memeorandum: Donald Trump's great big, beautiful missed opportunity (Byron York/Washington Examiner)

10:30 PM ET, October 27, 2016

Top Items:

Maxine Bernstein / Oregonian:

Oregon standoff: All defendants found not guilty — Update at 4:10 p.m.: All defendants found not guilty. — Update: The jury reported to the court Thursday afternoon that it has reached consensus on all but one charge. The jury sent a note to the judge that members have …

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, The Seattle Times, Hit & Run, Daily Kos, Shot in the Dark and KOIN-TV

Kirk Johnson / New York Times:

Bundy Brothers Acquitted in Takeover of Oregon Wildlife Refuge — PORTLAND, Ore. — Ammon and Ryan Bundy and five of their followers, charged in the armed takeover of a federally owned Oregon wildlife sanctuary in January, were acquitted Thursday of federal conspiracy and weapons charges.

Discussion: Washington Times, Independent Journal Review, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Boing Boing

Maxine Bernstein / Oregonian:

Jury finds all Oregon standoff defendants not guilty of federal conspiracy, gun charges — A federal jury on Thursday found Ammon Bundy, his brother Ryan Bundy and five co-defendants not guilty of conspiring to prevent federal employees from doing their jobs through intimidation …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Associated Press, Washington Post, The Crime Report and fox13now.com

Conrad Wilson / OPB:
All Seven Defendants Found Not Guilty In Refuge Occupation Trial

Discussion: Vox

Bloomberg:

Inside the Trump Bunker, With 12 Days to Go — Win or lose, the Republican candidate and his inner circle have built a direct marketing operation that could power a TV network—or finish off the GOP. — Subscribe Reprints — On Oct. 19, as the third and final presidential debate gets …

David A. Graham / The Atlantic:
Trump's ‘Voter Suppression Operation’ Targets Black Voters

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Magazine, CityLab, Daily Kos, Eschaton, Independent Journal Review and ABC News

Vine:

Important News about Vine — Since 2013, millions of people have turned to Vine to laugh at loops and see creativity unfold. Today, we are sharing the news that in the coming months we'll be discontinuing the mobile app. — Nothing is happening to the apps, website or your Vines today.

Telegraph:

Former Miss Finland becomes 12th woman to accuse Trump of sexual assault — A former Miss Finland has become the twelfth woman to come forward and accuse Donald Trump of sexual assault, with two weeks to go until the US election. — Ninni Laaksonen, now 30, was crowned Miss Finland in 2006.

Discussion: Mediaite, Guardian, Daily Kos, RT, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, Occupy Democrats and The Week

Mark Hensch / The Hill:

Ex-Miss Finland: Trump groped me — The 2006 Miss Finland says Donald Trump — groped her the same year she won the beauty pageant, according to a new report. — Ninni Laaksonen, now 30, is the 12th woman to recently accuse the GOP presidential nominee of sexual misconduct before Election Day, The Telegraph said Thursday.

Discussion: RedState

Matthew Nussbaum / Politico:

Pence plane skids off runway, passengers OK — A plane carrying Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pence skidded off the runway Thursday evening after landing at New York's LaGuardia airport. No one was injured. — Pence was traveling with his wife and eldest daughter …

Discussion: CNN, CBS New York, Townhall.com, RedState, Fox News, NBC News, The Gateway Pundit, The Last Refuge, Gothamist, KTLA, The Week, TVNewser, Independent Journal Review, Fox 59, Mediaite and Guardian

David Caplan / ABC News:
Mike Pence's Plane Skids Off Runway at NYC's LaGuardia Airport, Prompting Runway Closures

Discussion: Business Insider, The Week and Guardian

Nolan D. McCaskill / Politico:

Trump: ‘We should just cancel the election and just give it to Trump’ — Donald Trump suggested canceling the election Thursday and granting himself the presidency. — “What a difference. You know, what a difference this is,” Trump said during a rally in Toledo, Ohio, after comparing his tax plan with Hillary Clinton's.

Discussion: ABC News and Balloon Juice

Rachael Bade / Politico:

Who could replace Paul Ryan? — Speaker Paul Ryan's suddenly shaky future as House speaker is already prompting closed-door talk among House Republicans about who'd take over if he steps aside or is spurned by archconservatives. — Between his falling out with Donald Trump and his ongoing standoff …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal

Scott Wong / The Hill:
Ryan has little margin for error in Speaker vote

Discussion: Booman Tribune, Politico, The Week and Politicus USA

Alexis Levinson / National Review:
NRCC Ad Praises Congressman For Not Backing Trump

Discussion: Washington Post, Hot Air, Business Insider, Talking Points Memo and The Daily Caller

S.e. Cupp / New York Times:

The Lonely Life of a Republican Woman — As has become typical in an election marked by its often unpleasant surprises, I awoke to a storm of outrage on Twitter on Wednesday morning. Newt Gingrich had told Fox's Megyn Kelly that she was “fascinated with sex” and didn't “care about public policy.”

Discussion: The Week and Mother Jones

Matt Bai / Yahoo:

Live from Trump Tower, the Ultimate Conspiracy — Maybe the wisest bit of cautionary advice I ever heard about the media came from my brother-in-law, Paul, who grew up in rural Virginia. “Just remember, son,” Paul's Uncle Russell used to tell him, “paper'll lay down and let you write whatever you want on it.”

Discussion: NPR

Burgess Everett / Politico:

Republicans at war over Supreme Court — Senate Republicans are choosing sides ahead of a brutal conflict over how to handle the lingering Supreme Court vacancy, with Jeff Flake firing back Thursday at a suggestion by Ted Cruz that the party could indefinitely block any nominee from Hillary Clinton.

Discussion: Political Wire, The Daily Signal and The Federalist

Seung Min Kim / Politico:
Kelli Ward aims to oust Flake in 2018

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Yalerecord / The Yale Record:

The Yale Record Does Not Endorse Hillary Clinton — In its 144-year history, The Yale Record has never endorsed a Democratic candidate for president. In fact, we have never endorsed any candidate for president. This is, in part, due to our strong commitment to being a tax-exempt 501(c) …

Discussion: TaxProf Blog, Independent Journal Review, Occupy Democrats, Law News, Washington Times, Balloon Juice and The Daily Caller

Katie Jennings / Politico:

Christie's lieutenant governor goes rogue — Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno staked her independence from Gov. Chris Christie on Thursday morning, in a highly public break with the governor who had plucked her from relative obscurity to serve as his running mate. — Christie and Guadagno racked …

Discussion: Political Wire

Richard Wolf / USA Today:

Justice Clarence Thomas: Nation's capital is ‘broken’ — Justice Clarence Thomas said Wednesday that the Supreme Court confirmation process is an example of how the nation's capital is “broken in some ways.” Thomas reflected on his 25 years as a justice while speaking at the Heritage Foundation.

Discussion: CNN, Daily Wire, Fox News Insider and ABC News

Tierney Sneed / Talking Points Memo:
Lawyer Alleges Justice Thomas Groped Her When She Was A Young Scholar

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Balloon Juice

Gregory Korte / USA Today:

Obama grants 98 more commutations, setting single-year clemency record — WASHINGTON — President Obama granted 98 more commutations to federal inmates Thursday, bringing the total for this year to 688 — the most commutations ever granted by a president in a single year.

Discussion: Bloomberg, twitchy.com, The Week and Washington Free Beacon

Neil Eggleston / Blog Daily Listings RSS:
President Obama Grants Another 98 Commutations in the Month of October

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Root, Washington Post, Guns.com and Justice News

John Hinderaker / Power Line:

War In Europe? Ho Hum — It seems to be a closely guarded secret, but preparations for war are going on in Europe. A Russian fleet that includes that country's only aircraft carrier made a point of sailing through the English Channel and along the European coast en route to Syria.

Discussion: Daily Mail

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

Donald Trump's great big, beautiful missed opportunity — CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Donna Ryan is a retired director of finance who describes herself as a political moderate and whose political hero is Ronald Reagan. She worries about the national debt, the threat from the Islamic State …

New York Times:

Some Donald Trump Voters Warn of Revolution if Hillary Clinton Wins — COLORADO SPRINGS — Big crowds still mob Donald J. Trump when he comes to town, with fans waiting in long lines to attend his rallies, where they eagerly jeer his Democratic rival and holler happily at his message.

Discussion: The Atlantic, Daily Kos, The Daily Caller, No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Post, Althouse, Mother Jones, The New Civil Rights Movement, BillMoyers.com and Shakesville

Maxwell Tani / Business Insider:

Donald Trump speaks Hindi in unusual new campaign ad aimed at Indian-American voters — Donald Trump's campaign is reaching out to Indian-American voters with a series of new television ads using an adaptation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's slogan.

Discussion: Daily Wire and The Week

Tarini Parti / BuzzFeed:
After Bollywood Event, Trump Tries To Speak Hindi In A New Ad

Discussion: BBC, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo and New York Magazine

Joe Klein / TIME:

The Ultimate Insider Who Could Still Change the Game In the Oval Office — There haven't been many exhilarating moments in Hillary Clinton's long slog to the presidency, but this may have been one of them: a gorgeous late-October afternoon in New Hampshire, an outdoor rally amid the falling leaves …

Isaac Arnsdorf / Politico:

Trump's direct transfers to RNC in October: $2.2 million — The Republican National Committee received only a few million dollars from its fundraising agreement with Donald Trump this month, according to Federal Election Commission records. — The RNC's latest report to the FEC shows …

Discussion: Political Wire and The Resurgent

Nolan D. McCaskill / Politico:

Trump springs news on Melania that she will give two or three ‘big’ speeches — To Melania Trump's apparent surprise, Donald Trump announced Thursday that his wife would be making two or three “big,” “important” speeches. — Speaking alongside the Republican presidential nominee during …

Discussion: ABC News and Washington Free Beacon

Sarah Pulliam Bailey / Washington Post:

Trump blames Clinton for leaked campaign emails appearing to joke about Catholics and evangelicals — Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is making his pitch to Catholics, many of whom could serve as important swing voters in states such as Florida and Pennsylvania.

Discussion: Mediaite, Politico, LifeNews.com, New York Magazine and Deadline

ABC News:

Donald Trump Dismisses Michelle Obama's Barbs as Part of ‘the Game’ — Coming up in the next {{countdown}} {{countdownlbl}} — Coming up next: — {{nextVideo.title}} — {{nextVideo.description}} — Skip to this video now — Related Extras Related Videos Video Transcript

Discussion: Politico and Vox