A Mood of Gloom Afflicts the Romney Campaign  —  SALT LAKE CITY - Mitt Romney's traveling press secretary walked to the back of the candidate's plane midflight on Tuesday and teasingly asked a pair of journalists in an exit row if they were “willing and able to assist in case of an emergency.”

Romney Tapes Give Way To The Not-So-Calm After The Storm (The Note)  —  NOTABLES:  — ROMNEY TAPES GET THE SUPER PAC TREATMENT: That didn't take long.  The pro-Obama super PAC, Priorities USA Action, is quick out of the starting gate this morning with a new television ad featuring footage …

I'll deliver recovery, not dependency  —  Since our founding, America has promoted personal responsibility, the dignity of work and the value of education.  Those values made our nation the hope of the earth and our economy the envy of the world.  —  Efforts that promote hard work …

Critical audio gap in “complete” Romney tape released by Mother Jones (Update - Corn responds, 1-2 minutes missing)  —  David Corn of Mother Jones released the “complete” audio and video of the secretly recorded Mitt Romney speech at a private fundraiser.  —  Yet the complete audio and video is not complete.

Mitt Romney's ‘Severe Conservatism’  —  “I was a severely conservative Republican governor,” Mitt Romney told the crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February 2012.  —  Severely conservative?  —  Conservatives snickered.  “I may be a little giddy here,” Rush Limbaugh said.

Does Paul Ryan regret his choice?  —  Calling Mitt's 47 percent comments “obviously inarticulate,” the would-be VP sounds resentful  —  Paul Ryan didn't sound like Mr. Loyalty when commenting on Mitt Romney's cruel comments about the 47 percent of Americans who pay no taxes Tuesday to a Reno television station.

MEMORANDUM  —  Location  —  To: Interested Parties  —  Re: Two Visions for America  —  48 days remain until Election Day.  As the choice voters face comes into greater focus, the different visions that Mitt Romney and Barack Obama have for America are becoming more sharply defined.

IS THE SECRET VIDEO OF ROMNEY AT FUNDRAISER REALLY UNEDITED?  WE MAY HAVE PROOF OTHERWISE  —  Tuesday afternoon, the site Mother Jones released what was described as the “full,” “raw and uncut” video of Mitt Romney's comments at a private campaign fundraiser, which has drawn immense criticism from both sides.

AP-GfK Poll: Obama job approval numbers back up above 50 percent, but race with Romney still tight  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans are feeling markedly better about the country's future and about Barack Obama's job performance, but the president's re-election race against Republican Mitt Romney remains …