memeorandum @ 12:45 PM ET, October 5, 2012

12:45 PM ET, October 5, 2012

Top Items:

Tim Catts / Bloomberg:

Former GE CEO Jack Welch Says White House Manipulates Jobs Data — History Says No — Former General Electric Co. (GE) Chief Executive Officer Jack Welch accused the Obama administration on Twitter of manipulating today's employment data for political advantage.

Discussion: Real Time Economics, Election 2012, The New Republic, Washington Monthly, Mediaite, Wonkblog, New York Magazine, MarketBeat, Booman Tribune, The Raw Story and The Hinterland Gazette

Talking Points Memo:

Romney: ‘This Is Not What A Real Recovery Looks Like’ — Following news that the U.S. economy added 114,000 jobs in September, with unemployment falling to 7.8%, Mitt Romney on Friday released the following statement on the September unemployment report:

Discussion: Suburban Guerrilla and p m carpenter's commentary

Jeff Cox / CNBC:

Jobs Growth Rises 114,000 as Rate Slides to 7.8 Percent — Job growth remained tame in September, with the economy creating just 114,000 net new positions though the unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent, the first time it has been below 8 percent in 43 months.

Discussion: Weekly Standard, The Daily Caller, Taylor Marsh, iOwnTheWorld.com and Scared Monkeys

James Pethokoukis / AEIdeas:

The sickly, stagnant September jobs report — Is this the Obama October Surprise? — Only in an era of depressingly diminished expectations could the September jobs report be called a good one. It really isn't. Not at all. — 1. Yes, the U-3 unemployment rate fell to 7.8% …

Discussion: Americans for Limited …, protein wisdom, Felix Salmon, Colorlines, The Heritage Foundation, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Immoral Minority, Instapundit, ABCNEWS, Weasel Zippers and National Review

Aviva Shen / ThinkProgress:

Meet The Conservatives Who Think Today's Job Numbers Are A Conspiracy — The Bureau of Labor Statistics released an unexpectedly strong monthly jobs report on Friday, finding a dramatic drop in unemployment to 7.8 percent and revised the number of jobs added in July and August up from initial estimates.

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Wonkblog, The Maddow Blog, Wonkette, americanthinker.com and Dependable Renegade

Shaila Dewan / New York Times:

Jobless Rate Falls to 7.8%, Lowest Since January 2009 — The nation's unemployment rate dropped below 8 percent in September to its lowest rate since President Obama took office, the Labor Department said Friday. — While employers added only a modest 114,000 jobs last month …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Associated Press, Economix, The Agonist, Mother Jones, Marbury, New York Magazine, The PJ Tatler and National Review

Associated Press:

US jobless rate falls to 7.8 pct., 44-month low — US unemployment rate falls to 7.8 pct., lowest since 2009, giving Obama a potential boost — WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent last month, dropping below 8 percent for the first time in nearly four years …

Discussion: p m carpenter's commentary, The PJ Tatler and The Hinterland Gazette

Brett LoGiurato / Business Insider:
JACK WELCH: Obama Is Manipulating The Jobs Numbers Because His Debate Performance Was Awful

Discussion: GOP 12

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Jobs report: 114K jobs added, jobless rate 7.8%; Update: CNBC confused by “contradictory” …

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Outside the Beltway, The Moderate Voice, The Maddow Blog, Pirate's Cove, FT Alphaville and Blue Mass Group

Sheldon Alberts / The Hill:
Labor secretary ‘insulted’ by claims job numbers were rigged

Discussion: CNN

CNN:
Unemployment rate below 8% a boon for Obama, but Romney says not enough

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Politico, Ballot Box and KDVR.com

Business Insider:
BOOM: UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FALLS TO 7.8%, BIG UPWARD REVISION TO LAST MONTH

Discussion: Mediaite, The Big Picture, HyperVocal and Washington Examiner

Ezra Klein / Wonkblog:
September jobs report: Debunking the jobs report conspiracy theories

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The Monkey Cage, Business Insider, No More Mister Nice Blog, Guardian, The Caucus and The Maddow Blog

Terence P. Jeffrey / CNSNews:
Unemployment Rate Plummets to 4.3%—For Government Workers

Discussion: protein wisdom, Patterico's Pontifications and Riehl World News

Brian Beutler / Talking Points Memo: Huge September Drop In Unemployment, Economy Adds 114,000 Jobs

Alex Kowalski / Bloomberg:
U.S. Jobless Rate Declines to 7.8%; 114,000 Jobs Added

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Wall Street Journal:
Unemployment Rate Falls to 7.8%

Discussion: Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog and The PJ Tatler

NBC / Economy Watch:
Unemployment rate falls to 7.8% as economy creates 114,000 jobs

Discussion: Firedoglake, Slate, Washington Monthly, Calculated Risk, Via Meadia, The Gateway Pundit and Joe. My. God.

Washington Post:

Romney: ‘47 percent’ remarks were ‘completely wrong’ — View Photo Gallery — Surrounded by four of his five sons, Republican nominee for president Mitt Romney makes a surprise appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Denver. View more photos from the campaign trail.

Discussion: Fox News Insider, Election 2012 and Balloon Juice

Hadas Gold / Politico:

Romney: ‘47 percent’ remarks ‘wrong’ — Mitt Romney came full circle on his “47 percent” remarks Thursday night, calling them “just completely wrong” in an interview on Fox News. — When asked by host Sean Hannity what he would have said if President Barack Obama had brought …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, americanthinker.com, No More Mister Nice Blog, Gawker, Taylor Marsh and nation.foxnews.com

Mario Trujillo / Ballot Box:
Romney says he was ‘completely wrong’ on ‘47 percent’ comment

Discussion: New York Magazine, The Moderate Voice, Rumproast and The Daily Dish

Jake Tapper / ABCNEWS:

Email Shows State Department Rejecting Request of Security Team at US Embassy in Libya — (Image Credit: Ibrahim Alaguri/AP Photo) — ABC News has obtained an internal State Department email from May 3, 2012, indicating that the State Department denied a request from the security team …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, JustOneMinute, Taylor Marsh, emptywheel, The Heritage Foundation, The PJ Tatler, Weasel Zippers, americanthinker.com, National Review and Conservative Hideout 2.0

John McCormack / Weekly Standard:

Ryan: Biden Coming at Me ‘Like a Cannonball’ — Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan talk to each other on the phone almost every day, and the day of the first presidential debate was no exception. “I told him after the debate that he crushed it,” Ryan told THE WEEKLY STANDARD in a phone interview Thursday night.

Discussion: The Hill, ABCNEWS and Election 2012

Kyle Balluck / The Hill:
Dems hope Biden can blunt Romney momentum post-debate

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Jammie Wearing Fools

Congressman Allen West / Facebook:

In regards to today's Jobs report—I agree with former GE CEO Jack Welch, Chicago style politics is at work here... We all want the suffering of the American people from this rampant scourge of unemployment to end. However, today's jobs report is confusing to say the least.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Politico, Business Insider, Weasel Zippers, TechCrunch, BuzzFeed, theGrio, The Hinterland Gazette and Mother Jones

Mike Ramsey / CBS Chicago:

NAACP Official: Obama Campaign Staffer Threatened Me — CHICAGO (CBS) — The President of the South Suburban Branch of the NAACP alleges a director of the re-election campaign of Barack Obama has threatened and intimidated him because he doesn't support the president.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, The PJ Tatler, Weasel Zippers, The Hinterland Gazette and Jammie Wearing Fools

Elias Isquith / The Atlantic Online:

Paul Ryan's Debt to Barry Goldwater—Who'd Be Mortified by Paul Ryan — The conservative scion vice-presidential nominee seeks to finish the work that the GOP started in 1964, with one crucial revision. — U.S Congress (Ryan); Library of Congress (Goldwater)

Discussion: Bloomberg, Balloon Juice and National Review

Matt Higgins / CBS DC:

Top Obama Fundraiser To Release Bin Laden Film 2 Days Before Election — LOS ANGELES (AP) — A film dramatizing the death of Osama bin Laden is set to debut next month on the National Geographic Channel, two days before the presidential election. — “Seal Team Six: The Raid on Osama bin Laden …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Taylor Marsh and Riehl World News

Kevin A. Hassett / National Review:

Think Again about That ‘Good’ Jobs Report — Today's jobs report is a classic. The report, of course, reveals the results of two surveys, one of households, one of establishments. The professional economists and the press usually emphasize the establishment survey because it is viewed as less volatile.

Discussion: Power Line, Outside the Beltway and Hot Air

Paul Bedard / Washington Examiner:

Was Obama rattled by developing donor scandal story? … President Obama reelection campaign, rattled by his Wednesday night debate performance, could be in for even worse news. According to knowlegable sources, a national magazine and a national web site are preparing a blockbuster donor scandal story.

Discussion: Power Line, Atlas Shrugs, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, iOwnTheWorld.com, The Right Scoop and Riehl World News

David Brooks / New York Times:

Moderate Mitt Returns! — A sour fog settled over the Republican Party during the primary season. Several plausible candidates decided not to run for president, and the whole conversation ended up tainted by various political circus acts. — The G.O.P. did its best to appear unattractive.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, First Read and p m carpenter's commentary

BuzzFeed:

Obama Deploys Big Bird To Romney Rally — And the Democratic National Committee releases a new web video mocking Romney for wanting to cut the subsidy for PBS. Furry politics. — Source: youtube.com — Statement from Obama spokeswoman Lis Smith: