This and That

Salt Lake Tribune: …. From his embrace of the party’s radical right wing, to subsequent portrayals of himself as a moderate champion of the middle class, Romney has raised the most frequently asked question of the campaign: “Who is this guy, really, and what in the world does he truly believe?”

The evidence suggests no clear answer, or at least one that would survive Romney’s next speech or sound bite. Politicians routinely tailor their words to suit an audience. Romney, though, is shameless, lavishing vastly diverse audiences with words, any words, they would trade their votes to hear.

…. If this portrait of a Romney willing to say anything to get elected seems harsh, we need only revisit his branding of 47 percent of Americans as freeloaders who pay no taxes….

…. our endorsement must go to the incumbent, a competent leader who, against tough odds, has guided the country through catastrophe and set a course that, while rocky, is pointing toward a brighter day. The president has earned a second term. Romney, in whatever guise, does not deserve a first.

Full endorsement here

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Two-year-old Sacha Marzett waits in line to attend a campaign rally with her mother Lazette Marzett and friend Catherine Ignacio at George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia (Chip Somodevilla/Getty)

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Tampa Bay Times: Four years ago, Barack Obama offered an inspiring message of hope and change to an uneasy nation bogged down in two wars and facing economic collapse. The rosy idealism quickly gave way to the harsh realities of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. The recovery has proven more difficult than anyone imagined. But conditions would be far worse without the president’s steady leadership. This is not the time to reverse course and return to the failed policies of the past. Without hesitation, the Tampa Bay Times recommends Barack Obama for re-election as president.

…. We wish the economic recovery was more vigorous, and we would like the president to present a sharper vision for a second term. But Obama has capably steered the nation through an incredibly difficult period at home and abroad, often with little help from Congress. The next four years will not be easy for whoever occupies the Oval Office, but Obama has been tested by harsh circumstance and proven himself worthy of a second term.

For president of the United States, the Tampa Bay Times recommends Barack Obama.

Full endorsement here

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George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia (Chip Somodevilla/Getty)

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Fairfax

Facebook

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An Obama campaign volunteer high-fives people waiting in line for President Obama’s rally at George Mason University (Chip Somodevilla/Getty)

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Two-year-old Sacha Marzett waits in line to attend a campaign rally with her mother Lazette Marzett and friend Catherine Ignacio at George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia (Chip Somodevilla/Getty)

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Heads Up: President Obama at George Mason University

11:45: President Obama speaks at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.

Livestream * C-Span * CBS 1 * CBS 2 * CNN

@OFA_VA: Great crowd here at George Mason to see @BarackObama. #ForwardVA

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At the same time:

11:45: VP Biden speaks at a campaign event at the Sun City Community Center (C-Span)

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Later:

2:0: Michelle Obama speaks at a campaign event in Racine, Wisconsin (listed by CNN and CBS)

3:30: VP Biden speaks at a campaign event at Lincoln Park High School

5:15: Michelle Obama speaks at a campaign event at the University of Wisconsin-Wausau (listed by CNN)

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Rise and Shine

‏@BarackObama

OFA

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Newseum

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Newseum

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This, That and the Other

@OFA_VA: Some of these folks have been out here since 9PM last night. Excited? We think so.

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AP

George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, Oct 5

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Paul Krugman: …. Today’s full-scale freakout over a decent jobs report is a sight to behold …. it’s ridiculous to imagine that the Obama administration could arrange (on short notice, no less) to cook the jobs numbers. The sheer logistics would be impossible, plus these are civil servants who have to live under both parties.

…. The thing is, although such antics are funny in a way, they’re also menacing. By attacking anyone who presents awkward facts, the right exerts an intimidating effect. It won’t get the BLS to retract today’s jobs report, but it might bully news organizations into avoiding objective economic analysis, and maybe even into blurring their reporting right now.

So this is crazy and stupid; but it’s also scary.

More here

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Steve Benen: The death of a talking point

If I had a nickel for every time Mitt Romney has said the unemployment rate has been above 8% throughout the Obama presidency, I’d have, well, nearly as much money as Mitt Romney.

Today, however, the talking point died. The unemployment rate fell unexpectedly, dropping from 8.1% to 7.8%.

Full post here

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Cagle

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BuzzFeed

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BuzzFeed: Romney Misstates Reason For Unemployment Rate Drop:

“The reason it’s come down this year is primarily due to the fact that more and more people have just stopped looking for work.”

But the labor force has actually grown since the start of the year….

More here

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Greg Sargent: Mitt Romney’s selection of Paul Ryan as his vice presidential nominee has drawn national attention to Ryan’s Medicare plan. One measure of this: Rob Zerban, the Democrat challenging Ryan for his House seat in Wisconsin, has been able to raise some $770,000 for his race — outraising Ryan himself.

According to the Zerban campaign, 84 percent of his contributions come from outside Wisconsin, underscoring the intensity of feeling among Democrats nationally towards Ryan and his plan.

In this context, the new ad that Zerban is set to run against Ryan is worth watching….

More here

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Scout Tufankjian for Obama for America

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Next:

2:30: President Obama delivers remarks at Cleveland State University in Ohio

C-Span * CBS 1 * CBS 2 * CNN

evening all

President Barack Obama waves to people gathered along the motorcade route from Osawatomie High School to Osawatomie-Paola Municipal Airport in Osawatomie, Kan., Dec. 6, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

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Paul Krugman: One crucial thing you need to understand about political journalists is that with some honorable exceptions, they don’t know or care about actual policy …

…. Hence, the awful decision of Politico to give Paul Ryan an award as healthcare policymaker of the year.

…. what became painfully, embarrassingly clear during the debate over the Ryan plan was that Ryan is, well, incompetent …. it’s true that the plan “got everyone talking”, as Politico says – but mostly it got people talking about what a mess Ryan’s effort was.

Oh, and it was pretty clear that Ryan wasn’t being honest about his own numbers.

What’s going on here, I suppose, is that Politico is mistaking theater for policy. Ryan isn’t an important health care reformer, or even minimally competent in his attempted wonkery, but he plays a deep thinker on TV. And the people at Politico either don’t understand the difference, or they don’t care.

More here

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President Obama returns to the White House after a visit to Kansas

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Steve Benen: President Obama has decided that, from now on, foreign aid decisions will take into consideration how countries treat their LGBT citizens, and he directed U.S. agencies abroad to ensure our humanitarian and diplomatic efforts “promote and protect” the rights of gays and lesbians.

…. today’s announcement marks a historic first …. It also adds to a rather extraordinary record for Obama in this area in his first three years….

…. I realize there are still a sizable number of people in the LGBT community who are unsatisfied with the pace of change, and consider President Obama someone who has ignored, and even betrayed, their interests. Some have even vowed not to lift a finger to help with the president’s re-election effort.

I suspect many social-conservative activists find this inexplicable.

Full post here

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Oh Willard…..

tomorrow’s headlines today

exclusive: gopolitico’s front page tomorrow

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Oh. God.

chat away

President Barack Obama and Jay Leno joke backstage before taping the Tonight Show (Pete Souza)

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San Francisco tonight – no sound until 8 seconds in 😳

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The First Lady in Detroit – photos from Anne Savage Photography via Eclectablog

Thanks Hopefruit 😉

Loved this one from Anne Savage:

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First Lady Michelle Obama with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel at a South Side Walgreens today in Chicago

Chicago Tribune – Read the text of the First Lady’s remarks here – thanks Jovie

First lady Michelle Obama holds up a worm from a compost pile as she visits Iron Street Urban Farm

First Lady Michelle Obama and Mayor Rahm Emanuel greet Newt Gingrich in Chicago

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Denver Post: A new statewide poll released today to coincide with President Obama’s trip to Colorado shows the first-term Democrat is more popular than any of his major GOP presidential challengers, particularly among unaffiliated voters and Hispanics, two crucial groups.

…. “At this point in the presidential race, President Obama is running against himself,” Project New West president Jill Hanauer said today. “At the same time, the Republican field is not reaching a majority of Coloradans due to their extreme views in very centrist state where voters vote for the person not the party and the policy vision, not a political ideology.”

…. PNW’s poll showed that 49% of likely Colorado voters view the President in a positive light, compared with 45% who have a negative opinion of him. Comparatively, Mitt Romney has a 40/38 favorable/unfavorable rating, and Rick Perry is underwater with a 29/38 rating.

Importantly, the President is even more popular with unaffiliated voters, who constitute a crucial 29% of the Colorado electorate. 54 percent of unaffiliated voters have positive feelings about the president, compared with 37% who view him negatively. Romney (38/37) and Perry (24/33) have similar ratings among Unaffiliateds as they do with the broader electorate.

The President also remains popular with Hispanic voters, who made up roughly 12% of the Colorado electorate in 2010. Obama has a 59/36 approval/disapproval rating among Colorado Hispanics, compared to 31/35 for Romney and 28/39 for Perry.

Full post here

Thanks Marlz

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Go to Political Correction to see an enlarged version of the graphic – ‘A Timeline Of GOP Economic Sabotage’. Thank you BWD.

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OMG! Ex-pat GG briefly left Brazil to visit America for an appearance on Maddow to promote his shiny new book! Awesome! It was a complete love-in – Rachel even wrote the huggy blurb on the back of the book! And she nodded knowingly when he went on about the elites who rule America (but she ran out of time before she could ask him about the Koch brothers and GG’s work for their CATO Institute).

Buy the book now!

wrap-up

President Barack Obama greets neighbors near the Bonilla residence in Las Vegas, Nev., where he spoke about the mortgage refinancing proposal and ‘Project Rebuild’, a piece of the American Jobs Act, Oct. 24. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

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Tomorrow’s news today:

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Link

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😯

LittleGreenFootballs

Thanks Marlz