Campaigns Mine Personal Lives to Get Out Vote - NYTimes.com

Campaigns Mine Personal Lives to Get Out Vote - NYTimes.com: "The callers will be guided by scripts and call lists compiled by people — or computers — with access to details like whether voters may have visited pornography Web sites, have homes in foreclosure, are more prone to drink Michelob Ultra than Corona or have gay friends or enjoy expensive vacations."

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As V.P. Debate Highs Fade, Biden’s Manic Performance Forms The Lasting And Damning Impression | Mediaite

As V.P. Debate Highs Fade, Biden’s Manic Performance Forms The Lasting And Damning Impression | Mediaite: "Democratic voters will be back in the game after this debate. They found Biden to be willing to fight for their values in a way that President Barack Obama did not in the first debate – but that was a low hurdle to clear. Democratic partisans were always going to show up at the polls on November 6. Biden’s saving grace will be that this debate has a short shelf life. Next Tuesday, the president and Mitt Romney will meet again and memories of the vice presidential debate will fade. Democrats should be thanking their stars for this gift of fate. Joe Biden did the ticket few favors last night."

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Video From Benghazi Consulate Shows Organized Attack - The Daily Beast

Video From Benghazi Consulate Shows Organized Attack - The Daily Beast: "Footage from the night of Sept. 11 might be the clearest evidence yet of a military-style assault on the consulate in Benghazi."

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Video: Biden lied about voting against wars « Hot Air

Video: Biden lied about voting against wars « Hot Air: "Of course, in the heat of the debate, few viewers will recall how Biden voted in 2001 and 2003.  Considering the Obama administration’s constant prevarications on the Benghazi terror attack, though, this kind of lie might stick to Biden’s flesh for a while.  When it comes to war, you just can’t trust Joe Biden to either know the truth or tell it to you."

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Strassel: Filiblustering Joe - WSJ.com

Strassel: Filiblustering Joe - WSJ.com: "A contemptuous Joe Biden showed up in Kentucky on Thursday, and spent 90 minutes talking over Paul Ryan, talking over moderator Martha Raddatz, and at times, remarkably, even talking over himself. This is what counts as a "win" for the Obama campaign at this stage in the 2012 campaign."

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Review & Outlook: The Bully vs. the Wonk - WSJ.com

Review & Outlook: The Bully vs. the Wonk - WSJ.com: "By unofficial media counts, Mr. Biden interrupted the Republican some 80 to 100 times. Mr. Ryan let the bully get away with too much for our tastes, at least until he finally pushed back on the interruptions or until Mr. Biden lost steam in the last half hour. But as anyone who's been in a tavern past midnight understands, it's hard to win a fight with a guy who is shouting from the corner bar stool."

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Confusing Strength With Aggression - WSJ.com

Confusing Strength With Aggression - WSJ.com: "Last week Mr. Obama was weirdly passive. Last night Mr. Biden was weirdly aggressive, if that is the right word for someone who grimaces, laughs derisively, interrupts, hectors, rolls his eyes, browbeats and attempts to bully."

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Video: Two Catholic guys talk about abortion, faith, and religious liberty « Hot Air

Video: Two Catholic guys talk about abortion, faith, and religious liberty « Hot Air: "Overall, I thought the night was more or less a push in the debate sense.  Ryan remained calm and measured, stuck to his agenda, and talked up his running mate all night long in the face of some gale-force headwinds from both Biden and Raddatz, both of whom continually interrupted him."

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Biden contradicts State Department on Benghazi security | The Cable

Biden contradicts State Department on Benghazi security | The Cable: ""We weren't told they wanted more security. We did not know they wanted more security there," Biden said.

In fact, two security officials who worked for the State Department in Libya at the time testified Thursday that they repeatedly requested more security and two State Department officials admitted they had denied those requests."

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Truth or Consequences - WSJ.com

Truth or Consequences - WSJ.com: "But where does this leave contemporary liberalism, the liberalism of the ever-expanding welfare state? If politicians are a bunch of liars, why should anyone trust the government? Faced with a choice between two candidates who are both far from perfect, Shafer's cynicism about politicians--and Obama's, too--seems to us an excellent argument in favor of whichever one has a less expansive vision of the ideal government's size and scope."

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Did Stephanie Cutter Just Win The Foreign Policy Debate For Romney? | Mediaite

Did Stephanie Cutter Just Win The Foreign Policy Debate For Romney? | Mediaite: "One of the president’s chief spokespeople has now handed a weapon for the foreign policy debate on October 22 that he could never have dreamed of having. Cutter has created a victim of Romney – a martyr, accused of politicizing an event when he is, as I expect him to say, seeking answers about a mishandled tragedy for the American people. He will cite the grieving families of the victims of that attack and the millions of Americans who are now threatened by an emboldened and resurgent Al Qaeda. Romney will be righteous and he will be justified in that righteousness."

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Stephanie Cutter: Benghazi is only an issue because of Romney and Ryan « Hot Air

Stephanie Cutter: Benghazi is only an issue because of Romney and Ryan « Hot Air: "The key bit comes in the last 20 seconds but I’m giving you four full minutes because I want you to watch her blithely assure CNN at the beginning that “the administration has been open and honest since day one about the Benghazi attack.” The administration she’s referring to there is the same one that had a dozen or so different intelligence reports flowing in within the first few hours after the attack pointing to an Al Qaeda connection and yet still sent Susan Rice out to lie to the media about a “spontaneous protest” five days later. CNN helpfully refreshes her memory with a lowlight reel of White House spin, whereupon a cornered flack falls back on her most basic impulse in a desperate situation: She blames the other party for making a big deal out of nothing. And by “nothing,” I mean the murder of the U.S. ambassador and three American consulate personnel."

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Guess which industry is fueling the biggest jump in U.S. wages since 2007? « Hot Air

Guess which industry is fueling the biggest jump in U.S. wages since 2007? « Hot Air: "With oil prices rising and the potential of natural gas expanding, the energy sector is going gangbusters — and this is just with the limited access we’re allowed under President Obama and his Interior Department’s meager permitting. Fewer restrictions on American businesses’ opportunities for oil and gas exploration would lead to productive, private-sector job creation, economic growth, and boatloads of federal and state revenue that could help all of our debt problems — but noooooo, we have to keep dumping our money into the bottomless green-energy pit, because that’s the direction that President Obama has magnanimously decided the country needs to take. How very generous of him."

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Cory Booker: ‘I wanted to scream out’ during the first debate « Hot Air

Cory Booker: ‘I wanted to scream out’ during the first debate « Hot Air: "Are we still talking about the worst parts of President Obama’s bad debate performance on CNN more than a week after it happened? Why, yes we are. Thanks, Cory Booker! Let that be a lesson to you, Team Obama.

Nobody puts Booker in a corner."

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Did Gallup change its sampling under pressure from the Left? « Hot Air

Did Gallup change its sampling under pressure from the Left? « Hot Air: "Now, it’s entirely possible that Gallup sees the reverse trend and has adjusted its demographic weighting accordingly.  If so, they will have accurate predictions of the turnout and the vote in less than four weeks.  However, this kind of enthusiasm tsunami among non-white voters has been entirely missed by every other pollster in the business, none of whom have shown that Obama will turn out non-white voters at a rate that will make them five points larger in the 2012 election than in 2008.  And until someone shows data that predicts an 18.5% increase in the ratio of non-white:white voters in 2012 over 2008 (which is what a five-point uptick would be), the impression that this late methodology shift leaves is that Gallup has its thumb on the scales, regardless of their motive for doing so."

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Cutter: Polls show that this race is “roughly the same” despite that awful debate « Hot Air

Cutter: Polls show that this race is “roughly the same” despite that awful debate « Hot Air: "It is true that the Obama camp has maintained that it’s going to be a very close election no matter what (close races make for far better fundraising opportunities than blowouts, don’t you know), but as the aghast MSNBC panel expressed in the clip, there’s really no doubt that this is not quite the same race as it was. Romney has picked up pretty serious gains nationally, among independents, across battleground states, and in his favorability ratings — and there definitely has been significant movement across Ohio, Florida, and Virginia. President Obama’s surefire electoral advantage is no more, and Romney has risen to new heights in the national polls; but hey, maybe Joe Biden can turn this ship around, yeah?"

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Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball » RATINGS CHANGES: OBAMA’S DEBATE DISASTER MOVES THE NEEDLE

Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball » RATINGS CHANGES: OBAMA’S DEBATE DISASTER MOVES THE NEEDLE: "After one debate, it’s fair to say that while President Obama didn’t make an obvious verbal gaffe during his first debate with Mitt Romney, Obama’s entire, listless debate performance can be characterized as a “major blunder.” And it’s costing him significantly in the race."

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Romney Tops Obama Ad Spending for First Time - WSJ.com

Romney Tops Obama Ad Spending for First Time - WSJ.com: "For the first week of this election season, Mitt Romney is outspending President Barack Obama on television ads, with the Republican challenger dipping into a war chest amassed from an aggressive fundraising schedule."

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Jon Stewart Ridicules Obama Campaign: ‘Let It Go’ With The Big Bird Stuff Already! | Mediaite

Jon Stewart Ridicules Obama Campaign: ‘Let It Go’ With The Big Bird Stuff Already! | Mediaite: "Stewart described the last few days in the race as “The Great Muppet Caper,” and while Obama was able to hit back effectively on the campaign trail, Stewart said it was an “excellent next-day comeback.” Stewart also mocked Rachel Maddow touting that Obama won the “post-debate,” suggesting that even if Obama loses the election, he could still win the “post-election.”"

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There’s one abortion extremist in this race: the president « Hot Air

There’s one abortion extremist in this race: the president « Hot Air: "I don’t dismiss that passion—it’s a serious subject, one dealing with fundamental issues of life and liberty. I especially respect pro-lifers, whose viewpoints are often misrepresented as out of the mainstream (despite the areas of consensus found in the Gallup poll) and whose advocates are often ridiculed as religious zealots who all approve of violence to abortion providers (cue Law & Order music)."

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Green-jobs subsidies bust: $21 billion, 28,854 jobs « Hot Air

Green-jobs subsidies bust: $21 billion, 28,854 jobs « Hot Air: "No kidding.  It cost almost $728,000 per job in subsidies at that rate of job creation.  That’s an absurd return on investment, a figure that couldn’t possibly be regained even through fully confiscating the income taxes of the people who hold those jobs over a 40-year work cycle.  It’s that absurd ROI which made these firms losers from the get-go, and why only the Obama administration was feckless enough to sink its money — excuse me our money — into those failing ventures, such as Solyndra."

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What’s the difference between Watergate and Benghazigate? | Power Line

What’s the difference between Watergate and Benghazigate? | Power Line: "So what’s the difference between Watergate and Benghzigate? At Watergate, Bill reminds us, no one got killed."

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Morning Jay: Politics and the Gallup Poll | The Weekly Standard

Morning Jay: Politics and the Gallup Poll | The Weekly Standard: "What Gallup should have done is similar to what the Bureau of Labor Statistics does when it adjusts the unemployment rate to account for new Census data: Give the number as it is now calculated and as it would have been calculated absent the change, so everybody can know exactly what effect the changes in assumptions have had. Newport fails even to acknowledge whether and how this methodological change helped one side over the other, let alone its extent.

Final point: We absolutely, positively must remember polling in 2012 is politicized as never before, and it is incumbent upon the consumers of political polls not to accept the data naïvely, but to perform due diligence to see what goes into the product."

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KELLY: Libya security cut while Vienna embassy gained Chevy Volts - Washington Times

KELLY: Libya security cut while Vienna embassy gained Chevy Volts - Washington Times: "Four days later, on May 7, the State Department authorized the U.S. embassy in Vienna to purchase a $108,000 electric vehicle charging station for the embassy motor pool’s new Chevrolet Volts. The purchase was a part of the State Department’s “Energy Efficiency Sweep of Europe” initiative, which included hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars on green program expenditures at various U.S. Embassies."

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DWS to Piers Morgan: How dare you call our entirely discredited cover story on Benghazi false, or something « Hot Air

DWS to Piers Morgan: How dare you call our entirely discredited cover story on Benghazi false, or something « Hot Air: "FYI, the reason Piers Morgan brought up “un-American” is that a few seconds before that clip starts, DWS was calling Republicans un-American for asking tough questions about the Benghazi attack.  She started the patriotism games…Morgan was just hoisting her by her own petard."

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Review & Outlook: Botched in Benghazi - WSJ.com

Review & Outlook: Botched in Benghazi - WSJ.com: "Ms. Rice's Sunday story happened to fit the narrative offered by White House spokesman Jay Carney two days earlier that a rogue video had caused the anti-American demonstrations, which also fit the Obama campaign narrative that the President has made the U.S. more popular and that terrorism is on the wane in the world. A terror attack that killed Americans in Benghazi blows up that happy tale."

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Review & Outlook: Obama's Disappearing $5 Trillion - WSJ.com

Review & Outlook: Obama's Disappearing $5 Trillion - WSJ.com: "Turns out there's trouble with that estimate too. Princeton economics professor Harvey Rosen, cited by the Obama campaign as a source for the claim that the Romney plan must raise taxes on the middle-class to avoid increasing the deficit, now says that Team Obama has been misrepresenting his research.

In fact, his work shows that increased economic growth from a more efficient tax code and lower marginal tax rates will allow Mr. Romney to cut rates and deductions while avoiding both a rate hike on the middle class and a deficit increase. Maybe Mr. Romney's reasonable, coherent explanation for this is why he won the debate."

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Review & Outlook: Voter ID Validation - WSJ.com

Review & Outlook: Voter ID Validation - WSJ.com: "Mr. Holder and other critics have used voter ID laws as a political foil to charge racism and gin up black voter turnout this year. The decision last week by Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court to block the Keystone State's law only for this election was a big hint that the claims of racial discrimination are specious. The South Carolina decision underscores the point."

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Paul Howard and Russell Sykes: Medicaid Is Broken—Let the States Fix It - WSJ.com

Paul Howard and Russell Sykes: Medicaid Is Broken—Let the States Fix It - WSJ.com: "When GOP vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan first proposed block-granting Medicaid in 2010, President Obama attacked the plan ruthlessly, claiming it would leave the poor and autistic children without access to health care. Mr. Obama created a politically convenient straw man, but he has not offered any serious proposals for dealing with the cost and access problems afflicting Medicaid. If serious proposals like block grants are not discussed, the inevitable tax increases and cuts to Medicaid will leave poor Americans struggling with bad health care in a bad economy."

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Rove: The Dividends of Romney's Debate Victory - WSJ.com

Rove: The Dividends of Romney's Debate Victory - WSJ.com: "During the GOP primary, one of Mr. Romney's chief selling points was his skill as a debater. He picked a powerful moment to display this strength. The debate at the University of Denver qualifies as among the most consequential in history. It might end up as the election's decision point."

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Henninger: Obama and the L-Word - WSJ.com

Henninger: Obama and the L-Word - WSJ.com: "It will be interesting which variation of "lie"—if any—comes out of Joe Biden's mouth in his debate with Paul Ryan. Mr. Biden comes from a political generation that could play rough, but it knew the limits of going too low at the presidential level. Or used to."

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Bounce continues in new swing-state polling « Hot Air

Bounce continues in new swing-state polling « Hot Air: "In the 2010 midterms, Ohio had an R+1 turnout model, with a D/R/I of 36/37/28.  This sample is ridiculously tilted toward Democrats.  Even so, Obama lost two points since their last iteration, and only leads by six in a poll with an eleven-point advantage for Democrats.

But how interesting is it that NBC felt compelled to report that D+11 sample?  Looks like the media has figured out that news consumers have become more savvy to sample issues."

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Libya guards speak out on attack that killed U.S. ambassador - latimes.com

Libya guards speak out on attack that killed U.S. ambassador - latimes.com: "Two Libyan militiamen guarding the U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi deny aiding the attackers. They say they initially fought back but fled when outnumbered."

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Laura Bush: Malala Yousafzai’s courage challenges us to act - The Washington Post

Laura Bush: Malala Yousafzai’s courage challenges us to act - The Washington Post: "Eleven years ago, America awoke to the barbaric mind-set of the Taliban. Its regime in Afghanistan was dedicated in part to the brutal repression and abject subjugation of women. Women were not allowed to work or attend school. Taliban religious police patrolled the streets, beating women who might venture out alone, who were not dressed “properly” or who dared to laugh out loud. Women could not wear shoes that made too much noise, and their fingernails were ripped out for the “crime” of wearing nail polish."

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Can Obama Play From Behind? « Commentary Magazine

Can Obama Play From Behind? « Commentary Magazine: "While this situation may well be altered in the coming days and weeks, if both the candidate and his campaign are temperamentally unsuited to playing from behind, the debate loss may turn out to be a bigger problem than the president could ever have imagined."

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Obama campaign refers to liberal bloggers as “tinfoil hat crowd” | WashingtonExaminer.com

Obama campaign refers to liberal bloggers as “tinfoil hat crowd” | WashingtonExaminer.com: "Granted, it was a bogus Internet meme, but that is still a fairly harsh remark for what after all popular liberal voices on the web. Do those bloggers know the administration apparently holds them in such low regard?"

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Begala On Support For Obama: "There's Real Erosion, No Use Lying" | RealClearPolitics

Begala On Support For Obama: "There's Real Erosion, No Use Lying" | RealClearPolitics: ""The zen of James [Carville], I think is about right now. Which is, there's real erosion, there's no point lying about it," Democratic operative Paul Begala said about James Carville wondering why Democrats aren't actively panicking."

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Gallaudet official on leave after signing gay marriage petition - DC Breaking Local News Weather Sports FOX 5 WTTG

Gallaudet official on leave after signing gay marriage petition - DC Breaking Local News Weather Sports FOX 5 WTTG: ""We strongly disagree with the decision to put the chief diversity officer on leave and hope she is reinstated immediately. Everyone is entitled to free speech and to their own opinion about Question 6, which is about treating everyone fairly and equally under the law.""

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Piers Morgan Gets Heated With Wasserman-Schultz On Libya: ‘You Are Flogging The Wrong Dead Horse!’ | Mediaite

Piers Morgan Gets Heated With Wasserman-Schultz On Libya: ‘You Are Flogging The Wrong Dead Horse!’ | Mediaite: "Morgan interrupted Wasserman-Schultz to get her to highlight how much the Obama administration and State Department were playing up the controversial film Innocence of Muslims being connected to the attacks before all the facts were in. Wasserman-Schultz found it shocking that Morgan would accuse U.N. ambassador Susan Rice of being “deliberately misleading” on the nature of the attacks. Morgan followed up by asking if Rice was simply wrong. Wasserman-Schultz said that as more information came out, it became clearer that it was a terrorist attack, and U.S. officials were just going on the information they had at the time."

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Fox News poll: Romney erases five-point Obama lead, now leads by one « Hot Air

Fox News poll: Romney erases five-point Obama lead, now leads by one « Hot Air: "Poor President Downgrade. As for the sample, it’s D+1, which is solid given the inevitable surge towards Republican identification after Romney’s debate win. Team Mitt says they’re expecting D+3 on election day, but who knows? If Obama follows through on his ingenious new “all Big Bird, all the time” strategy down the stretch, D+1 or even doesn’t seem so far-fetched."

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American embassy security leader assassinated in Yemen « Hot Air

American embassy security leader assassinated in Yemen « Hot Air: "Twitchy notes the contradictory reports on the job description of the victim.  Reuters says he “headed an embassy security team,” while other reports range from his being a security guard to the chief of security at the embassy.  The description from Reuters appears to be a middle ground, but obviously this will get clarified later, along with the nature of the attack — hopefully much sooner than the White House did with its deceptive posturing on the Benghazi attack."

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Timothy P. Carney: Using Big Bird to avoid issues backfires on Obama | WashingtonExaminer.com

Timothy P. Carney: Using Big Bird to avoid issues backfires on Obama | WashingtonExaminer.com: "Everyone noticed that in the most serious forum of the election so far -- the first debate -- Romney schooled Obama. Team Obama objected that moderator Jim Lehrer let the candidates respond to one another too much and drill too deep on topics. The telling moment was Obama's plea: "Jim, you may want to move on to another topic." Obama suffered because the debate got too freewheeling and substantive."

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The liberal media loved Obama to death | WashingtonExaminer.com

The liberal media loved Obama to death | WashingtonExaminer.com: "Obama had seen that his friends would protect him, and so he believed he could mail it in Wednesday, but this was the venue that could not be spun. No filter. No edits. No choosing what to put in or leave out. No shaping of the story. Just the story itself, rolled out in real time, sans narration, before 70 million American voters, undoing six years of hype and hysterics. It revealed one small, not all that keen academic, having been inflated by the narrators beyond all recognition, dissolving before everyone's eyes."

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Obamateurism of the Day « Hot Air

Obamateurism of the Day « Hot Air: "That was the actual problem.  Obama came armed with his usual slogans and straw-men arguments, the same ones he’s been using for nearly four years to explain away his failures as someone else’s fault, and they landed with a thud on the stage.  Obama discovered the difficulty of using straw-man arguments when someone else gets to respond, and ended up looking weak, petulant, and bored.  That’s hardly being polite to either Mitt Romney or the voters who cared enough to tune in, hoping to hear something new … like a second-term agenda, for instance."

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The Grieving Widow Behind Romney's Personal Story - ABC News

The Grieving Widow Behind Romney's Personal Story - ABC News: ""One of the last things my husband said to me before he was killed, when I would ask him, 'Chris, what do you need over there? What can I send you?' he said, 'I need a new president,'" Horton recalled."

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Obama rep: All of these Republicans politicizing the Benghazi attack are just so outrageous « Hot Air

Obama rep: All of these Republicans politicizing the Benghazi attack are just so outrageous « Hot Air: "Please spare us all the sanctimoniousness about getting “political,” because whether or not the president of the United States and his administration are equipped with the capabilities to deal with serious threats to our national security sure seems like kind of a big deal that voters deserve to know about."

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Pelosi’s pre-debate advice to Biden: “Women.” « Hot Air

Pelosi’s pre-debate advice to Biden: “Women.” « Hot Air: "Our gaffe-prone vice president is going to have his work cut out for him on Thursday night, when he’ll be debating against the formidable budgetary and economic expertise of Republican running mate Paul Ryan. Which is probably why, according to Nancy Pelosi, it’s best that Biden maybe just try to steer the conversation clear of all of that pesky economic bad news and just keep the focus Everbody’s Favorite Democratic Distraction — the war on women, of course."

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WaPo wonders: Say, where’s Hillary these days? « Hot Air

WaPo wonders: Say, where’s Hillary these days? « Hot Air: "Good question.  After all, the State Department actually conducted the dog-and-pony show on behalf of the White House after the terrorist attack on our Benghazi consulate that left four Americans dead, including the first US Ambassador assassinated on assignment in 33 years.  Hillary Clinton’s UN envoy Susan Rice went on five Sunday talk shows to propagate a cover story that Hillary Clinton’s own organization announced last night it never believed."

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Democrats on edge amid Obama debate fallout - Yahoo! News

Democrats on edge amid Obama debate fallout - Yahoo! News: ""I'm not feeling very positive," said Awilda Marquez, a prominent Democrat in Colorado. "I know that it's only the first debate, but he can't seem to change the relentless negative coverage. Romney has been able to take control.""

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A Look at Chuck Todd and Conspiratorial Media Incest | RedState

A Look at Chuck Todd and Conspiratorial Media Incest | RedState: "In other words, Chuck, it is you and your colleagues in the New York-Washington media corridor who are corroding trust — not by covering what Jack Welch and Donald Trump say, but merely by reporting as you do on the issues you cover or are not covering. The American public has grown cynical and tired of a left-leaning media establishment that refuses to acknowledge its own liberalism and that has become insular and removed from the affairs of Americans across the country. The media establishment relates to people who live within 25 miles of the Atlantic or Pacific and relates poorly to people who live within 50 miles of American river valleys other than the Hudson."

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Reuters: State never responded to two requests for more security in Benghazi « Hot Air

Reuters: State never responded to two requests for more security in Benghazi « Hot Air: "Former State Department security officer Eric Nordstrom will testify today to the House Oversight Committee about the security failures that led to the terrorist attack on our consulate in Benghazi and the assassination of our Ambassador to Libya, J. Christopher Stevens.  Reuters got an advance look at his prepared testimony last night, and reports that not only did Nordstrom repeatedly request more security for the diplomatic mission, the State Department didn’t even bother to respond to his last two requests."

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DNC out of cash? « Hot Air

DNC out of cash? « Hot Air: "This means that the RNC has a real opportunity to beat Democrats in Congressional races this year.  They are better funded, and apparently better organized, than the DNC at that level.  That will have an impact on the presidential race, too, but it’s most likely to be felt down ballot."

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Vulture Capitalism - The Editors - National Review Online

Vulture Capitalism - The Editors - National Review Online: "Those who point out that eliminating mere small-fry outlays like the Corporation for Public Broadcasting won’t balance the budget are undeniably correct — but it is also undeniably correct that we will not balance the budget without eliminating a lot of small-fry outlays like the Corporation for Public Broadcasting."

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Obama’s bad tryst with coal is going to hurt him « The Greenroom

Obama’s bad tryst with coal is going to hurt him « The Greenroom: "Robert Stacy McCain at The American Spectator wrote on October 8 that Romney is ‘counting on coal country.’  At a campaign rally for Romney/Ryan in Abingdon, VA, Romney said, ”the head of the EPA has… said that the regulations on burning coal are now so stringent it’s virtually impossible to build a new coal-fired [electrical power] plant…well, I don’t believe in putting our coal under the ground forever. I believe we should take advantage of it, put American workers back to work and use a resource that’s abundant and cheap and can be burned in a clean way.”  A message that surely resonated with McCain noticing all of the pro-coal paraphernalia in the crowd that day."

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New Book: American ‘Rich’ Pay Bigger Share of US Taxes Than European Counterparts « The Greenroom

New Book: American ‘Rich’ Pay Bigger Share of US Taxes Than European Counterparts « The Greenroom: "the United States is actually more dependent on rich people to pay taxes than even many of the more socialized economies of Europe. According to the Tax Foundation, the United States gets 45 percent of its total taxes from the top 10 percent of tax filers, whereas the international average in industrialized nations is 32 percent. America’s rich carry a larger share of the tax burden than do the rich in Belgium (25 percent), Germany (31 percent), France (28 percent), and even Sweden (27 percent)."

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The Media Has Stopped Filling In The Blanks For The Obama Campaign | Mediaite

The Media Has Stopped Filling In The Blanks For The Obama Campaign | Mediaite: "The media has shown a willingness to let the chips fall where they may when it comes to finishing the White House’s sentences for them. This is a significant and unexpected development, and it should horrify the Obama campaign. They may have squandered their greatest asset in the last week. The end of the media’s infatuation with Obama may be the greatest casualty of the debate."

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Stacey Dash: I picked my candidate by the content of his character « Hot Air

Stacey Dash: I picked my candidate by the content of his character « Hot Air: "In the wake of the mayhem, Dash said she got a call from Ryan, who “said ‘thank you so much for your support’.”

“I thought that was just so generous and kind. Lovely, really,” she said, with a smile on her face. Hey girl, I’d have a smile on my face, too."

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Confirmed: Big Bird ad a flop across the entire political spectrum « Hot Air

Confirmed: Big Bird ad a flop across the entire political spectrum « Hot Air: "Put this another way.  When your campaign strategy loses Matt Lauer, Chris Matthews Bob Shrum, and earns four Pinocchios from the Washington Post, where exactly does that leave you?  In a fine, feathered mess, that’s where.  Lauer interviewed Obama campaign adviser Robert Gibbs this morning on Today, and asked, “Is that the kind of political ad that a campaign releases when it feels that it has ideas and solutions on its side, or is that the kind of political ad a campaign releases when it simply wants to get attention?”  As if on cue, Gibbs insists that Mitt Romney declared “war on Sesame Street.”"

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Report: Obama initially thought he won the debate « Hot Air

Report: Obama initially thought he won the debate « Hot Air: "Speaking of lame, glib, laughable spin, your exit quotation: “[T]hey feel just as good about where they are today as they did two weeks ago.”"

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Obamateurism of the Day « Hot Air

Obamateurism of the Day « Hot Air: "Er … isn’t there something creepy about making jokes about OJ Simpson as part of a presidential campaign?  Especially in California?"

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On eve of House hearings, State Department finally admits: No, there was never any protest outside the Benghazi consulate before the attack « Hot Air

On eve of House hearings, State Department finally admits: No, there was never any protest outside the Benghazi consulate before the attack « Hot Air: "Which brings us to the second question: Why did it take a month for them to mention this? I have no answer, except to wonder whether they’d have ever admitted it if Issa hadn’t called House hearings this week. Tonight’s news is simply State’s way of pushing some anticipated heat off of itself and onto the White House before tomorrow’s grilling begins. It’s a comfort to know that nothing short of public humiliation by the opposition party could get them to share info about a terror attack that ended with an American ambassador being murdered."

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Independents ♥ Romney? « Hot Air

Independents ♥ Romney? « Hot Air: "’ll add one caveat to that, though: that’s about what I figured would happen in the race (I put it more at 46/46 or 45/45), until the first debate.  That was always going to be the inflection point for an incumbent who couldn’t get above 45-47% in real terms, and even some of that possibly soft.  Could Romney make the case that he was an acceptable alternative to a mediocre-or-worse President?  Once he made that case — and Obama helped him enormously with his own disengaged and disinterested performance — the race would change in a fundamental way."

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GOP 12: Romney up huge with independents

GOP 12: Romney up huge with independents: "Now having said that, Romney has done well this entire cycle with independents, but not enough to overcome turnout models that suggested much, much higher Democratic turnout.

But now he's killing it so soundly that it's enough to overcome higher Democratic turnout. In fact, in ARG's poll of Ohio today, Dems are sampled at +9% over Republicans, but Romney wins indies by 20%, which is enough to inch ahead, overall, 48%-47%."

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DNC faces cash shortfall on eve of 2012 election

DNC faces cash shortfall on eve of 2012 election: "The Democratic National Committee had more debt than cash on hand when the general election started in September, a troubling fact few people have noticed to this point in the campaign."

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Review & Outlook: Supreme Laundry List - WSJ.com

Review & Outlook: Supreme Laundry List - WSJ.com: "In Whirlpool Corporation v. Glazer, the question is whether some 200,000 Ohio residents can be certified as a class to sue the company over front-loading washing machines that made some clothes smell moldy. Though many in the class had varying complaints or hadn't been inconvenienced by the smelly machines, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals allowed the class to go forward."

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Review & Outlook: The Texas Race Case - WSJ.com

Review & Outlook: The Texas Race Case - WSJ.com: "Justice Kennedy might recall that in Grutter he wrote that the "concept of critical mass is a delusion used by the Law School to mask its attempt" to "achieve numerical goals indistinguishable from quotas," and that the attempt to achieve racial balance is "patently unconstitutional." He was right in that case, and in Fisher he can further restrain the policy of racial allocation that has bred so much unfairness and resentment in American life."

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Jenkins: Obama's October Non-Surprise - WSJ.com

Jenkins: Obama's October Non-Surprise - WSJ.com: "Mr. Obama's peculiar intervention would unwind the Greek firm's earlier sale of the pending project to China's Sany. Only once before has a president issued such an order: President George H.W. Bush on Feb. 1, 1990 required a Chinese firm to divest a Seattle aerospace components maker."

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Jack Welch: I Was Right About That Strange Jobs Report - WSJ.com

Jack Welch: I Was Right About That Strange Jobs Report - WSJ.com: "The good news is that the current debate has resulted in people giving the whole issue of unemployment data more thought. Moreover, it led to some of the campaign's biggest supporters admitting that the number merited a closer look—and even expressing skepticism. The New York Times in a Sunday editorial, for instance, acknowledged the 7.8% figure is "partly due to a statistical fluke."

The coming election is too important to be decided on a number. Especially when that number seems so wrong."

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Review & Outlook: Big Bird, Small President - WSJ.com

Review & Outlook: Big Bird, Small President - WSJ.com: "But the Big Bird jokes kept rolling, along with the usual fact-free attack against the Republican candidate. "Governor Romney's plan is to let Wall Street run wild again, but he's going to bring the hammer down on 'Sesame Street,'" said the President, in the definition of a non-sequitur."

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Video: Romney Chokes Up Recalling Fallen Navy SEAL - Guy Benson

Video: Romney Chokes Up Recalling Fallen Navy SEAL - Guy Benson: "Mitt Romney shared a remarkable story at a campaign rally in Iowa today, his voice wavering and cracking slightly as he described the tragic death of a former Navy SEAL he'd met years earlier.  The young man was from Massachusetts; he died in Benghazi during the September 11 terrorist attack against the American consulate that claimed the life of US Ambassador Chris Stevens."

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The ‘Romney Lied’ Defense - Rich Lowry - National Review Online

The ‘Romney Lied’ Defense - Rich Lowry - National Review Online: "Mitt Romney bested President Obama on the merits in Denver. Anyone insisting otherwise simply can’t handle the truth."

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Obama spokesman: We released that moronic Big Bird ad because of the “grassroots outcry” « Hot Air

Obama spokesman: We released that moronic Big Bird ad because of the “grassroots outcry” « Hot Air: "Two problems. First, needless to say, Romney’s point about PBS isn’t that serious deficit reduction should start there, it’s that not even popular federal outlays should be immune from cuts in the name of restoring fiscal stability. A guy who bet his presidential candidacy on Paul Ryan is about as serious as an American politician can get when it comes to spending."

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Chuck Todd Calls Rasmussen Polls ‘Slop,’ Scott Rasmussen Responds | Mediaite

Chuck Todd Calls Rasmussen Polls ‘Slop,’ Scott Rasmussen Responds | Mediaite: "Kelly backed up Rasmussen’s defense of his surveys, saying that a study from Fordham University in 2008 showed Rasmussen was the most accurate pollster in that cycle. In that study, NBC/WSJ’s polling came in 13th place."

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Good news: IMF lowering expectations for global economic growth « Hot Air

Good news: IMF lowering expectations for global economic growth « Hot Air: "France, Spain, and Italy are now all set to miss their target deficits in the next couple of years, and the IMF has upwardly revised their springtime projection for Greece’s total debt for this year from 153 percent of GDP to 171 percent. All of this is supposed to beg the question — should the euro-countries be required to stick to their still-not-even-a-real-solution targets, or should everybody just relax the rules and keep merrily skipping down the path of fiscal insolvency?"

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The day polling died - NYPOST.com

The day polling died - NYPOST.com: "All we can be sure of, in the words of the peerless Internet humorist Iowahawk, “political poll results accurately reflect the opinions of the weirdo 9 percent who agree to participate in political polls.”"

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McGurn: Never Mind the Snark, Lehrer Got It Right - WSJ.com

McGurn: Never Mind the Snark, Lehrer Got It Right - WSJ.com: "In a statement issued the day after the debate, the Commission on Presidential Debates defended Mr. Lehrer, saying he delivered "exactly" what it had hoped for with its new format. That was a "serious discussion" of the major issues with "minimal interference by the moderator or timing signals." If the commission means what it says, we ought to expect no less in the remaining debates from Ms. Raddatz, Ms. Crowley and Mr. Schieffer."

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War on Political Correctness « The Greenroom

War on Political Correctness « The Greenroom: "I’m throwing out the dictionary of liberal “politically correct” terms. In my newly declared War on Political Correctness, my weapon of choice is rhetoric; accurate, forceful rhetoric. The influx of political correctness into our daily lives has taken the teeth out of the English Language. Instead, we’ve become a nation so afraid of offending someone else that our language has become more vanilla than Ned Flanders. We cannot progress without an accurate exchange of ideas and if we’re allowing the left to determine our narrative with their own language, we’re bound to lose. Thus, I urge you to put the backbone back in our language. Rhetorical cowardice is not becoming."

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Carbon Tax Will Double U.K. Electricity Bills

Carbon Tax Will Double U.K. Electricity Bills: "However, the recession has decreased demand and as a result the price of carbon permits have fallen. Now, industries will have to pay £10 (about $16) a ton to get up to the price floor established by the United Kingdom's tax. The new costs will be imposed upon energy consumers who will have soaring energy bills as the new tax takes full effect."

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Obama told he needs to get tough, angry (again) « The Greenroom

Obama told he needs to get tough, angry (again) « The Greenroom: "But this country was founded on the principles that he claims to aspire to. The door of opportunity has always opened for anyone who knocked, and when it hasn’t we’ve changed to level the playing field. Even if you believe him when he says this election for him is not about “clinging onto an office” or “power” or “winning,” he is still running two hundred years too late. It is time for those who wanted to believe in him to accept that the dream was a fiction and move on to getting the country back on track."

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CBS reporter blasts Obama claim that AQ “on its heels” « Hot Air

CBS reporter blasts Obama claim that AQ “on its heels” « Hot Air: "Nor is the Weekly Standard the only media outlet reporting on this.  CBS’ Lara Logan, a 60 Minutes correspondent who was sexually assaulted while reporting on the protests in Tahrir Square in February 2011, told a Chicago audience over the weekend that not only is AQ not “on its heels,” it’s making a comeback, along with the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan — and that those saying otherwise are propagating a “major lie.”"

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MSNBC: Why can’t Team Obama stop talking about the debate? « Hot Air

MSNBC: Why can’t Team Obama stop talking about the debate? « Hot Air: "The continuing focus on the debate by Team Obama was one reason that Romney’s bounce could turn into a surge.  Instead of putting the debate in the rear-view mirror by offering a substantive declaration of a second-term agenda — which is already several months late in coming — Obama and his campaign chose perhaps the least substantive moment from the debate to bring it all back up to voters.  This is a campaign that has entirely run out of gas, so much so that the only topic they can handle is Big Bird.  That doesn’t look presidential; it doesn’t look like anyone at Team Obama really cares about looking presidential and addressing the big issues any longer.  They’re defaulting on the big issues and second-term agenda to Romney.  If that continues, the polling shift will soon transform into a surge."

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Romney up 2 in new national poll from … Daily Kos? « Hot Air

Romney up 2 in new national poll from … Daily Kos? « Hot Air: "Most importantly, Romney’s leading in the swing states identified by PPP/dKos by five points, 51/46.  That may not be very solid — it looks like PPP used subsamples of their polling, which means the samples for those swing states had to be pretty small — but it’s not a pleasant result for Team Obama or the readers of dKos, either.  The independent demos will be more of an indicator as to what’s coming.  If Romney has a six-point lead among independents in a cycle where Republican enthusiasm is now significantly outstripping Democratic enthusiasm, Romney’s going to do better than a +2."

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EPA encourages youth ‘energy patrols’ to enforce their efficiency standards « The Greenroom

EPA encourages youth ‘energy patrols’ to enforce their efficiency standards « The Greenroom: "Government has become so big, especially the regulatory apparatus of the EPA, that they need kids to monitor their school’s energy efficiency.  FORWARD!"

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Romney takes lead in Rasmussen swing-state tracking poll, 49/46; Update: ARG puts Romney up 1 in Ohio – with a D+9 sample « Hot Air

Romney takes lead in Rasmussen swing-state tracking poll, 49/46; Update: ARG puts Romney up 1 in Ohio – with a D+9 sample « Hot Air: "Update: A new ARG poll shows Romney now leading Obama in Ohio, 48/47 — even with a D+9 sample.  The D/R/I in this poll is 42/33/25; the 2008 election was 39/31/30; in 2010, it was 36/37/28.  Among independents, Romney leads by 20 points, 57/37; Obama won them by 8 in Ohio in 2008, 52/44.  I would assume that a proper balance that included more independents would extend Romney’s lead significantly."

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Report: Shake-Up in Works at Obama Campaign Headquarters | The Weekly Standard

Report: Shake-Up in Works at Obama Campaign Headquarters | The Weekly Standard: ""I'm hearing chatter that there's maybe some people from the last campaign that's maybe going to get a little more involved," said Todd."

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Romney surges past Obama in second poll - The Hill's Ballot Box

Romney surges past Obama in second poll - The Hill's Ballot Box: "Romney won 49 percent support from likely voters in the poll, compared to 47 percent for Obama.

It’s the first time all year Romney has led in the poll, which was conducted on behalf of the liberal Daily Kos website and the Service Employees International Union. Obama led 49-45 percent in the group’s previous poll, conducted before last week’s debate."

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Jindal, Christie on deck to lead the Republican Governors’ Association « Hot Air

Jindal, Christie on deck to lead the Republican Governors’ Association « Hot Air: "A solid resume-builder to help two of the GOP’s rising stars keep rising — as much as we’re often politically focused on the present, it never hurts to keep the future well in mind (gotta’ keep the party well-heeled for 2020, or even, just in case things don’t go Romney’s way, for 2016). Also, both Jindal and Christie are not exactly the shy or peevish sort — their rigor and charisma can certainly help with electing and re-electing a broad swath of Republicans to state governorships in the near future. 2014 could shape up to be a big year in that regard, and all of the fundraising and travel involved could help build some valuable political capital."

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Former U.S. security team leader in Libya: We told State we needed more security there, not less « Hot Air

Former U.S. security team leader in Libya: We told State we needed more security there, not less « Hot Air: "You’ll be seeing this guy again soon in front of Darrell Issa’s House Oversight Committee. Meet Lt. Col. Andy Wood, who until August was stationed in Tripoli as leader of a Special Forces “Site Security Team” at the embassy. Why didn’t he stick around until September at least, given that (a) the anniversary of 9/11 was impending and (b) according to basically everyone, Libya was becoming more dangerous?"

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Obamateurism of the Day « Hot Air

Obamateurism of the Day « Hot Air: "According to the White House pool report, Obama asked the man how business was going.

“Terrible since you got here,” he replied."

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Ryan to reporter: Don’t stuff words into my mouth « Hot Air

Ryan to reporter: Don’t stuff words into my mouth « Hot Air: "Just remember: there’s no such thing as media bias.  Reporter Terry Camp got a rebuke from Paul Ryan at the end of this interview for the ABC affiliate in Detroit, when Camp asked a “weird” question of Ryan at the end of a string of queries on gun violence.  After Ryan talked about the need for communities and groups within them to create moral structures and education and for government to push pro-growth policies to create jobs and opportunities in the inner cities, Camp tried tossing in a gotcha question — and got rebuked by Ryan as the interview ended."

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Another Obama green-tech subsidy recipient begins furloughs for workers « Hot Air

Another Obama green-tech subsidy recipient begins furloughs for workers « Hot Air: "Maybe Obama should have listened.  Fast forward 27 months and $150 million later, and the Compact Power plant has begun furloughing workers for which Obama claimed credit.  Not only that, but all of those batteries stamped “Made in America” turned out not to here … but in South Korea."

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Video: The incredible shrinking President; Update: Sesame Workshop sends cease-and-desist request to Team Obama « Hot Air

Video: The incredible shrinking President; Update: Sesame Workshop sends cease-and-desist request to Team Obama « Hot Air: "Sesame Workshop is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization and we do not endorse candidates or participate in political campaigns. We have approved no campaign ads, and as is our general practice, have requested that the ad be taken down."

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ObamaCare transforming America into Part-Timer Nation? « Hot Air

ObamaCare transforming America into Part-Timer Nation? « Hot Air: "If this turns out to be the trend, what happens then?  Reason predicts that we’ll see even more government intervention to cut off those perverse incentives … which will result in even more perverse incentives."

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The Illegal Donor Loophole - The Daily Beast

The Illegal Donor Loophole - The Daily Beast: "The FEC, to be sure, does occasionally conduct investigations into foreign or fraudulent donations. But the majority of these investigations only result in civil fines or closure without action. There is much more that could be done to remedy this situation. First, campaigns should be required to disclose identifying information on all their donors, not just those who give over $200. Second, campaigns should be required to ask for the CVV number when accepting donations. Finally, campaigns should be required to ask people signing up for campaign information whether they are able to legally donate. There is simply no reason non-Americans should be solicited for donations via email."

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Jay Greene: The Imaginary Teacher Shortage - WSJ.com

Jay Greene: The Imaginary Teacher Shortage - WSJ.com: "Let's hope state and local officials have that discretion—and choose to shrink the teacher labor force rather than expand it. Hiring hundreds of thousands of additional teachers won't improve student achievement. It will bankrupt state and local governments, whose finances are already buckling under bloated payrolls with overly generous and grossly underfunded pension and health benefits."

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Stephens: Hugo Chávez and the 47% - WSJ.com

Stephens: Hugo Chávez and the 47% - WSJ.com: "Since coming to power 14 years ago, Mr. Chávez has manufactured dependency on a scale unseen elsewhere in the post-Soviet world. He has nationalized farms, steel mills, cement factories, telecoms and the assets of foreign oil companies. His government subsidizes everything from oil to milk. Government spending, much of it on cheap housing, has risen at a blowout rate of 30% in the past year alone.

The result? Chronic shortages of everything from oil to milk. A 24% inflation rate. A homicide rate that in 2011 clocked in at 67 per 100,000 people—nearly five times the rate in Mexico. Latin America's lowest growth in GDP per capita over the past decade, despite record-high oil prices. Constant devaluations. The diversion of an estimated $100 billion in recent years to a slush fund controlled exclusively by Mr. Chávez. Rolling blackouts. A credit rating on a par with Ghana's and Bolivia's. The steady degradation of the country's once formidable oil company, PdVSA."

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Plant that got $150M in taxpayer money to make Volt batteries furloughs workers | Fox News

Plant that got $150M in taxpayer money to make Volt batteries furloughs workers | Fox News: "President Obama touted it in 2010 as evidence "manufacturing jobs are coming back to the United States,” but two years later, a Michigan hybrid battery plant built with $150 million in taxpayer funds is putting workers on furlough before a single battery has been produced."

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Unions Finally Discover Relationship Between Enrollment and Staffing « The Greenroom

Unions Finally Discover Relationship Between Enrollment and Staffing « The Greenroom: "So you can argue that we are 300,000 education employees short of 2008, or you can argue that even after the Great Recession we are still 100,000 education employees ahead of 2004, which if I remember correctly was not exactly considered the Dark Ages of school hiring.

Had education staffing kept pace with enrollment, rather than greatly exceeding it, the current reductions in force would be greatly mitigated, perhaps even eliminated entirely. It was not some unforeseen cataclysm, but the inevitable result of policy choices we have made over the past decade."

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Psst: PBS isn’t really as good as commercial television. Why do we subsidize it? « The Greenroom

Psst: PBS isn’t really as good as commercial television. Why do we subsidize it? « The Greenroom: "PBS used to be a big fish in a small pond. Now, the pond is an ocean, and there are bigger, brighter, more beautiful marine animals with it in the pool. It’s time to get rid of the myth that PBS is the model for artistic and documentary programming. It’s time to stop its tax subsidies. And maybe, at some point, it will even be time to suggest it swim with the commercial big boys, producing tax revenue instead of living off it."

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Pew poll: Romney erases eight-point deficit, now leads by four among likely voters « Hot Air

Pew poll: Romney erases eight-point deficit, now leads by four among likely voters « Hot Air: "Romney’s favorable rating is now at 50 percent, up five points since last month and one point higher than the guy who’s banking on his alleged likability gap to push him over the edge in a close race. Interesting, Mitt rates higher than O even though swing voters are far more likely to say that Obama “connects well with ordinary Americans.” Evidently, Romney cut so impressive a figure at the debate that voters like him slightly more than Obama notwithstanding the fabled “who’d you rather have a beer with?” test."

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Pew poll: Romney erases eight-point deficit, now leads by four among likely voters « Hot Air

Pew poll: Romney erases eight-point deficit, now leads by four among likely voters « Hot Air: "Romney’s favorable rating is now at 50 percent, up five points since last month and one point higher than the guy who’s banking on his alleged likability gap to push him over the edge in a close race. Interesting, Mitt rates higher than O even though swing voters are far more likely to say that Obama “connects well with ordinary Americans.” Evidently, Romney cut so impressive a figure at the debate that voters like him slightly more than Obama notwithstanding the fabled “who’d you rather have a beer with?” test."

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Good news: Hugo Chavez wins Venezuela’s presidential election. Again. « Hot Air

Good news: Hugo Chavez wins Venezuela’s presidential election. Again. « Hot Air: "Of course, circling rumors about the real state of Chavez’s health and cancer concerns mean that he may not even live to serve out his entire third term, but until such a time, the corruption, abuse, and vigorous anti-American sentiment typical of Chavez’s reign so far are sure to keep on keepin’ on. Goody."

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Obama Claims Repealing ObamaCare Would Benefit Insurers. In Fact, They Stand to Lose $1 Trillion - Hit & Run : Reason.com

Obama Claims Repealing ObamaCare Would Benefit Insurers. In Fact, They Stand to Lose $1 Trillion - Hit & Run : Reason.com: "Regardless, the $1 billion in rebates customers stand to lose doesn't come close to what the health insurance industry has on the line. According to a Bloomberg Government study from May, insurers stand to lose $1 trillion in revenue if the law is repealed."

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Princeton Economist: Obama Campaign Is Misrepresenting My Study on Romney's Tax Plan | The Weekly Standard

Princeton Economist: Obama Campaign Is Misrepresenting My Study on Romney's Tax Plan | The Weekly Standard: "I can’t tell exactly how the Obama campaign reached that characterization of my work.  It might be that they assume that Governor Romney wants to keep the taxes from the Affordable Care Act in place, despite the fact that the Governor has called for its complete repeal.  The main conclusion of my study is that  under plausible assumptions, a proposal along the lines suggested by Governor Romney can both be revenue neutral and keep the net tax burden on taxpayers with incomes above $200,000 about the same.  That is, an increase in the tax burden on lower and middle income individuals is not required in order to make the overall plan revenue neutral."

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Why Gallup’s chief economist says the big drop in the unemployment rate ‘should be discounted’ | AEIdeas

Why Gallup’s chief economist says the big drop in the unemployment rate ‘should be discounted’ | AEIdeas: "You can count pollster Gallup as another observer questioning Friday’s job report, in particular the big drop in the unemployment rate. In a blog post, Dennis Jacobe, Gallup’s chief economist, writes that he seriously doubts whether the economy created nearly 900,000 jobs in September, as measured by the Labor Department’s seasonally adjusted household survey."

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Review & Outlook: Biting the Bank That Saved You - WSJ.com

Review & Outlook: Biting the Bank That Saved You - WSJ.com: "One notable detail: J.P. Morgan didn't sell the securities. The seller was Bear Stearns—yes, the same Bear Stearns that the government persuaded Morgan to buy in 2008. And, yes, the same government that is now participating in the lawsuit against Morgan to answer for stuff Bear did before the government got Morgan to buy it."

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Review & Outlook: California's Green Gas Shortages - WSJ.com

Review & Outlook: California's Green Gas Shortages - WSJ.com: "A Boston Consulting Group study warns that the limited availability of biofuels that could shimmy under the carbon limbo stick could force five to seven more refineries to close. Midwest corn ethanol wouldn't qualify. If all of California's 2006 global warming law were implemented, the study estimates the cost of gas would increase by up to $2.70 per gallon. By the way, Californians are already paying up to 50% more for their electricity than the rest of the country thanks to their renewable-energy portfolio standard.

The cost of such environmental regulations, which is baked into everything Californians consume, is one more reason that jobs are leaking to other states. In related news, Environmental Protection Agency chief Lisa Jackson says California is her model for the nation."

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Can Romney sustain the post-debate “bounce?” « Hot Air

Can Romney sustain the post-debate “bounce?” « Hot Air: "Combine this with the month-long-and-still-continuing debacle of the Obama administration’s handling of the Benghazi terror attack, and the impression from the debate and its aftermath is that Obama is in way over his head — which is what people concluded about Obama’s economic stewardship a couple of years ago, too.  Not only is Obama flailing and drifting, but he seems unaware of the fact that he is flailing and drifting.  Unless Obama begins communicating a clear agenda for a second term with a solid explanation of how that will improve over his D- first term, Romney looks like the only adult in the room.  And that may turn this from a bounce to a game-changer."

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Military Times Poll: Romney bests Obama, 2-1 - Marine Corps News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Marine Corps Times

Military Times Poll: Romney bests Obama, 2-1 - Marine Corps News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Marine Corps Times: "The professional core of the U.S. military overwhelmingly favors Mitt Romney over President Obama in the upcoming election — but not because of any particular military issues, according to a new poll of more than 3,100 active and reserve troops."

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Think tank: path to Iran nuke warhead 2-4 months - Yahoo! News

Think tank: path to Iran nuke warhead 2-4 months - Yahoo! News: " Iran could produce enough weapons-grade uranium to arm a nuclear bomb within two to four months but would still face serious "engineering challenges" — and much longer delays — before it succeeds in making the other components needed for a functioning warhead, a respected U.S. think tank said Monday."

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Arthur Brooks: A '47%' Solution for Romney - WSJ.com

Arthur Brooks: A '47%' Solution for Romney - WSJ.com: "The bottom 20% in America are not stuck because their welfare support is insufficient. It is because these cultural institutions are not helping them lead the lives they deserve. Volumes of research have shown that Great Society welfare policies—such as public housing and aid to families with dependent children—fueled family dissolution, community fragmentation, generational joblessness and government dependency. Many of Mr. Obama's welfare and redistribution policies are encouraging a return to these conditions."

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WaPo’s Chris Cillizza wonders: Is Candidate Obama … overrated? « Hot Air

WaPo’s Chris Cillizza wonders: Is Candidate Obama … overrated? « Hot Air: "Well, we’re finding out more about how Team Obama shattered those fundraising records, too.  But Cillizza is wrong about the question being “unimaginable”; plenty of us “imagined” it at the time, and not just about Obama as a candidate.  He was easily the least-experienced major-party nominee in decades, with no military, business, or executive experience prior to his candidacy.  The only elections he won were in a heavily Democratic region — Chicago — and against Alan Keyes in his one statewide race in 2004.  Obama had never distinguished himself as a legislative leader. His only real claim to fame was that he wrote two memoirs and gave a great speech at the 2004 Democratic convention."

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Another Obama green-subsidy recipient under criminal investigation « Hot Air

Another Obama green-subsidy recipient under criminal investigation « Hot Air: "That’s not the only investigation for the defunct solar maker.  Apparently, even after getting $68 million from the Obama administration for its poor-quality solar panels, they couldn’t pay their local property tax bill, either.  That may or may not be part of the Weld County probe at the moment, but if it’s not, there will probably be another one to find the missing tax payments."

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Romney’s Gutting of Obama Leads to New Momentum, Liberals Still Delusional « The Greenroom

Romney’s Gutting of Obama Leads to New Momentum, Liberals Still Delusional « The Greenroom: "Obama has set a modern record for refusal to be quizzed by the media, taking questions from reporters far less often than Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and even George W. Bush. Though his opponent in 2008 promised to take questions from lawmakers like the British prime minister does, Obama has shied from mixing it up with members of Congress, too. And, especially since Rahm Emanuel’s departure, Obama is surrounded by a large number of yes men who aren’t likely to get in his face."

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MSNBC Panel Offers Predictions For Veep Debate: Biden Will Soar, Ryan Will Lie | Mediaite

MSNBC Panel Offers Predictions For Veep Debate: Biden Will Soar, Ryan Will Lie | Mediaite: "Why this panel would chose to build up Biden and reduce expectations for Paul Ryan when so many of their colleagues on the left are saying the precise opposite is truly vexing. But that assumes that someone will hold these individuals to account if their predictions fail to materialize."

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Cover Story: The First Presidential Debate : The New Yorker

Cover Story: The First Presidential Debate : The New Yorker: "Here’s a sneak preview of next week’s cover, “One on One,” by Barry Blitt. “This image seemed like a proper response to the first Presidential debate,” says Blitt, “but I’m not sure I realized how hard it is to caricature furniture.”"

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Jim Lehrer Responds To His Debate Moderation Critics: I Was ‘Effective’ | Mediaite

Jim Lehrer Responds To His Debate Moderation Critics: I Was ‘Effective’ | Mediaite: "“Based on what the goal was, I saw it as successful,” said Lehrer. “I’ve always said this and finally I had a chance to demonstrate it: The moderator should be seen little and heard even less. It is up to the candidates to ask the follow-up questions and challenge one another.”"

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Philadelphia teacher equates student’s Romney T-shirt with KKK sheet « The Greenroom

Philadelphia teacher equates student’s Romney T-shirt with KKK sheet « The Greenroom: "The parents demanded a meeting with the school administration. The teacher, whose name has not been revealed, claimed it was all a joke. The incident is under investigation by the district, which for the time has transferred the teacher to another classroom, where she can inflict her narrow-mindedness and bigotry on a fresh set of youngsters.

The incident is reminiscent of another in May, in which a North Carolina teacher told her class that speaking out against Barack Obama could result in their being imprisoned."

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Cutter: Yeah, we’ve been lying about the $5 trillion we said Romney’s lying about « Hot Air

Cutter: Yeah, we’ve been lying about the $5 trillion we said Romney’s lying about « Hot Air: "The whopping growth rate required to make the math work? 2.29 percent, according to Rosen, which in a world before Obama seemed plenty plausible."

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September Jobs Report Won’t Save Obama | Mediaite

September Jobs Report Won’t Save Obama | Mediaite: "Finally, the first presidential debate is more likely to have an impact on the electorate than this jobs report. 67 million people watched the debate – perhaps more, given the impossibility of measuring the number of people who watched online or listened to it on the radio. This decidedly one-sided event was taken in by more than half the number of people who turned out to vote in 2008. Those who suggest that the last month’s positive jobs numbers will have a broader impact than that widely-watched event are kidding themselves."

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Romney Deflates the President - WSJ.com

Romney Deflates the President - WSJ.com: "As things tighten up, they will probably get dirty. It is a matter of conviction in both parties that the other side is more ruthless and brutal in its use of underhanded tactics. Both campaigns have probably been sitting on potentially damaging opposition research. Why? Because they don't want to win that way. Political operatives say they hate oppo because they hate to lower the tone of the national discourse. The truth is, oppo is bad for business. The press goes into full Lascivious Puritan mode, spreads the dirt and then tries to nail the provider. When everyone knows a strategist won dirty, he becomes controversial, future clients shy away, and the mortgage on the house in Umbria goes unpaid. But losing is even worse for business.

Chicago won't go quietly. Be ready for trouble and able of rapid response."

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Romney was right: Big Bird needs to find a new nest « The Greenroom

Romney was right: Big Bird needs to find a new nest « The Greenroom: "Yes, PBS, which once provided unique television viewing, has become a redundancy in the age of alternatives to “basic” broadcast service. A study by the Television Bureau of Advertising finds that 90% of all TV households have either cable and satellite hookups. Alternatives to the sorts of cultural, entertainment, and educational programming offered by PBS are available up and down the dial—and, as a bonus, all are blessedly free of the irritating and lengthy donation appeals that heavily pepper many PBS specials."

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National Journal wonders: Where’s the beef, Mr. President? « Hot Air

National Journal wonders: Where’s the beef, Mr. President? « Hot Air: "Four weeks later, Obama still has nothing to offer.  He has nothing left in the tank; he’s mailing it in.  All he can do is offer the Geithneresque approach, picking apart Romney’s plan while having nothing of his own to offer.  And if he doesn’t have anything to offer by now, Obama simply doesn’t have it at all."

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Romney’s Playbook - Robert Costa - National Review Online

Romney’s Playbook - Robert Costa - National Review Online: "Christie, who has casually advised Romney before previous debates, was greeted with skepticism from many pundits, who thought that he was unreasonably raising expectations. Fehrnstrom, for his part, didn’t mind the comments. “He’s quite the prognosticator,” Fehrnstrom says as we chat outside the debate hall. On Sunday, Christie may have sounded off-key to outsiders, but those inside Romney World have known for weeks that their candidate was ready. As they see it, Romney’s latest ascent didn’t start on Wednesday. It started after the conventions at a mountain lodge in New England."

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Generational Warfare: The Case Against Parasitic Baby Boomers - NationalJournal.com

Generational Warfare: The Case Against Parasitic Baby Boomers - NationalJournal.com: "Brigham Young University economists Richard Evans and Kerk Phillips and Boston University economist Laurence Kotlikoff published a paper in January that projected a 1-in-3 chance that the U.S. economy will reach “game over” within 30 years. In their definition, “game over” means that the government’s obligations to seniors (thanks again, boomers) will exceed 100 percent of everyone else’s earnings. In other words, all the young workers in America together won’t earn enough to pay down the government’s obligations to their parents."

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Charles Krauthammer: Romney by two touchdowns - The Washington Post

Charles Krauthammer: Romney by two touchdowns - The Washington Post: "Reelection campaigns after a failed presidential term — so failed that Obama barely even bothers to make the case, preferring to blame everything on his predecessor — hinge almost entirely on whether the challenger can meet the threshold of acceptability. Romney crossed the threshold Wednesday night."

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FBI investigates in Benghazi for … 12 hours « Hot Air

FBI investigates in Benghazi for … 12 hours « Hot Air: "That brings up two points, if the State Department was reluctant to have the FBI in Benghazi for security reasons (it could have been the FBI who showed understandable reluctance after what happened).  One, the insistence that security in Benghazi was so bad that the FBI couldn’t get within 400 miles to investigate the terrorist attack stands in pretty stark contrast to their hand-washing on security in the months prior to the attack.  Second, State has a vested interest now in obfuscation in this attack, thanks to what we know now about their approach to security and the well-founded fears of the now-deceased US Ambassador, J. Christopher Stevens.

We should have had a military contingent in Benghazi immediately to secure that location, which was a legitimate diplomatic outpost of the United States.  We can’t even show our face outside of daylight hours now.  No matter who made those decisions and why, that’s a tremendously weak showing in a part of the world where weakness costs lives."

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Romney: We sure didn’t get transparency from Obama on Benghazi attack, huh? « Hot Air

Romney: We sure didn’t get transparency from Obama on Benghazi attack, huh? « Hot Air: "There is no other conclusion but that President Obama deliberately deceived the American people to hide the fact that the nation had suffered a terrorist attack on his watch."

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Gerald Walpin: Race and the Law at the Supreme Court - WSJ.com

Gerald Walpin: Race and the Law at the Supreme Court - WSJ.com: "As whites are all not conservative or liberal, carnivore or vegetarian, etc., blacks are equally diverse: compare the political views of Al Sharpton and Herman Cain, or the approach to the law of Attorney General Eric Holder and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. The Supreme Court previously held in J.E.B. v. Alabama (1994) that any assertion that the presence of African-Americans would allow diversity in ideas is a classification "that rest[s] on impermissible stereotypes [that] violate the Equal Protection Clause.""

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Review & Outlook: Alien Tort Invasion—II - WSJ.com

Review & Outlook: Alien Tort Invasion—II - WSJ.com: "One problem with modern law is that it is vulnerable to constant inventions by creative lawyers. A good illustration is the Alien Tort Statute, a 33-word 1789 law—yes, 1789—that was narrowly interpreted until American trial lawyers got into the act. So much the better, then, if the Supreme Court uses this week's Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum case to limit the law's reach once and for all."

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The Zombie Apocalypse “Town Hall” debate is coming « The Greenroom

The Zombie Apocalypse “Town Hall” debate is coming « The Greenroom: "I’d love to see Romney turn such accusations back onto the president. When Obama is before a friendly audience, he acts as though someone else has been president for the past four years and he’s running against that phantom leader. Post-debate, the president talked to a crowd of supporters about holding Romney accountable—as if Romney had been the one in the Oval Office. This is an implicit admission that the president can’t tout his own record, which is strewn with economic failures. At some point, Romney might want to say this outright—that the president acts as if he’s the challenger running against a sitting president. With all due respect, Mr. Obama, you are the sitting president. You have a record of your own you should be held accountable for, and that’s what this election is really about. Did you fulfill your promises, did you lead the country down the right path, or are things still bad and getting worse?"

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