Americans in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012 pushed back against claims that the probe targeting then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's handling of the attacks was politically motivated.

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:
Will Hillary Clinton Be Pilloried by the Benghazi Committee?

Discussion: Althouse

Sara Jerde / Talking Points Memo:

Trump Says He Will Cut The EPA As Prez: 'We'll Be Fine With The Environment' — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said Sunday that he would cut government agencies if he were elected President. — Among them? The Department of Education and the Environmental Protection Agency …

Sara Jerde / Talking Points Memo:

Cruz: Trump's Campaign Has Been ‘Immensely Beneficial’ To My Own (VIDEO) — Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said Sunday that he thought GOP rival Donald Trump's campaign had actually benefitted his own. — “I think Donald's campaign has been immensely beneficial for our campaign,” Cruz said.

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Todd Beamon / Newsmax:
Secret Service to Protect Trump, Carson as Threats Grow

Discussion: The Hill and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Daniel Strauss / Politico: Cruz: Trump's campaign helping mine

USA Today:

Bedlam, death rock Florida ZombiCon fest — FORT MYERS, Fla. — A manhunt was underway Sunday after a shooting rampage at a zombie-themed festival left one person dead, five wounded and pandemonium on downtown streets. — The wounded victims at ZombiCon on Saturday night were hospitalized …

Discussion: Hullabaloo

CNN:
Deadly shooting sparks panic at ZombiCon event in Fort Myers, Florida

Discussion: Associated Press, The News-Press, Reuters, ZombiCon, Mediaite, Scared Monkeys and Daily Mail

Molly Worthen / New York Times:

Lecture Me. Really. — BEFORE the semester began earlier this fall, I went to check out the classroom where I would be teaching an introductory American history course. Like most classrooms at my university, this one featured lots of helpful gadgets: a computer console linked to an audiovisual system …

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money and ProfessorBainbridge.com

Ben Schreckinger / Politico:

When Donald Trump Quits — The GOP pack leader promises to stay in the 2016 race because he ‘NEVER gives up.’ But his business deals show a knack for spotting a coming decline. — Donald Trump poses for photos outside the New York Stock Exchange after he took his flagship Trump Plaza Casino public.

Maureen Callahan / New York Post:

Nixon shamelessly tried to sleep with female staffers — President Richard Nixon sits at his desk in the Oval Officer on September 16, 1974. — “Tricky Dick,” indeed. — During his time in the White House, President Richard Nixon — pug-nosed, jowly, irascible, charmless-yet-devoted husband to Pat …

Discussion: Liberaland