memeorandum: VP debate ratings lowest since 2000 (Alex Weprin/Politico)

2:40 PM ET, October 5, 2016

Top Items:

Michael Levenson / BostonGlobe.com:

Bill Weld says he will focus his fire on Donald Trump — The Libertarian vice presidential candidate, William F. Weld, said Tuesday that he plans to focus exclusively on blasting Donald Trump over the next five weeks, a strategic pivot aimed at denying Trump the White House and giving himself a key role in helping to rebuild the GOP.

Discussion: Salon, Hot Air, Mediaite and Talking Points Memo

Fairleigh Dickinson University:

VP Picks Favored More than Trump and Clinton in Fairleigh Dickinson University National Poll; — Results Put Clinton Over Trump by Double Digits — In the race for the White House, the most recent national survey of likely voters from Fairleigh Dickinson University's PublicMind finds …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, No More Mister Nice Blog, Politicus USA and Political Wire

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

The Mike Pence vs. Tim Kaine vice-presidential debate transcript, annotated — Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence met face-to-face for the first time Tuesday night, as the running mates took part in the only vice-presidential debate of the 2016 election.

David Frum / The Atlantic:

Mike Pence Pretends That Trump Never Happened — They call it the debate that meant nothing. That's true if your mind is focused on November 8, as most minds are. But if you care to gaze a little further into the future than that, Tuesday night's vice-presidential debate revealed something big …

Margaret Hartmann / New York Magazine:

Libertarian VP Candidate Bill Weld Gives Up, Will Focus on Preventing Trump Presidency — As some presumably small portion of Americans sat through a dull debate between the Republican and Democratic vice presidential nominees on Tuesday night, a far more interesting drama was unfolding within the Libertarian ticket.

Discussion: New Urban Legends, Towleroad and The Week

David Weigel / Washington Post:

Aftermath of Kaine-Pence debate pits reality against alternate reality — FARMVILLE, Va. — The first and last vice presidential debate of 2016 was not just a clash of candidates, but a clash of realities — and of two theories about how media and politics work.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo, Mother Jones, New York Times, neo-neocon, The Gateway Pundit and Politico

Steven Shepard / Politico:

Insiders: Pence outclassed Trump — Mike Pence didn't just defeat Tim Kaine in their only debate — he also outshined Donald Trump. — A majority of the battleground-state insiders who comprise The POLITICO Caucus gave Pence the edge over Kaine in their vice presidential debate …

Discussion: Washington Post, Rush Limbaugh, Mediaite, The Hill, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Vox, The Week, ThinkProgress, ABC News, Hot Air, 24Ahead and MichelleMalkin.com

LeftOfCenter / Latest from Crooks and Liars:

He-Men Of Fox News: Emasculated Because Kaine Said ‘Person’ — So the morning after on Fox, Tucker Carlson goes on a rant against gender-neutral language. At the VP debate, Senator Tim Kaine proclaimed himself as “Hillary Clinton's right-hand person,' and Tucker is sure that's proof …

Discussion: The Nation

Peter Schroeder / The Hill:

RNC: Kaine interrupted over 70 times — The Republican National Committee claimed Tim Kaine — and the moderator over 70 times during Tuesday's vice presidential debate. — Shortly after the debate ended, the RNC made a quick note of Kaine's aggressive style in an email to reporters.

Discussion: ABC News, Scared Monkeys, Business Insider, Mediaite, Politico, Washington Free Beacon, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and AOL

Ezra Klein / Vox:
Reports suggest Donald Trump is unhappy with Mike Pence for winning the VP debate

Discussion: alan.com, Salon, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, RedState, Business Insider, AOL and The Week

Henry C. Jackson / Politico:
6 things Trump definitely said that Pence claimed he didn't

Discussion: The Atlantic, CNN, Slate, McClatchy Washington Bureau, The Huffington Post, Mother Jones, Los Angeles Times, The Week, Media Matters for America, Washington Monthly, Guardian, AOL and Washington Post

Frank Bruni / New York Times:
Mike Pence's Galling Amnesia

Discussion: Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times

Katie Rogers / New York Times:
‘That Mexican Thing’ Takes On Life After the Debate

Discussion: Medium, Mediaite, Political Wire, USA Today, Daily Kos, Breitbart, Mother Jones, Wired, Vox, twitchy.com, NPR, The Federalist, CBS New York and Althouse

Tom Boggioni / Raw Story:
The internet loses it after Pence accuses Kaine of ‘whipping out that Mexican thing again’

Discussion: CNN, TheBlaze.com, Heat Street, Mediaite and Balloon Juice

Louis Nelson / Politico:
Trump's campaign manager denies he's irked at being upstaged by Pence

Discussion: ABC News, Hot Air and Vox

CNN:
Pence edges Kaine in VP debate instant poll

Discussion: The Atlantic, Washington Post, Hot Air, Washington Examiner, Independent Journal Review, Infowars, The Times of Israel, National Review and Media Matters for America

Alex Weprin / Politico:
VP debate ratings lowest since 2000

Discussion: Independent Journal Review and Vox

Ben Schreckinger / Politico:
Republicans pine for Pence at top of ticket

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Magazine and CNN

Ali Breland / The Hill:
CNN poll: Pence won debate

Discussion: Politico, Scared Monkeys, ABC News and Washington Post

Jeff Stein / Vox:
Mike Pence says Clinton-Kaine is an “insult-driven” campaign as Trump tweets insults

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post, Salon, Daily Kos, CNNMoney, Fox News, Hullabaloo, Independent Journal Review and Balloon Juice

Jill Serjeant / Reuters:
TV audience for vice presidential debate about half that of Trump-Clinton

Discussion: Fox News Insider

New York Times:

N.S.A. Contractor Arrested in Possible New Theft of Secrets — WASHINGTON — The F.B.I. secretly arrested a National Security Agency contractor in recent weeks and is investigating whether he stole and disclosed highly classified computer codes developed to hack into the networks of foreign governments …

Discussion: The Hill, U.S. Department of Justice, Mother Jones, Talking Points Memo, Guardian, Hot Air, Business Insider, RT, Jezebel, Independent Journal Review, Engadget, The Verge, Boing Boing, The Week, McClatchy Washington Bureau and Mashable

Juliet Eilperin / Washington Post:

Al Gore to campaign for Clinton, hoping to galvanize young voters on climate change — Former vice president Al Gore will start campaigning for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, according to individuals briefed on the plan, in an effort to mobilize young voters who see climate change as a key issue.

Discussion: New Republic, Washington Free Beacon, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller and The Week

Sarah Ferris / The Hill:
Bill Clinton goes way off message on ObamaCare

Discussion: Hot Air, Instapundit, Politico, Patterico's Pontifications and ABC News

Daniel Strauss / Politico:
Al Gore to hit campaign trail for Clinton

Discussion: RedState, Daily Wire and Towleroad

Alex Griswold / Mediaite:
Andrea Mitchell Says Clinton Will Soon Unveil Secret Weapon to Attract Millennials... Al Gore

Discussion: Red Alert Politics and The Daily Caller

Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo:

WATCH: Megyn Kelly Reminds Conway Why Trump Polls Poorly With Women — In a post-debate interview on Tuesday night, Fox News' host Megyn Kelly pushed Donald Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway to defend the Republican nominee's low poll numbers with women, telling Conway that women …

Discussion: The Week

Callum Borchers / Washington Post:
Donald Trump sniped at Megyn Kelly as the vice presidential debate began

Discussion: New York Magazine, WRIC-TV, BizPac Review, Mediaite, Hullabaloo, WJHL, Politicus USA, USA TODAY College, Vox, Mashable and Joe.My.God.

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Momentum shifts in battle for Senate — Democrats are seizing on Sen. Kelly Ayotte — 's (R-N.H.) remarks at a debate that Donald Trump — is “absolutely” a role model for children as a pivotal moment in the race for the Senate majority. — The Democrats see Ayotte's comments …

Discussion: Politico, alan.com, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Associated Press

Richard Rubin / Wall Street Journal:

Trump's October Surprise? It Could Be His 2015 Tax Return — Donald Trump has been reeling this week after The New York Times published portions of his 1995 state tax returns showing a $916 million loss that could offset his income from 1996 forward. Releasing the 2015 tax return could give him an opportunity to counter that story.

Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:
On local radio show, Eric Trump accidentally admits why his father won't release his taxes

Discussion: Washington Post, alan.com, The Daily Beast, BuzzFeed, ABC News and Politico

Michelle Fields / The Huffington Post:

Conservative News Darling Is Falling Apart, Staff Says — Glenn Beck's The Blaze was once the envy of other right-leaning sites. Not anymore. — WASHINGTON Glenn Beck's website The Blaze is coming apart, suffering from a lack of editorial direction, staff attrition and internal discord, according to sources inside the news outlet.

Discussion: Raw Story and Mediaite

Monmouth University:

Monmouth University Polling Institute — Ohio — Tight Race for Prez; Portman Widens Senate Lead — Kasich's anti-Trump stand still popular — West Long Branch, NJ - Hillary Clinton holds a slim 2 point lead over Donald Trump in the perennial battleground state of Ohio, compared to a 4 point lead in mid-August.

Discussion: Politicus USA and Politico

CNN:

Hurricane Matthew: US evacuations begin ahead of storm — Are you affected by Hurricane Matthew? If it is safe for you to do so, WhatsApp us on *+44 7435 939 154* to share your photos, experiences and video. Please tag #CNNiReport in your message. — (CNN)Hurricane Matthew likely …