Subject: POLITICO’s Morning Score—Presented by POLITICO Jobs: Post-debate messaging focuses on women--Majority PAC up in 8 Senate races--NRSC cancels some NOVA radio buys--Scott Brown: a Weld-Cellucci Republican
From: "Morning Score" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2012 06:23:01 -0600

By James Hohmann (
mailto:[email-masked] 
[email-masked] ; Twitter: @jameshohmann) 

THE EMERGING CONSENSUS ON LAST NIGHT: The president dominated the stage and reenergized his base. Romney did not lose, per se, but he missed some real opportunities and sounded too much like he wanted to win the night - not the election. "Obama seemed to come out ahead in the second debate, though not by the emphatic margin that Romney did in the first," John F. Harris and Jonathan Martin write in the analysis piece leading our site.

Last night refocuses the race on the two fundamental questions of 2012, per Harris and JMart-"Is Obama's record, especially on the economy, defensible? The president defended it as effectively as he is ever going to in the face of some skeptical questions from voters assembled for the debate's town-hall format...Is the Republican nominee an acceptable alternative? If the candidate in Denver seemed to show a whole new side of himself, the one who showed up in Hempstead was entirely familiar to anyone who watched any of the 20 Republican primary debates: crisp, well-prepared, sometimes a little peevish, sometimes a little awkward." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c7e43967ec0534915a5fa7092108f43530c3f28039fa5e400 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c7e43967ec0534915a5fa7092108f43530c3f28039fa5e400 

Lots more on the debate below...

EXCLUSIVE - CLUB FOR GROWTH POURING $1.5 MILLION MORE INTO AZ, IN: The group's political arm will go up today with earmark-focused attacks against Democrats Richard Carmona in Arizona ($900,000) and Joe Donnelly in Indiana ($600,000)-

- "Joe Donnelly says he wants a balanced budget. But in Congress, Donnelly voted to fund pork projects like a ballet theatre in New York, an Exploratorium in San Francisco (and)a Lobster Institute in Maine. The list never ends. Donnelly wasted our money on all of them. Hey Joe: if you won't even stop spending on a Lobster Institute, you'll never balance the budget." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c0ae6145ac57351c926f82fecdab408ae7d1839faa2bfdc84 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c0ae6145ac57351c926f82fecdab408ae7d1839faa2bfdc84 

- "For years, Washington politicians in both parties wasted billions on pork projects known as earmarks. Remember Alaska's Bridge to Nowhere? Jeff Flake led the battle against this outrageous waste, and Flake won, saving taxpayers billions. Now Richard Carmona is defending earmarks. Carmona calls them 'smart investments.' Wow..."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28cd7690a275765bb32710cee093b98ef5ce793ba446f57905f 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28cd7690a275765bb32710cee093b98ef5ce793ba446f57905f 

SNEAK PEEK - MAJORITY PAC LAUNCHING $8.4 MILLION AIR ASSAULT IN 8 STATES: The Democratic super PAC focused on keeping control of the Senate is trying to match conservative outside groups like Crossroads as much as possible. Here's the messaging in each new ad they'll run this week-

ARIZONA: Jeff Flake "voted against our veterans at every turn...Back home, Flake's been voting against their sisters, wives and mothers too." He tried to defund Planned Parenthood and deny women coverage for breast cancer screenings: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c58f90aeb39373c3b5da93627507abe04423f624718cb5c63 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c58f90aeb39373c3b5da93627507abe04423f624718cb5c63 .

INDIANA: Richard Mourdock opposed to the auto rescue, called Medicare and Social Security unconstitutional and supported eliminating the Department of Education. "Confrontation" is a joint buy with Center Forward: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28cd6f961aa91c7f6f7857962aed60bbd9f4bb24e1ff2d7a42a 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28cd6f961aa91c7f6f7857962aed60bbd9f4bb24e1ff2d7a42a .

MISSOURI: Clips of Todd Akin on Social Security, student loans and legitimate rape appear. "He'd be the public face of Missouri in the Senate, representing who we are, our values," the narrator says. "That's what Todd Akin actually believes. So the question is: do you?" 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c17a84fe1e629ce82f57f5772d7c6392d945061bcd33280c6 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c17a84fe1e629ce82f57f5772d7c6392d945061bcd33280c6 

MONTANA: Former lobbyist Dennis Rehberg voted to raise his own pay five times and to send Social Security funds to Wall Street insiders. 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c5811bc99a15b8c3853a3b705cf1e28c870d1c7b61dc5c995 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c5811bc99a15b8c3853a3b705cf1e28c870d1c7b61dc5c995 

NORTH DAKOTA: Man-on-the-street interviews with lots of regular people praising Heidi Heitkamp and saying that Rick Berg has gone Washington. 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c0388401d86ec93d290e726345864c3c15898b8eb09f4312e 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c0388401d86ec93d290e726345864c3c15898b8eb09f4312e 

VIRGINIA: George Allen supports a radical budget plan that would cut Medicare, wants reduced access to mammograms and cancer screenings and would let insurance companies make health care decisions. "Virginia families can do better," the narrator says. 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28ccfebc02f1aaf3fbd5c00448efefd132908c762284da4309a 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28ccfebc02f1aaf3fbd5c00448efefd132908c762284da4309a 

OHIO: Josh Mandel opposed the auto bailout, signed a pledge supporting tax breaks for companies that send jobs overseas and never took his job as state Treasurer seriously. "You can't trust him to fight for Ohio jobs," the narrator says. 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c18892a89c24dce850b1f732b4c2e1bda7ee52b96675429ca 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c18892a89c24dce850b1f732b4c2e1bda7ee52b96675429ca 

CONNECTICUT: Linda McMahon's could eliminate funding for breast cancer screenings, birth control and Planned Parenthood. "For a woman, her views are more old boys club than sisterhood," a female narrator says. 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28ce179e4b342d272fda8ea500253cf21afdb31f037f926beaf 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28ce179e4b342d272fda8ea500253cf21afdb31f037f926beaf 

As Rich Lowry says Romney focused too much on the rules, liberals lap up the Libya exchange and Geraldo Rivera congratulates the president on having "balls," here's POLITICO's Morning Score: your daily guide to the permanent campaign.

POST-DEBATE MESSAGING-

The Obama campaign highlights "Romney's condescending views toward women": Chicago pushes a 2-minute video with Romney's awkward line about the binders of women and Obama talking about his record. 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28cdd49873b2f95d56a3e0897f38ed3624215c40590e2443da9 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28cdd49873b2f95d56a3e0897f38ed3624215c40590e2443da9 

American Bridge quickly bought BindersFullofWomen.com after Romney stressed that he sought gender diversity when he became governor.

Romney stresses his moderate position on abortion and support for contraception in new ad: "You know, those ads say Mitt Romney would ban all abortions and contraception seemed a bit extreme, so I looked into it," says a woman identified as Sarah Minto, who is shown on camera searching on Google for Romney on abortion. "It turns out Romney doesn't oppose contraception at all. In fact, he thinks abortion should be an option in cases of rape, incest or to save a mother's life." The ad was first reported by the New York Times' Jeremy Peters: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c76fa7b8b0ce85736b82e8ead82af7826c31756af7ab96d31 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c76fa7b8b0ce85736b82e8ead82af7826c31756af7ab96d31 .

A GOP source preemptively pushes back on the "Binders" attack, sending over a Sept. 2011 story about Ron Suskind's "Confidence Men," a book in which Anita Dunn (who played Candy Crowley in debate prep) is quoted as saying of the Obama White House: "This place would be in court for a hostile workplace because it actually fit all of the classic legal requirements for a genuinely hostile workplace to women." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28cb6d2055c2d2e3261c462fb6213c97fc6582bb647803c0b62 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28cb6d2055c2d2e3261c462fb6213c97fc6582bb647803c0b62 

Candy Crowley clarifies that Romney was not actually totally wrong on Libya: The moderator went on CNN after the debate to say Romney "was right in the main. I just think he picked the wrong word." 1-minute video of the walkback being pushed by the GOP: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28cc45051132d8509a2621db0fa6e7a2f8f0d9eda35d78bd458 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28cc45051132d8509a2621db0fa6e7a2f8f0d9eda35d78bd458 . Dylan Byers' story on Candy's role: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c9a3e5976ea6d63c06e558ea9fef1ef4a4c65075fb294e73f 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c9a3e5976ea6d63c06e558ea9fef1ef4a4c65075fb294e73f .

An RNC video highlights Romney closing statement: 2-minute video set to soft music shows Romney noting the difference between where unemployment is now and 5.4 percent is 9 million Americans without work. Watch: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28cd659bf5b867f49a942050469ff4ab0ca881508714e415b8f 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28cd659bf5b867f49a942050469ff4ab0ca881508714e415b8f . Here's a Romney campaign press release on "Obama's five worst lies and exaggerations": 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c96c04dab46b0eb9274a5bce91641c2c0a404913909f4d0b5 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c96c04dab46b0eb9274a5bce91641c2c0a404913909f4d0b5 .

Boston brackets Obama's Ohio stop with a debt-focused mobile billboard: "Every Ohioan's share of the national debt: $51,000." Photo: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28cce60b9943392135676b001ea3f1e8d9fb931f3f7ba6b311a 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28cce60b9943392135676b001ea3f1e8d9fb931f3f7ba6b311a .

The Truman National Security Project attacks Romney on foreign policy. 90-second video from the progressive group uses pre-debate TV clips - including his comments about the Middle East peace process caught on hidden camera - to suggest he's not ready to be commander-in-chief: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c72b3a6594e29e38d678ba5f3bde51c66272cd719891729c1 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c72b3a6594e29e38d678ba5f3bde51c66272cd719891729c1 .

THE TRAIL TODAY-

OBAMA in IOWA and OHIO: 11:45 CT rally at Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa.6 ET rally at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. Back at the White House at 9

ROMNEY in VIRGINIA: 1:15 ET rally in Chesapeake with comedian Dennis Miller and singer Lee Greenwood. Then he goes to Leesburg for a 7 p.m. rally. Joining him there will be Miller and country music singer Andy Griggs.

BIDEN in COLORADO and NEVADA: Noon MT rally in Greeley. 5 PT rally in Reno. Then he flies to Las Vegas for the night.

RYAN in OHIO: 11:30 rally in Berea with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

MICHELLE in NEW YORK: In the morning the First Lady will tape an appearance on "Live with Kelly and Michael," which will air on Friday.Then she's going to afternoon fundraisers in Woodbury and New York City.

GOP SURROGATES: John Boehner meet-and-greet in Coralville, Iowa. Tagg Romney will speak at a Young Americans for Romney event in Winston-Salem, North Carolina at 11:15, and drop by the Victory office in Burlington. Craig Romney is in Colorado for a noon event in Greeley and at 2:30 "Juntos Con Romney" postcard party in Aurora.

COUNTDOWN: 20 days.

POST-DEBATE SNAP POLLING gives Obama a SLIGHT edge-

CNN national poll shows 46 percent think Obama won and 39 percent think Romney. They talked to 457 registered voters. "The president&#39;s edge on the question of who won the debate appears to be the result of his much better than expected performance and his advantage on likeability. BUT the poll also indicates that debate watchers said Romney would do a better job on economic issues. And the two candidates were tied on an important measure - whether the showdown would affect how the debate watchers will vote. Nearly half said the debate did not make them more likely to vote for either candidate, with the other half evenly divided between both men." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c04069ca16f8bb46c1bbfa745b18053ba056e9d69685a8f20 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c04069ca16f8bb46c1bbfa745b18053ba056e9d69685a8f20 

CBS gives Obama a slight edge, with 37 percent saying he won, 30 percent picking Romney and 33 percent calling it a tie. "The survey polled 525 voters who are undecided or who may still change their minds. Most of these uncommitted voters are not affiliated with a political party: 56 percent describe themselves as politically independent, 21 percent identify as Republicans, and 23 percent are Democrats. In a similar poll taken immediately following the first presidential debate, uncommitted voters agreed 2-to-1 that Romney was the winner." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c17ac6cf8640afdf4ad986ec818266dc853c65a8149f1afc7 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c17ac6cf8640afdf4ad986ec818266dc853c65a8149f1afc7 

PUBLIC POLICY POLLING (D) finds a narrow victory, 48/44, for Obama in Colorado. Independents said Obama won 58/36. "Fox News viewers (65/27) overwhelmingly thought Romney won, while MSNBC watchers (71/27) believe Obama was the winner. In addition to MSNBC, people who watched the debate on CNN, CBS, NBC, and PBS declare Obama to have been the winner." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28cf6971158943489010de92e88dd27b569adc27c6243816e8f 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28cf6971158943489010de92e88dd27b569adc27c6243816e8f 

LAKE RESEARCH PARTNERS (D) gives Obama the win: 53% of voters in battleground states who watched the debate say Obama won, just 38% said Romney. Obama won men and women, but debate reinforced gender gap. Women say Obama won 56-34. Men say Obama won 49-43. More or less likely to vote for Obama after the debate? 36% more, 25% less. More or less likely to vote for Romney after the debate? 29% more, 26% less. (Via Celinda's Twitter feed)

A FRANK LUNTZ (R) FOCUS GROUP, made up mostly of former Obama voters in Nevada, said they now support Romney. Real Clear Politics posts the video with quotes from six participants: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28ca80316fbd414c8452cae982ed81d96b54657ae988002d464 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28ca80316fbd414c8452cae982ed81d96b54657ae988002d464 .

OBAMA GOT MORE TIME (per CNN): 44 minutes to 40:50.

SOCIAL MEDIA-

GOOGLE'S top search about the debate was "who is winning." That was followed by live debate, binders full of women and fact check. Top related searches for Obama: Obamacare, Rose Garden Speech Libya, Michelle. Top related searches for Romney: Ann, Mitt bio, 5 point plan.

TWITTER saw the biggest spike in activity come during the question on immigration. 7.2 million total debate-related tweets. The three specific moments that generated the highest activity: Audience question to Romney on immigration (109,560 tweets per minute), Obama to Romney: 'You&#39;re the last person to get tough on China' (108,619 TPM) and Romney&#39;s response to tax rates question (107,386 TPM). 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28cb6f9143bce7da4c9043eb4093364fa9e6509edc6306256b7 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28cb6f9143bce7da4c9043eb4093364fa9e6509edc6306256b7 

FACEBOOK says Romney was mentioned 12.8% more than Obama through the debate. 

THE AIR WAR-

VIRGINIA-Kaine attacks on fiscal issues: "In the Senate, George Allen turned a surplus into a deficit and left office with a million more Americans unemployed," a narrator says in Tim Kaine's newest spot. "Now Allen's policies would increase the deficit a trillion dollars, cut Medicare, education and, according to the Pentagon, risk thousands of Virginia defense jobs to give tax cuts to the wealthy." Exclusive: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28cc2cfb678b2093f96ea1531828df10351bbfaeffeda89da25 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28cc2cfb678b2093f96ea1531828df10351bbfaeffeda89da25 .

NORTH DAKOTA-Hoeven vouches for Berg: "I've worked with Rick Berg for over a decade," Republican Sen. John Hoeven, leaning on a truck, says in a 30-second spot. "I've seen the ads: the truth is Rick Berg is a man of character and integrity. I trust him. He genuinely cares about the future of our state and nation." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c0c94b1b36da5185c158dc05a4edcfc1f01cd1aea64e4e029 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c0c94b1b36da5185c158dc05a4edcfc1f01cd1aea64e4e029 

INDIANA-Donnelly distances Mourdock from Romney: Joe Donnelly's newest attack against Richard Mourdock begins with a clip of Romney in the first debate saying that as governor he learned you couldn't lay down legislation and say "my way or the highway." "Richard Mourdock disagrees," a narrator says. "He's all about my way or the highway - attacking Medicare and Social Security as unconstitutional and cutting help for wounded vets while giving oil companies tax breaks." Watch for a Bill Clinton cameo: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c5107f0d0d2b75fa7062c20162c36a43f59fa18a8555bf1c6 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c5107f0d0d2b75fa7062c20162c36a43f59fa18a8555bf1c6 .

ARIZONA-Carmona talks about his mom: Soft 30-second ad responds to the attacks from his ex-boss in the Bush administration. "She'd say, 'Richard' - and she spoke in Spanglish! - 'The world will be a better place when women have an equal seat at the table of leadership,'" he says. Carmona raised more than $500,000 more than Flake in the third quarter ($2.2 million to $1.7 million). Overnight AP report on Flake's fundraising: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28cdf60f8235cf04800b63d5c6f161d166823027ec7f246ab9d 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28cdf60f8235cf04800b63d5c6f161d166823027ec7f246ab9d . Watch the ad: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c859d83b865fc4f20939bde9633e1485a1a97bb074097ac5a 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c859d83b865fc4f20939bde9633e1485a1a97bb074097ac5a .

NEVADA - DSCC IE says Heller is against education: Dean "Heller voted with Republicans over 90 percent of the time. He follows the crowd, even when it costs our kids." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28cfe651ca206f8059c2de9f110ce4613e882bc58afb4c1b243 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28cfe651ca206f8059c2de9f110ce4613e882bc58afb4c1b243 

WISCONSIN-DSCC IE ties Thompson to the pharmaceutical companies: "Tommy Thompson was the 'point man' for a plan that prohibits negotiating lower drug prices. Thompson&#39;s plan gave billions in taxpayer handouts to the drug companies. Thompson went on to make millions working at a lobbying firm for those same drug companies." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28cab66cc641822878d7d95c7a8790e6057616939b036088209 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28cab66cc641822878d7d95c7a8790e6057616939b036088209 

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WHO WON AT HOFSTRA?

Time's Mark Halperin gave Obama a "B-" and Romney a "C": "If voters have retained their deep affection for the President, Obama's confident energy and relentless attack on his opponent might be enough to convince them to give him another term; if voters are truly fed up, the lack of specifics may win Romney some weary new supporters. But Hofstra puts a full stop to the reverberations of Obama's Denver disaster that were still echoing, giving the incumbent an undeniable win." Blog post: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c9018e4b0bea09c9bc73aaff434c09910c4de0f7830b46b78 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c9018e4b0bea09c9bc73aaff434c09910c4de0f7830b46b78 . On Morning Joe today, Halperin added that Obama did NOT lay out a second-term agenda - "and that is where he's weakest": 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c000ebd5c884bef79f3f9716b6f86c65437c3787e40f637d7 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c000ebd5c884bef79f3f9716b6f86c65437c3787e40f637d7 .

Washington Post blogger Chris Cillizza declares Obama the winner and Romney the loser: "After coming out a little too hot - Obama seemed to be on the wrong side of the angry/passionate divide in the first 15 minutes - he moderated his tone to the sober/serious yet forceful persona that he needed in this debate.Debates are about moments - the moments that get replayed again and again the after-action analysis - and President Obama had three: 1) his line about how his pension wasn't as big as Romney's 2) winning, against all odds, the scrap about the Benghazi attack (with an assist from moderator Candy Crowley) and 3) his strong close in which he used Romney's '47 percent' comments as a
 cudgel to beat up his rival. Obama's performance wasn't flawless and he didn't score a clean win as Romney did in the first debate. But, he was the better performer this time around." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c423aaaaa0fdbe3d0d9597a7b1631bc98ad4daf251fe20efe 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c423aaaaa0fdbe3d0d9597a7b1631bc98ad4daf251fe20efe 

Fox News' Brit Hume thinks Obama will be seen as winner because of Denver underperformance: "Mitt Romney was basically the same Mitt Romney we saw in Denver...Because the president raised his game to some extent from the first time around, obviously he's going to look better by comparison than he did, he'll probably be declared the winner of this on most cards." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28ccc80db4270642a5cbb06eda0d98f0b542d23d10ec15e561b 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28ccc80db4270642a5cbb06eda0d98f0b542d23d10ec15e561b 

National Journal's Ron Fournier hedges: "Obama scores the most debate points, but verdict uncertain." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c5dd3dc6fe42c58954100166548a478d0a7aeca5274108e21 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c5dd3dc6fe42c58954100166548a478d0a7aeca5274108e21 

Christian Broadcasting Network's David Brody calls it "dead even": "Overall though, a TIE for Romney is a good night." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28cfc9fab315c5b0e8624f082f036a507b06b3264ce42244e20 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28cfc9fab315c5b0e8624f082f036a507b06b3264ce42244e20 

HOW IT'S PLAYING-

NATIONALS-

POLITICO: "Obama fights back." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c4c8876de6d475e707776a9af0c5c0c0bc94eaa18121c1cf8 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c4c8876de6d475e707776a9af0c5c0c0bc94eaa18121c1cf8 

New York Times A1: "Obama and Romney mount BITING attacks in debate rematch." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c8dc83c8a796e3f9450d77a8ff0e3c3ddfb830b869b794613 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c8dc83c8a796e3f9450d77a8ff0e3c3ddfb830b869b794613 

Washington Post: "With stakes high, Obama hits back at Romney in a FIERY second debate." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28cbebf01a3b2151f5fd385df12d8bc30d4a2a9bd29afe578a9 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28cbebf01a3b2151f5fd385df12d8bc30d4a2a9bd29afe578a9 

Los Angeles Times: "A SHARPER tone in second debate; President Obama, in need of a strong performance, is in attack mode throughout the town-hall-style debate. Mitt Romney holds his ground, often challenging the incumbent in a prosecutorial manner." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28cc970a9a1469b4540e5da14f00ae14bfdcc6f0218c6d77d57 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28cc970a9a1469b4540e5da14f00ae14bfdcc6f0218c6d77d57 

Wall Street Journal: "Candidates tangle in FRACTIOUS debate." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c03e847dd51dfb0b6ce8dd811012c33cd9011a786d5448a95 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c03e847dd51dfb0b6ce8dd811012c33cd9011a786d5448a95 

USA Today: "With gloves off on TV, did rivals connect?" Susan Page: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c3564152c8a50255e0992a7e80587c34904b2792b84824456 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a7652c9670ae28c3564152c8a50255e0992a7e80587c34904b2792b84824456 .

THE WEB-

Drudge: "Fight!" with link to AP lede-all. 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317a025c08db13087a30a12ff6fd0ecaae9c8ebea463f476894 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317a025c08db13087a30a12ff6fd0ecaae9c8ebea463f476894 

Huffington Post: "BARACK IS BACK." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317b65daf35f6e33c6c66a1e9249948c3a5440d4c3b3264e2c5 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317b65daf35f6e33c6c66a1e9249948c3a5440d4c3b3264e2c5 

Reuters: "Obama regains his footing in FEISTY second debate." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317739b7b910346cbef0fbcff693a4c0fab53ef7d15fb988c8e 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317739b7b910346cbef0fbcff693a4c0fab53ef7d15fb988c8e 

BATTLEGROUND PAPERS-

The Denver Post held a 15-undecided-voter focus group that gave Obama an edge, "but most said that both candidates still have a lot to explain before the Nov. 6 election." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea83178c6634c51a34fd8e17bd03197323e2d156a2c15d1cd9a14e 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea83178c6634c51a34fd8e17bd03197323e2d156a2c15d1cd9a14e 

Tampa Bay Times: "Second debate brings out ASSERTIVE Obama, TOUGH Romney." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317104adff7b7a8eca49e55f48c7a8a5e89f22970ae1b6d5ede 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317104adff7b7a8eca49e55f48c7a8a5e89f22970ae1b6d5ede 

Richmond Times-Dispatch: "Face to face: Obama, Romney in CRACKLING debate." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317a2bb172b013031e7c6be4c6469b6356afa6eed373fcb5b41 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317a2bb172b013031e7c6be4c6469b6356afa6eed373fcb5b41 

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "Obama takes the role of aggressor in debate, as Romney hammers back." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317406896b6ba7516a832e610a19f58cab0297ea14eb89148a6 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317406896b6ba7516a832e610a19f58cab0297ea14eb89148a6 

Las Vegas Sun (AP): "Obama aggressive; Romney gives as good as he gets." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea831758dbf84152fff4dd1e1364bc7b58064310f9b97b7606a202 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea831758dbf84152fff4dd1e1364bc7b58064310f9b97b7606a202 

LIBERALS loved the Libya exchange-

The New York Times' Andrew Rosenthal: "When George H.W. Bush looked at his watch in a 1992 debate with Bill Clinton and Ross Perot and absolutely bungled a question about how the national debt had affected him personally, he cemented the impression that he was out of touch with real Americans' lives," the editor of the New York Times editorial page writes. "When Gerald Ford denied in 1976 that there was any "Soviet domination" of Eastern Europe, he cemented the impression that he was out of touch with pretty much everything. Tonight, Mitt Romney may have had a similar moment, during a back-and-forth about the attack on the Benghazi Consulate." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea83171980b3224f0eed394892988e7a62b11be93e3f1bb428f2d2 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea83171980b3224f0eed394892988e7a62b11be93e3f1bb428f2d2 

Talking Points Memo's Josh Marshall: "The Romney camp's angle has been that Romney is Churchill incarnate because he's saying terror, terror, terror and is too big man to try to get a read on whether the video played any role. Now Romney's allies are trying to recover the fumble on his behalf by saying well, sure he uttered the word terror. But that's just a word...Live by the buzzword, die by the buzzword. It's been a nonsensical proposition from the start to imagine that foreign policy seriousness is defined by being the first one to hit the 'terror' buzzer like you're a contestant on jeopardy. But the Romney camp laid the trap. And tonight Mitt walked right into it." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea83179c6c620177b347bd5baa2b42017950a4765bc28918d3f716 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea83179c6c620177b347bd5baa2b42017950a4765bc28918d3f716 

The Daily Beast's Andrew Sullivan: "Obama dominated Romney tonight in every single way: in substance, manner, style, and personal appeal. He came back like a lethal, but restrained predator. He was able to defend his own record, think swiftly on his feet, and his Benghazi answer was superb. He behaved like a president... And Romney? Well, he has no answers on the math question and was exposed. He was vulnerable on every social issue, especially immigration. And he had no real answer to the question of how he&#39;d be different than George W Bush." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea831782b6b1ab5a3527ea78efab54aaa0341d2c2f17034e39bd8e 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea831782b6b1ab5a3527ea78efab54aaa0341d2c2f17034e39bd8e 

CONSERVATIVES acknowledge a better night for Obama-

George Will called it the best debate he's ever seen, but he thinks the president won: "I think there was a winner in the sense that Barack Obama not only gained ground that he had lost, but he cauterized some wounds that he inflicted on himself by seeming too diffident and disengaged," he said on ABC. "Both men tonight tiptoed right up to the point of rudeness, but stepped back. It was a very good fight. I have seen every presidential debate in American history since the floor of Nixon and Kennedy in 1960. This was immeasurably the best."

Charles Krauthammer said "on points, Obama came out ahead": "I think Romney did about as well as he did last time around. He made his points. Obama clearly had a good night, a much better night than the first night," he said on Fox News. "You know, Woody Allen said showing up is 80 percent of life. Well he was at the 80 percent. And I think on points, if you were scoring it on points, Obama wins on points. He made a lot of counter punches. He made a lot of accusations. He managed to get under [Mitt] Romney&#39;s skin a little bit by referring to his wealth." He said Romney "had a huge opening" that he missed during the Libya exchange and criticized Crowley for her "essentially incorrect"
 intervention. Write-up via Mackenzie Weinger: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea831729985a1c9b8241b2f3cf885ff0dc9b876e3f97182785bd9f 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea831729985a1c9b8241b2f3cf885ff0dc9b876e3f97182785bd9f .

National Review's Rich Lowry said Romney was NOT as good as last time: "Obama was much better than last time, not surprisingly. He got in all the expected hits on Romney, and at times threw out more things at once than Romney could plausibly respond to, unless he wanted to spend the entirety of his time in rebuttal mode. Romney, on the other hand, wasn't quite as good two weeks ago. I think he's at his weakest as a performer when he gets a little too worked up and shows too much concern with the rules. He did both tonight." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317634fd51bacdf7cf8e76c54f2da975074dc0bce95edee373c 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317634fd51bacdf7cf8e76c54f2da975074dc0bce95edee373c 

Powerline's John Hinderaker thinks Romney narrowly won: "I call the debate a win on points for Romney, but if someone wants to argue that it was a draw, fine. A draw won't get Obama re-elected." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317ae1afd9b3fd26f6140dde48d9dcd5847c21710b615566408 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317ae1afd9b3fd26f6140dde48d9dcd5847c21710b615566408 

ANALYSIS-POLITICO's Maggie Haberman marvels at how much the candidates hate each other: "During a protracted exchange early on, Obama and Romney closed in on one another, interrupting, raising hands, trying to get words in edgewise. At times, it seemed perilously close to a fist fight. Obama's personal dislike of Romney seemed a bit deeper and more personal; the Republican's disdain evidenced itself in more policy-oriented barbs. At the same time, Obama clearly realized at a certain point in the debate that he had gotten under Romney's skin, and it was at that moment that he started enjoying himself." One of six takeaways: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea831734b3a1256687f49821fda5029623b0ba382dffa30348d740 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea831734b3a1256687f49821fda5029623b0ba382dffa30348d740 .

ROMNEY TALKER-MAJOR ROMNEY BUY FOR THIS WEEK: Boston booked about $12 million worth of TV time for a 6-day rotation that begins today. The New York Times' Jeremy Peters says it's a cable and broadcast buy in nine states: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin. "The biggest amounts will be spent in Ohio (about $2 million), Virginia ($1.5 million) and Florida (more than $3 million)." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317aadf7d62b3940c34be9a7f190241ba7f8bdfb8c8999775ba 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317aadf7d62b3940c34be9a7f190241ba7f8bdfb8c8999775ba 

OBAMA TALKER-CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS CHIEF APOLOGIZES FOR QUOTE: "Neera Tanden took to Twitter on Tuesday to apologize for some choice words she uttered about her former boss," Donovan Slack reports. "In an interview with New York magazine published on Sunday, Tanden had been trying to explain why Obama didn&#39;t call former President Bill Clinton for the first two years of his administration. 'People say the reason Obama wouldn't call Clinton is because he doesn't like him,' Tanden said. 'The truth is, Obama doesn't call anyone, and he's not close to almost anyone. It's stunning that he's in politics, because he really doesn't like people. My analogy is that it's like becoming Bill
 Gates without liking computers.' Tanden, now president of the Center for American Progress, suggested in her mea culpa that it was a poor choice of words. 'I was trying to say how President Obama, who I admire greatly, is a private person, but I deeply regret how I said it. I apologize,' she wrote." The apology: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea83171ca5ab5c1aee222edd0f5c6d5b0f5fa949d40cb3d4ee90d3 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea83171ca5ab5c1aee222edd0f5c6d5b0f5fa949d40cb3d4ee90d3 . The original story: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317a728d58fe183ad959e00876e27a7880a4e505f0aef237b19 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317a728d58fe183ad959e00876e27a7880a4e505f0aef237b19 .

BATTLEGROUND BRIEFING-THE PATH TO 270:

IN WIN FOR OBAMA, SUPREME COURT DENIES OHIO EARLY VOTING APPEAL: "Ohio's elections chief ordered boards of elections across Ohio to open their doors for in-person early voting the weekend before the presidential election after the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to take up his latest appeal to restrict early voting," the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. "In-person early voting will be available to all Ohio voters on Nov. 3, 4 and 5 under a directive Secretary of State Jon Husted issued immediately after the court denied his application for a stay of an appellate court decision to allow early voting the weekend before the election. Democrats, who ushered thousands of voters to the polls
 the weekend before the 2008 presidential election, celebrated the Supreme Court's decision and chastised Husted, a Republican, for fighting two previous rulings that called for more in-person early voting opportunities." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317255401595e206f25883e64ba0906496fe45745392aca59fb 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317255401595e206f25883e64ba0906496fe45745392aca59fb 

OBAMA SNUBS NORTH CAROLINA: "The president's campaign has remained on the television airwaves and his wife made a prominent debate-day push in advance of early-voting kicking off in the state," notes David Chalian, POLITICO's newest hire. "However, President Obama has not stepped foot in the state since his convention drew to a close nearly six weeks ago. After he touches down in Iowa and New Hampshire this week, every other battleground state will have gotten some in-person Obama post-convention love except for the Tar Heel state...There are three weeks left in the campaign and plenty of opportunity for the president to touch down in North Carolina. In fact, he promised tens of thousands
 of disappointed supporters that he'd be back after he had to move his big Bank of America Stadium acceptance speech indoors due to the threat of inclement weather." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317862066b9ca9b4100977929eb80457980767235fc7a5bda82 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317862066b9ca9b4100977929eb80457980767235fc7a5bda82 

VIRGINIA SENATE - ALLEN, NRSC PULL DC RADIO BUYS: "George Allen&#39;s U.S. Senate campaign and the National Republican Senatorial Committee each recently cancelled two weeks of radio ads across the D.C. metro area," Josh Gerstein scoops. "Allen&#39;s campaign and the GOP committee said the cancellations were routine re-allocations...Records obtained by POLITICO show that on Sept. 19, Allen&#39;s media buyers notified radio stations in the D.C. area of a 'marketwide' cancellation of ads set to run from Sept. 25 to Oct. 8. And on Sept. 27, the NRSC&#39;s media buyers told radio stations that it was backing out of reservations in the D.C. market for Oct. 10 to Oct. 23. A Republican source said
 the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee doesn't currently have any radio ad time reserved in Virginia, but as of now the NRSC is still booked on the radio for the final three weeks of the campaign. However, Allen rival Tim Kaine&#39;s campaign has its own radio ad time booked from late August through November." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea83176006b03bf6ccd7534b9b28dc8acd3de14f3df27778af3db7 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea83176006b03bf6ccd7534b9b28dc8acd3de14f3df27778af3db7 

SENATE DEBATE RECAPS-

HAWAII-LINGLE SAYS ROMNEY WOULD BE BETTER FOR HAWAII: That's the headline in the Honolulu Star Advertiser. "Former Gov. Linda Lingle said today that she, like most people in Hawaii, was proud of Hawaii-born President Barack Obama but that the president has not done enough to improve the economy. Asked by U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono, her Democratic opponent for U.S. Senate, why she believes former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney would be a better president for Hawaii than Obama, the Republican Lingle said Romney has the proper experience to get the economy back on track. 'It's true that President Obama inherited a very difficult economy and a very difficult situation. And he's tried, and I'm sure
 he's done his best to make things better. But it just hasn't worked,' Lingle said in a one-hour debate sponsored by KITV and the online news site Civil Beat." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317bf8ec7f7c047f62d23f0925231fa7ec7977183e31ad49693 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317bf8ec7f7c047f62d23f0925231fa7ec7977183e31ad49693 

NORTH DAKOTA-NATIONAL MEDICARE DEBATE REPLICATED: "Former attorney general Heidi Heitkamp and U.S. Rep. Rick Berg, R-N.D., also sparred over the stalled farm bill, with Berg saying 'I'm doing everything I can' to get a farm bill passed and Heitkamp claiming her opponent can't claim 'any amount of legitimate effort,'" the Jamestown Sun reports of the Monday AARP-sponsored debate. "Heitkamp said Republicans' so-called 'premium support' proposal, which would provide a voucher for beneficiaries under age 55 to shop around for health coverage...Berg championed the proposal as giving Americans an option to choose a better policy, but he focused most of his comments on the effects of the
 Affordable Care Act. He challenged Heitkamp on how long it would take Medicare to go bankrupt under Obamacare and said the law would raid Medicare of $716 billion and 'people are going to quit taking Medicare patients.' ... Berg and Heitkamp are slated for a third and final debate on Oct. 25." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317b6e8a43d7bb583d7527b0dd05338c924b984b76628270a8a 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317b6e8a43d7bb583d7527b0dd05338c924b984b76628270a8a 

MASSACHUSETTS PREVIEW - CELLUCCI TO ENDORSE BROWN: "Hello, I'm Paul Cellucci, the former Governor of Massachusetts, and I'm very proud today to endorse Scott Brown in his bid to be re-elected to the United States Senate," he says in a web video going out later this morning. "I see Scott as what I call a Weld-Cellucci Republican: someone who is moderate on social issues, conservative on fiscal issues, but always willing to work with Republicans and Democrats to find solutions for problems that are facing our country. And that's exactly what we need in the United States Senate from Massachusetts. In fact, I would say we need more people, desperately need more people, like Scott Brown in the
 Congress of the United States where it gets more polarized each year - Republicans always voting Republican, the Democrats always voting Democratic." 2-minutes: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea83177f1928c1b46c2c9eba47478a1a3bd2f6635c1eee4fd954fd 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea83177f1928c1b46c2c9eba47478a1a3bd2f6635c1eee4fd954fd .

MICHIGAN SENATE - HOEKSTRA HITS STABENOW FOR SEEKING SAME STIMULUS MONEY HE SOUGHT: "Pete Hoekstra, the former Republican congressman hoping to unseat Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) in November, slammed Stabenow on Tuesday for seeking stimulus money for A123 Systems Inc., an electric-car battery maker that just filed for bankruptcy. The company previously received a $249 million federal grant," the Huffington Post's Jennifer Bendery reports. "But when Hoekstra was in Congress, he signed onto the same May 2009 letter as Stabenow in support of stimulus money for companies including A123." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea83170cf87cef1e1cd275353af18d118bb21ac1279892ec85e99e 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea83170cf87cef1e1cd275353af18d118bb21ac1279892ec85e99e 

WISCONSIN SENATE - THOMPSON DEFENDS SON: "Speaking [yesterday] at an event where he received the endorsement of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Tommy Thompson said he does not think his son needs to apologize publicly or to the president for joking about sending Barack Obama 'back to Kenya' at a GOP fundraiser," WisPolitics.com reports. 'He has already apologized, and that&#39;s enough,' Thompson said at a Milwaukee news conference this afternoon. 'It was an offhanded remark that somebody mentioned in the audience. If you look at the movie, he didn&#39;t say it. Somebody in the audience said it and he repeated it, and I&#39;ve talked to him about it and he apologized and that&#39;s it.' 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea83179def045d3c44d7323f577033ab4406367789dd03a5258e18 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea83179def045d3c44d7323f577033ab4406367789dd03a5258e18 

INTERNALS -

MISSOURI SENATE: Claire McCaskill leads 52-38 in an internal poll conducted for her campaign by Kiley and Company. She led Todd Akin 50-41 in a poll conducted Sept. 30. She's up among women 56-35 and 49-42 among men. 2-page memo: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea83175ae577ae0a93474cafa6507790cfb6a83862471a9d1eaaa6 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea83175ae577ae0a93474cafa6507790cfb6a83862471a9d1eaaa6 .

MINNESOTA-6:Michele Bachmann leads 47-45 in an internal poll conducted for Democrat Jim Graves' campaign by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner. 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea83179df5039f4605571d4d8fe2a1a0204884c092746cc4cabc7c 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea83179df5039f4605571d4d8fe2a1a0204884c092746cc4cabc7c 

THE HOUSE - TOP 5 SCANDAL RACES, per John Bresnahan: David Rivera (R-Fla.), Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.), Laura Richardson (D-Calif.), John Tierney (D-Mass.) and Danny Tarkanian (R-Nev.). Honorary mentions: Tim Bishop, Joe Walsh, Vern Buchanan, Jesse Jackson Jr., Rob Andrews, Shelley Berkley and Scott DesJarlais. Good primer on each of these if you haven't been following day to day: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317c8020b717c84b49f4c7d6edd3f9a804a46ad28bf4c973228 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317c8020b717c84b49f4c7d6edd3f9a804a46ad28bf4c973228 . Jesse Jr. told The Daily yesterday that he's "not well": 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea831730ee5205aa3bae832fda1adf49ad6f64b8e3e6b376cf4c75 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea831730ee5205aa3bae832fda1adf49ad6f64b8e3e6b376cf4c75 .

CALIFORNIA HOUSE - DCCC TO ROBOCALL ON DREAM ACT: 66% of the voting age population in California-21 is Hispanic. "Hello, this is Maria from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee calling to tell you about the enormous opportunity our community has on November 6th. We can elect the district's first Mexican American to represent us in Congress - John Hernandez. John will stand up for our community, fight to create good jobs and preserve Medicare for our seniors. And unlike his Republican opponent, John supports the DREAM Act because he knows education is the key to a better life for the Central Valley's youth." Republican candidate David Valadao voted against the California DREAM Act
 in the State Assembly. This is first in Score.

NRCC SLAMS FOUR DEMS LOOKING FOR A COMEBACK: "This week's Corrupt Democrats: The Bonus Bunch," a narrator says at the start of the National Republican Congressional Committee's weekly video. "It's the story of four politicians who thought they could do whatever they wanted. They gave us ObamaCare, the stimulus (and) trillions in new debt. And what happened? Voters kicked them out. But even that wasn't enough to curb their spending addiction. Even after being booted out of office by voters, these Democrats splurged -- spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on salary increases and bonuses to their staffs. Charlie Wilson spent $119,000. Despite losing the election, Carol Shea Porter paid
 two staffers over $11,000 for two days of work. Dan Maffei paid out almost $200,000. And last but not least, Ann Kirkpatrick burned through an astonishing $105,000 on employee salaries in the last 48 hours in office. She even hired three campaign staffers (at a cost of more than $22,000) after losing the election. They wasted your money.Now they all want their jobs back!" 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea83175e9c197095afed30f991f372411c33f29b422e26e5076bdd 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea83175e9c197095afed30f991f372411c33f29b422e26e5076bdd 

LIGHTER CLICKS -

DANA BASH reported on CNN that Romney practiced sitting on a bar stool in advance of the debate because he's a Mormon and doesn't drink. Gawker, and a lot of that cool-kid crowd online, had a field day: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317d268010d7bf369cf0e0ca7bcb303d8885a44dd2cb325af9c 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317d268010d7bf369cf0e0ca7bcb303d8885a44dd2cb325af9c .

ROMNEY tapped a sign that said "Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose!" (from "Friday Night Lights") before taking the stage last night. Photo from his body man: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317ea0ae3746d6d5d587fb08bb10b330b262bdf7808cd0c04d0 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317ea0ae3746d6d5d587fb08bb10b330b262bdf7808cd0c04d0 .

SOME SUPER PACS have sprung up to raise money off popular candidates (e.g. Allen West), but then these outside groups use very little of the money to actually help the candidates. A cautionary tale for donors: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea83170efa5f50ded257aed9d9c3690339bbf8d342af5c74636c06 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea83170efa5f50ded257aed9d9c3690339bbf8d342af5c74636c06 .

JON STEWART mocked Paul Ryan's visit to a soup kitchen: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea83170fc941e49b85d7e561da80e7250cd6957292566d955447f1 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea83170fc941e49b85d7e561da80e7250cd6957292566d955447f1 .

HONEY BOO BOO told Jimmy Kimmel that she supports Obama: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317f4716b6277d4be85d59e0da1a090bd3da0497a665b76e678 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317f4716b6277d4be85d59e0da1a090bd3da0497a665b76e678 .

CANDY CROWLEY practices transcendental meditation every morning and evening. She talked about it with Prevention Magazine: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317112296dceda3c667d1f92d90ad4441a0a8c2e8733ab630aa 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317112296dceda3c667d1f92d90ad4441a0a8c2e8733ab630aa .

LARRY KING has agreed to moderate a debate of the third party candidates: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317946d2fbda051137afb6b40b53072475dd6fe2d77cae8c8c6 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317946d2fbda051137afb6b40b53072475dd6fe2d77cae8c8c6 

WOODY JOHNSON, the owner of the New York Jets and a national finance co-chairman of the Romney campaign, has this advice for bundlers: "Don't send e-mails because 'that's a warning.' Just cold call, and tell your friends that Mitt Romney needs their help." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea83178b2da89a1283e735ebf503c5bb3da86932464fc65c6b2474 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea83178b2da89a1283e735ebf503c5bb3da86932464fc65c6b2474 

ESQUIRE profiles Jon Tester, the farmer: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317f247e25fee27004a95a890336966dad27a7586215657e047 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea8317f247e25fee27004a95a890336966dad27a7586215657e047 .

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: 'You know, Barack doesn&#39;t have a big ego." - Michelle Obama on CNN 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea83172a08bbafbb80fefbc3362911ad1a18a94134a60a389aa3ac 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d442ea345cea83172a08bbafbb80fefbc3362911ad1a18a94134a60a389aa3ac 

EIGHT of the 7.2 million debate tweets last night that caught our eye-

@GeraldoRivera Congrats Mr. President balls are a beautiful thing

@Michele_Norris: Make no mistake. What Candy Crowley is doing right now is HARD work. She almost needs a gavel

@JohnKerry: Tlkd 2 press @hofstra/got a question in french -- could&#39;ve answered as Mitt and stayed in character?

@jpodhoretz: You know, people who listen on the radio are saying Gary Johnson won.

@ryanbeckwith Jeremy: I&#39;m a college student looking for a job after graduation. Can you two argue about the Detroit bailout?

@daveweigel Big laughs in the press room at 'it&#39;s not as big as yours.'

@kathleenparker: I find it troubling that factual errors are so quickly labeled lies.

@JimAcostaCNN: Dems out first in the spin room.

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