10:40: Delivers remarks at Austin Straubel International Airport, Green Bay
11:45: Departs Green Bay
PDT
1:15: Arrives Las Vegas
2:10: Delivers remarks at Cheyenne Sports Complex, Las Vegas
3:25: Departs Las Vegas
MDT
5:55: Arrives Denver, Colorado
7:0: Delivers remarks at Coors Events Center, Denver
8:45: Departs Denver
EDT
1:05: Arrives Columbus, Ohio where he will stay overnight
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Steve Benen: If the White House hopes to see initial unemployment claims drop just before the election, officials got their wish. The new figures from the Department of Labor – the last report before Election Day – show a move in the right direction:
Applications for U.S. unemployment benefits fell by 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 363,000 in the week of Oct. 21-27, keeping them in a range that indicates little change in U.S. hiring patterns over the past few months. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expected claims to fall to 365,000. Initial claims from two weeks ago were revised up to 372,000 from an original reading of 369,000, based on more complete data collected at the state level, according to the U.S. Labor Department.
Toledo Blade: In the final few days of the presidential contest, Mitt Romney evidently recognizes that his opposition to the federal rescue of General Motors and Chrysler is costing him voter support he needs in Ohio and Michigan. So the Republican nominee is conducting an exercise in deception about auto-industry issues that is remarkable even by the standards of his campaign.
…. Mr. Romney’s own words make clear he is no friend of the auto industry, on which Ohio relies for one of every eight jobs. Voters in Ohio and Michigan — and the nation — need to remember that.
NYT Editorial: When General Motors tells a presidential campaign that it is engaging in “cynical campaign politics at its worst,” that’s a pretty good signal that the campaign has crossed a red line and ought to pull back. Not Mitt Romney’s campaign. Having broadcast an outrageously deceitful ad attacking the auto bailout, the campaign ignored the howls from carmakers and came back with more.
Mr. Romney apparently plans to end his race as he began it: playing lowest-common-denominator politics, saying anything necessary to achieve power and blithely deceiving voters desperate for clarity and truth.
….. Mr. Romney is providing a grim preview of what kind of president he would be.
Greg Sargent: The chatter continues this morning about GOP Governor Chris Christie’s astonishingly effusive praise of Obama’s handling of Hurricane Sandy. After they toured the damage yesterday, Christie thanked Obama for their “great working relationship” and claimed Obama “sprung into action immediately.” The day before, Christie praised Obama’s storm response as “outstanding,” adding: “He deserves my praise, and he will get it regardless of what the calendar says.”
What’s striking about this is how directly it undermines one of the central arguments Mitt Romney is making against Obama, with only five days left until Election Day … Romney has been closing out the campaign with a series of ads claiming that he will work with Democrats to get things done in Washington and arguing that Obama utterly failed to persuade Republicans to work with him….
Now Americans are being treated to images of a Republican Governor extensively praising Obama for working with him cooperatively and displaying leadership and a propensity for quick action at a time of crisis.
11:30 ET: VP Biden speaks at a campaign event in Sarasota, Florida (listed at CNN live streaming)
12:0: President Obama departs the White House
12:25 Arrives in Atlantic City and views storm damage with Governor Chris Christie
3:0: VP Biden speaks at at campaign event in Ocala, Florida (C-Span)
3:15: PBO departs Atlantic City
4:25: Arrives at the White House
(Need to check these times, they’re different in every schedule I see)
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President Obama will return to the campaign trail on Thursday after taking three days off to oversee storm response. He will attend rallies in Green Bay, Wis.; Boulder, Colo.; and Las Vegas.
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Jonathan Chait (NY Mag): …. Obama can boast a record of accomplishment that bests any president since Roosevelt, and has fewer demerits on his record than any of them, including Roosevelt. The only president that comes close in gross positive accomplishment is Lyndon Johnson, whose successes were overwhelmed by his failures ….
….What can be said without equivocation is that Obama has proven himself morally, intellectually, temperamentally, and strategically. In my lifetime, or my parents’, he is easily the best president. On his own terms, and not merely as a contrast to an unacceptable alternative, he overwhelmingly deserves reelection.
NYT: Chris Christie was supposed to be one of Mitt Romney‘s most aggressive surrogates, constantly attacking President Obama in the waning days of the presidential campaign.
Instead, Mr. Christie on Tuesday repeatedly heaped praise on Mr. Obama for his leadership of the federal government’s response to the storm that slammed into his state on Monday …. he was effusive about Mr. Obama’s administration, calling the storm response “wonderful,” “excellent” and “outstanding.”
…. some Republicans have already begun grumbling about Mr. Christie’s over-the-top praise of the president at such a crucial time in the election…
…. In several appearances on morning news programs on Tuesday, Mr. Christie went out of his way to thank the president personally….
David Firestone (NYT): On a day when millions of Americans face serious hardship as they recover from Hurricane Sandy’s damage, Mitt Romney clearly decided it would be crass to campaign in a conventional way. So he turned a scheduled rally in Kettering, Ohio, this morning into a “storm relief event,” and posed before piles of donated canned goods.
…. He described such donations as “the American way” …. but the real “American way” is quite different. Most disaster agencies don’t want donated goods; they need cash. And in the modern era, the most important cash comes from taking people’s tax dollars and distributing them in the form of federal aid to communities hard-hit by a disaster. Because that involves the federal government, it is tainted in the minds of Mr. Romney and his party. It is compulsory, and thus not an offering of the heart.
….. Mr. Romney ignored all questions about his plans for federal emergency management. It’s probably embarrassing to admit those plans consist largely of collecting soup cans.
NYT: …. When Americans go to the polls next month, they will cast a vote not just for president but for one of two profoundly different visions for the future of the country’s health care system. With an Obama victory on Nov. 6, the president’s signature health care law – including the contentious requirement that most Americans obtain health insurance or pay a tax penalty – will almost certainly come into full force, becoming the largest expansion of the safety net since President Lyndon B. Johnson pushed through his Great Society programs almost half a century ago.
If Mr. Romney wins and Republicans capture the Senate, much of the law could be repealed – or its financing cut back – and the president’s goal of achieving near-universal coverage could take a back seat to Mr. Romney’s top priority, controlling medical costs.
Given the starkness of the choice, historians and policy makers believe this election could be the most significant referendum on a piece of social legislation since 1936, when the Republican Alf M. Landon ran against Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal programs….
Las Vegas Sun: About 11,200 people stood for hours in 90-degree heat Sunday for a chance to see a campaign rally for President Barack Obama (Desert Pines High School, September 30)
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Monday and Tuesday: The President will remain in Henderson, Nevada.
Wednesday: He will travel from Henderson to Denver where he will participate in the first Presidential Debate at the University of Denver. The First Lady will also attend. The President and the First Lady will remain overnight in Denver.
Thursday: PBO will deliver remarks at campaign events in Denver and Columbus, Ohio. He will return to Washington, DC in the evening.
Friday: PBO will deliver remarks at campaign events in Vienna, Virginia and Cleveland, Ohio. He will return to Washington, DC in the evening.
Charles Blow: Elections often turn on character moments and the slopes of lines. They are about who a candidate reveals himself to be under pressure more than who he says he is on stage…..
Taking that into account, at this moment, President Obama’s chances of being re-elected look stronger than they have in months. The Romney campaign seems to be coming off the tracks with no clear vision for how to get back on.
Romney’s panicky, premature excoriation of the Obama administration over violence in the Middle East — a response that was factually flawed and widely panned — only served to shake the fragile faith of those who might be holding their noses to support him…..
It also doesn’t help that Romney seems incapable of concealing his anxiety. He too often looks like a boy who just stepped on a nail and can’t remember his last tetanus shot.
Liberal Librarian: I think that this week has been a fulcrum not only in the election, but in the very real fight for the soul of the country.
Yes, way too many of our fellow citizens are still addled by hatred and bigotry. Obama should be ahead by 10-15 points, not 4-8. But let’s put that into perspective: Before the conventions, the polling averages had him ahead by at most 2 points. The debacle of Tampa and the triumph of Charlotte, without the media filter, basically reintroduced the country to both parties.
The GOP was seen as a heartless collection of ideologues whose only interest was in achieving power to service its rich backers. There was no positive vision of the future, but a wallowing in the contention that America was “in decline”. Charlotte highlighted a party and a President who believed in the nation, believed in the ability of its citizens to make an adult decision when presented with facts. The country saw a party united in its determination to make life better for all citizens, not just the fortunate few. It was the antithesis of the malaise bruited about by the GOP.
ThinkProgress: Biotechnology firm Monsanto Company, which currently owns most of the patents for America’s staple crops, is already cozy with American lawmakers. A new Nation report, however, indicates that “a very old friend in a very high place” may usher in the corporation’s most prosperous years yet.
The Nation’s investigative report has uncovered how Mitt Romney personally helped Monsanto shed its string of toxic chemical-related scandals and reinvent itself to dominate American agriculture. Monsanto, an early Bain & Company client, was so impressed with Romney that they started bypassing his superiors to deal with him directly.
ThinkProgress: House Republican Leader Eric Cantor announced Friday that after next week, the House will stand in recess until November 13. His plan for a nearly two month vacation will undoubtedly allow more time for campaigning, but will leave several vital bills awaiting action.
Among the important legislation the House will likely not address before the November elections:
1. Violence Against Women Act re-authorization…. 2. The American Jobs Act…. 3. Tax cuts for working families…. 4. Veterans Job Corps Act….
The Independent (UK): …. Mitt Romney has a fight on his hands if he wants to keep using Thin Lizzy music to back his campaign. The widow of Phil Lynott, the band’s legendary frontman, said there was no way the singer would have supported the Republican candidate.
Caroline Lynott-Taraskevics has told the band’s record company to issue a cease and desist order preventing Romney from using Thin Lizzy classics …. she and his mother Philomena were angered after Mr Romney used the anthem The Boys Are Back In Town at the Republican convention in Florida.
The rocker’s mother has said her son would have rejected any association with the Republicans, particularly the Christian right-wing of the party and what she called anti-gay and pro-rich policies.
In a message published by Irish music magazine Hot Press, Ms Lynott-Taraskevics said that were Lynott still alive, he would back Democrat US President Barack Obama.
“Absolutely in no way would Philip have supported Mitt Romney or Paul Ryan and he would have been so happy about Obama becoming US president,” she said.
CNN: A new survey indicates President Barack Obama moved up four points following the Democratic National Convention last week, and now has a six point advantage over his Republican challenger Mitt Romney.
According to a CNN/ORC International Poll released Monday, 52% of likely voters nationwide back the president, compared to 46% for Romney. Just before the convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, Obama was tied with Romney 48%-48%.
President Obama last week promised a boom in manufacturing and 1 million new jobs if he is reelected.
But is the boom for real? For high-paying, skilled manufacturing jobs, it just might be.
The number of job openings for skilled factory workers has increased 38% since 2005, according to numbers from the Conference Board that measure labor demand across industries.
More strikingly, the sharpest increase in postings for skilled workers – 152% – has occurred in the last three or so years.
Steve Benen: “Obamacare” is working: “The share of young adults without health insurance fell by one-sixth in 2011 from the previous year, the largest annual decline for any age group since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began collecting the data in 1997.” (See NYT)
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WSJ: The Planned Parenthood Action Fund is making one of the largest ad buys in its history, buying $3.2 million TV time in the battleground states of Virginia and Ohio, saying Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is bad for women’s health.
Tuesday: To mark the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the President, the First Lady and White House staff will gather on the South Lawn of the White House Tuesday morning to observe a moment of silence. Later that morning, they will travel to the Pentagon Memorial. In the afternoon, the President will travel to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and visit with wounded warriors who are being treated at the hospital and their families
Wednesday: The President will travel to Las Vegas and Denver for campaign events. He will remain overnight in Denver
Thursday: The President will travel to Arvada, Colorado. He will return to the White House in the evening
Friday: The President and First Lady will welcome the 2012 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic teams to the White House
DemConvention.com: The first two days of the 2012 Democratic National Convention, Tuesday, September 4 and Wednesday, September 5, will be held at Time Warner Cable Arena. President Obama and Vice President Biden will accept the Democratic nominations for President and Vice President on Thursday, September 6 at Bank of America Stadium. Sign up now for your chance to attend this event. The convention committee will unveil additional convention program details and speakers in the coming days.
Speakers:
Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin * Congressman Xavier Becerra of California * Newark Mayor Cory Booker * Congressman G.K. Butterfield of North Carolina * Former President Jimmy Carter (via video) * San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro * Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee * Congresswoman Judy Chu of California * Congressman Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri * Former President Bill Clinton * Congressman James Clyburn of South Carolina * Former Republican Governor of Florida Charlie Crist * Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina Walter Dalton * The Honorable Arne Duncan * Congresswoman Diana DeGette of Colorado * Former Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Tammy Duckworth * U.S. Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois * Congresswoman Donna Edwards of Maryland * Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel * Georgetown Law School Graduate Sandra Fluke * Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx * Congressman Barney Frank of Massachusetts * Former Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gantt * Former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm * Congressman Charlie Gonzalez of Texas * U.S. Senator Kay Hagan of North Carolina * California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris * Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper * Congressman Steny Hoyer of Maryland * Former Governor of North Carolina Jim Hunt * DCCC Chairman Congressman Steve Israel of New York * Montana State Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau * Former Virginia Governor Tim Kaine * Lieutenant General Claudia Kennedy (ret.) * Congressman John Larson of Connecticut * Congresswoman Barbara Lee of California * Congressman John Lewis of Georgia * CarMax co-founder and former CEO Austin Ligon * President of NARAL Pro-Choice America Nancy Keenan * Caroline Kennedy * U.S. Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts * Women’s rights activist Lilly Ledbetter * Obama Campaign Co-Chair Eva Longoria * Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy * Delaware Governor Jack Markell * Boston Mayor Tom Menino * The Honorable Karen Mills * U.S. Senator Patty Murray of Washington * Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter * U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland * Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley * Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick * House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi * House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi will also lead a presentation of the women of the House: Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney of New York, Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez of New York, Congresswoman Gwen Moore of Wisconsin, Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz of Pennsylvania, Congresswoman Donna Edwards of Maryland, Candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives Joyce Beatty of Ohio, Candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii * California Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez * Congressman Jared Polis of Colorado * Congressman David Price of North Carolina * Illinois Governor Pat Quinn * Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada * President of Planned Parenthood Action Fund Cecile Richards * Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak * The Honorable Ken Salazar * Journalist Cristina Saralegui * U.S. Senator Charles Schumer of New York * Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer * The Honorable Kathleen Sebelius * Costco co-founder and former CEO Jim Sinegal * Former Ohio Governor Ted Strickland * Congressman Chris Van Hollen * Los Angeles Mayor, Democratic Convention Chair Antonio Villaraigosa * The Honorable Tom Vilsack * Senate candidate from Massachusetts Elizabeth Warren * DNC Chair Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida * Congressman Mel Watt of North Carolina
The Obama Diary 
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