memeorandum: Couric vs. Palin, round 17 (Ben Smith/Ben Smith's Blogs)

10:00 PM ET, October 1, 2008

Top Items:

NEW KCCI Poll: Clear Presidential Frontrunner Emerges — DES MOINES, Iowa — An exclusive KCCI poll shows Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama widening his lead here in Iowa. — The new poll interviewed 600 Iowans on Monday and Tuesday who regularly vote in elections for opinion on the upcoming presidential election.

Discussion: Daily Kos and MSNBC

CNN:

CNN Polls: Major gains for Obama in battleground states — ST. LOUIS, Missouri (CNN) - New polls in five crucial battleground states that could decide the race for the White House suggest Barack Obama is making some major gains. — CNN/Time Magazine/Opinion Research Corporation polls …

Discussion: Daily Kos, Open Left and TPM Election Central

Mike Murphy / Swampland:

Des Moines Register... As a former general in the GOP, I get a lot of emails from various operative types around the country. Many are old comrades from the forgotten wars of old Republican statewide campaigns. Unlike the well meaning but under-experienced six month wonders who seem …

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Ben Smith's Blogs, Buck Naked Politics, Salon, marbury, Comments from Left Field, Commentary, Ta-Nehisi Coates and TIME.com

Mike Glover / Associated Press:

McCain turns irritable, sarcastic in interview — DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Republican presidential candidate John McCain, once renowned for his jocular sessions with journalists, appeared irritable and at times sarcastic in an interview in which he defended running mate Sarah Palin's experience …

Discussion: Campaign Silo

Quinnipiac University:

Obama Over 50 Percent In Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania Quinnipiac University Swing State Poll Finds; Debate, Palin's Fade, Economy Put Democrat On Top — FLORIDA: Obama 49 - McCain 43 pre-debate; Obama 51 - McCain 43 post-debate; OHIO: Obama 49 - McCain 42 pre-debate; Obama 50 - McCain 42 post-debate …

Liz Sidoti / Associated Press:
AP Poll: Obama takes a 7-point lead over McCain

Discussion: Little Green Footballs

Paul Steinhauser / CNN:
Poll: Obama gaining in battleground states

Discussion: Tales from the Trail, Wall Street Journal, Donklephant and tboblogs.com/index.php/news

Gallup:
Gallup Daily: Obama 48%, McCain 44%

Discussion: Top of the Ticket, Below The Beltway, The Moderate Voice, The Strata-Sphere and Hot Air

Ta-Nehisi Coates:
Sarah Palin—The Damage Done

Discussion: Slog and Comments from Left Field

Ben / Think Progress:
McCain: ‘I Always Aspire To Be A Dictator’

Discussion: PERRspectives Blog and Shakesville

Massimo Calabresi / Time:
Poll: Obama Makes Gains with Women, Hits New High

Discussion: Marc Ambinder, MyDD and NY Daily News Blogs

Chris Cillizza / Washington Post:
McCain: The Angry Warrior?

Discussion: The Caucus, Boston Globe, Spin Cycle and Tales from the Trail

CBS News:

Palin, Biden Trade Views On Abortion — CBS Evening News: Biden And Palin Answer Katie Couric's Vice-Presidential Questions … Katie Couric: Why do you think Roe v. Wade was a good decision? — Joe Biden: Because it's as close to a consensus that can exist in a society as heterogeneous as ours.

Discussion: Think Progress, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Patterico's Pontifications, Hullabaloo, Amygdala, unbossed.com, TBogg, The Debatable Land, Democratic Strategist, Oliver Willis, MyDD, Kevin Drum and Donklephant

Jonathan Martin / Jonathan Martin's Blogs:

The Palin Supreme Court stumble — Tonight's installment of Katie Couric playing Roger Mudd to Sarah Palin's Ted Kennedy features the much-anticipated Supreme Court non-answer. — The bad news for McCain: This offers yet more evidence that Palin has thought little about many policy issues facing the country and world.

Discussion: Donklephant

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:

Couric vs. Palin, round 17 — Score another one to Couric, with that much-awaited Supreme Court question:

Discussion: AMERICAblog News

Mark Silva / The Swamp:

Sarah Palin: Supreme Court rulings? — The long-awaited answer to the question of what Supreme Court rulings Sarah Palin disagrees with, other than Roe v. Wade, was broadcast tonight. — She couldn't say. — In questions posed to both Palin, the Republican nominee for vice president …

Discussion: New York Times and Top of the Ticket

CBS News:
Palin, Biden On Roe V. Wade

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Taegan Goddard's …, Democratic Strategist, Political Punch, TIME.com, The Caucus and Slog

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
DEAD TO RIGHTS — Not knowing any Supreme Court decision …

Discussion: AMERICAblog News

Chris Good / The Hill:
Palin questioner rejects ‘gotcha journalism’ charge

Discussion: Booman Tribune

Jim Treacher / Mother, May I Sleep with Treacher?:

A PARTIAL LIST OF GWEN IFILL'S QUESTIONS FOR THE VP DEBATE — Mayor Palin, Barack Obama is a handsome, charismatic demigod. How many boxes of Kleenex will you need after your crushing loss? — Senator Biden, what is your favorite color? And if you have time for a follow-up question: Why?

Discussion: NewsBusters.org

CNN:

Controversy brews up around VP moderator — WASHINGTON (CNN) — Controversy swirled over vice presidential debate moderator Gwen Ifill one day before the face-off between Gov. Sarah Palin and Sen. Joe Biden, after new scrutiny was drawn to her upcoming book featuring Barack Obama.

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, unbossed.com, BAGnewsNotes and Politics Blog

David Bauder / Associated Press:
VP debate moderator's impartiality questioned

Discussion: Washington Post, Patterico's Pontifications, The Corner, Hot Air, Pajamas Media, Power Line, Boston Herald, The Caucus, Top of the Ticket, TVNewser and StephenBainbridge.com

Michelle Malkin / National Review:
Debate, Tanked — Normal false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

Discussion: The Politico, The Swamp, Fox News, wnd.com, GretaWire, Michelle Malkin, Think Progress, FOX Embeds, Outside The Beltway, Christian Science Monitor, Below The Beltway and TPM Election Central

William R. Kapfer / Washington Blade:

McCain's gay Q&A — ‘I hope gay and lesbian Americans will give full consideration to supporting me’ — Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) told the Blade in an exclusive written interview this week that he appreciates the Log Cabin Republicans' decision to endorse him …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Think Progress, Marc Ambinder, The Daily Dish, Matthew Yglesias, Salon and Ben Smith's Blogs

Pam Spaulding / Pam's House Blend: John McCain: the Washington Blade interview

John Aravosis / AMERICAblog News:

Something just went wrong with McCain's face on national TV — UPDATE: There's now slow-motion video making it painfully clear that something is wrong. — In the post below, we showed a scene that just took place in which McCain was momentarily confused on stage, not knowing where to go.

Discussion: Newshoggers.com, Wonkette and Open Left

John Aravosis / AMERICAblog News:

McCain: I've turned to Palin for foreign policy advice many times in the past — On NPR this morning: … Yeah, right, Joe Biden doesn't hold a candle to the woman who's read most of the newspapers and magazines in the world. And McCain has turned to her for sage foreign policy advice “many times in the past”?

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Comments from Left Field, Wonk Room and Think Progress

Rich Lowry / The Corner:
My Advice for Sarah... ...is different than that of the “free Sarah Palin” camp.

Discussion: The Daily Dish

beliefnet:

The Twelve Tribes of American Politics in the '08 Election — Moral issues are dramatically less important this year than in previous years - even among the most religiously observant voters, according to the 2008 edition of the Twelve Tribes of American Politics.

Discussion: Marc Ambinder and The Huffington Post

Steve Waldman / beliefnet: With the Economy Slumping, Values Voters Are Caring Less About Values

The Nation:

McCain's Kremlin Ties … Over the course of the presidential campaign, John McCain has repeatedly emphasized his willingness to stand up to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as proof that only he possesses the fortitude and judgment to become the next leader of the free world.

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blogs

Peter Hamby / CNN:

Palin campaign to shift media strategy — SEDONA, Arizona (CNN) - Sarah Palin's interview Tuesday with conservative talker Hugh Hewitt gave the vice presidential candidate a chance to showcase elements of her life story and demonstrate some of the folksiness that's been central to her political success.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Swamp, Comments from Left Field and Washington Monthly

CBS News:

CBS Poll: Obama Widens Lead Over McCain — CBS News Survey Shows Obama Opening Up Nine-Point Edge On Strength Of Debate Performance And Handling Of Financial Crisis — (CBS) Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama leads GOP rival John McCain 49 percent to 40 percent among registered voters in a new CBS News poll.

Discussion: Hot Air