memeorandum: California Democrats cling to leads: Reuters/Ipsos (Reuters)

10:20 PM ET, October 15, 2010

Top Items:

Reid My Lips: Last Night Was a Disaster — The Senate majority leader should've stayed home. — Why Harry Reid agreed to have a debate with Sharron Angle is a bit of a mystery to me. If your campaign is based on portraying your opponent as loony, then why give that opponent a chance to look reasonable?

Discussion: Comments from Left Field, American Power, Donklephant, Guardian, Los Angeles Times, Swampland and Ballot Box

Jon Ralston / Las Vegas Sun:

Reid lost the debate to Angle — Let's get the easy part out of the way first: — Sharron Angle won The Big Debate. — Angle won because she looked relatively credible, appearing not to be the Wicked Witch of the West (Christine O'Donnell is the good witch of the Tea Party) and scoring many more rhetorical points.

Ballot Box:

Angle burns through much of her staggering $14 million haul — Nevada Republican Sharron Angle announced earlier this week she raised a staggering $14 million between the start of July and the end of September. Observers seized on the impressive total as a sign her challenge …

Discussion: The Politico and CNN

Tunku Varadarajan / The Daily Beast:

Why I'm Rooting for Sharron Angle — It's easy for a libertarian to wish for all-around Republican victories in the midterms. What's more delicate is supporting political aberrations like Angle, Paladino, and O'Donnell. By Tunku Varadarajan. — As the midterm elections approach …

Discussion: Hit & Run, alicublog, The Agitator and Balloon Juice

Michelle Malkin:

“Man up!:” Doddering Reid wilts in debate with Angle — In style and substance, Lady in Red Sharron Angle trounced the four-term Democrat Senate incumbent and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid at tonight's Las Vegas debate. — He preposterously called George W. Bush “his friend” …

Discussion: RealClearPolitics Video Log, Washington Wire, Firedoglake, Real Clear Politics, Nice Deb, RedState, Liberty Pundits Blog, Gateway Pundit and Weasel Zippers

Tommy Christopher / Mediaite:
‘Man Up?’ What if Harry Reid Told Sharron Angle to ‘Act Like a Lady?’

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Kevin Drum / Mother Jones:
The New Normal — I didn't see last night's debate between Harry Reid …

Discussion: CNN, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Politico, Outside the Beltway, Mediaite and The Page

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Analyzing the Angle-Reid debate

Discussion: Club for Growth, The Daily Caller, National Review and The Page

David Dayen / Firedoglake:

Treasury Defends HAMP Again - I Can't Stop Laughing — I see nothing. (photo: sirtwitchalot2000 on Flickr) — So Ezra stepped out and pretty sharply criticized HAMP. To him I say welcome. But because he has a Beltway audience, the Treasury Department got right angry and dialed him up and pleaded their case.

Discussion: Ezra Klein and Eschaton

Ezra Klein:
Column: Four ways the foreclosure mess could be used to help homeowners

Discussion: Congress Blog, New York Times, Grasping Reality … and CEPR

Senator Sherrod Brown Press Feed:
Sens. Brown, Harkin, Boxer, Stabenow, Whitehouse, Begich Send Letter …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Firedoglake and Hullabaloo

Associated Press:

Feds oppose Calif. Prop 19 to legalize marijuana — SAN FRANCISCO — Attorney General Eric Holder says the federal government will enforce its marijuana laws in California even if voters next month make the state the first in the nation to legalize the drug.

Discussion: Hit & Run, Gawker, Outside the Beltway, Indecision Forever, The Hill, The Daily Caller and New York Magazine

Kimi Yoshino / L.A. NOW:
Even if Prop. 19 passes, federal drug laws will be 'vigorously …

Discussion: Politics Daily, Speakeasy and Firedoglake

Los Angeles Times:

Raese's Wife Loses W.Va. Voter Status — In an escalating residency controversy between West Virginia's Senate contenders, the wife of Republican businessman John Raese is being purged from the state's voter rolls because she is also registered to vote in Florida.

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …

Jessica Taylor / The Politico:
Poll: Joe Manchin ahead by 10 points

Discussion: RedState, Don Surber, TPMDC, Daily Kos and National Review

Sabato's Crystal Ball:
The Outlook for November 2nd

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Wake up America and MyDD

The Huffington Post:

Tides Foundation CEO To Fox News Advertisers: Drop Glenn Beck Or Have Blood On Your Hands — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — In an extraordinary move to nip the inflammatory commentary coming from Glenn Beck, the founder and CEO of the Tides Foundation (a frequent Beck target) …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Firedoglake, What\'s Possible, Washington Monthly and SFGate

Reuters:

California Democrats cling to leads: Reuters/Ipsos — (Reuters) - Democratic candidates are clinging to narrow leads over their Republican rivals in two key California races with less than three weeks to go until November 2 elections, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found on Friday.

Discussion: American Power, CarlyForCA.com, Washington Wire, Hot Air, GayPatriot, SFGate, TPMDC and National Review

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:

Poll: GOP has edge in most competitive Democratic seats — Republicans maintain an edge over Democrats in some of the most highly contested congressional districts, a new poll found Friday. — GOP candidates have a four-point edge among likely voters in the 53 most competitive congressional districts held …

Discussion: Gateway Pundit and Libertarian Republican

Mara Liasson / NPR:
NPR Poll Offers Sliver Of Hope For Democrats

Discussion: Public Opinion Strategies, The Note and National Review

Brian Beutler / TPMDC:

Republican ‘Contender’ Dons Duckie Pajamas, Parties With Scantily Clad Women — Who among us hasn't donned duckie pajamas for a night out with scantily clad women, then run for Congress? — Well, in the event that you haven't, consider the case of NRCC's latest big “contender,” …

Discussion: AMERICAblog News

Tom Odula / Associated Press:

Obama's half brother in Kenya says he married teen — NAIROBI, Kenya - President Barack Obama's polygamist half brother in Kenya has married a woman who is more than 30 years younger than him. — The 19-year-old's mother told The Associated Press on Friday she is furious …

Discussion: HillBuzz, Atlas Shrugs, iOwnTheWorld.com, Gateway Pundit and Gawker

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

The Mortgage Morass — American officials used to lecture other countries about their economic failings and tell them that they needed to emulate the U.S. model. The Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s, in particular, led to a lot of self-satisfied moralizing.

Nelson D. Schwartz / New York Times:
Mortgage Mess May Cost Big Banks Billions

Discussion: Felix Salmon, Mother Jones and AMERICAblog News

DutchNews.nl:

Wilders not guilty on all counts - Update — The public prosecution department on Friday afternoon stated that Geert Wilders is not guilty of discriminating against Muslims. Earlier on Friday it announced he should also be found not guilty of inciting hatred.

Discussion: Pajamas Media, Jihad Watch, National Review, Atlas Shrugs, Weasel Zippers, JOSHUAPUNDIT and The Jawa Report

The Daily Caller:

O'Donnell says poll shows she's closing gap; still down 11-points — Christine O'Donnell says a new poll shows she's closing the gap on her Democratic opponent, but the Tea Party-backed Republican is still down 11-points in the Delaware Senate race. — O'Donnell trails New Castle County …

action.sierraclub.org:

Victory for Appalachians as a Determined EPA Recommends No More Mining at Biggest Proposed Mountaintop Removal Coal Mine — Statement from Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune — Washington, D.C. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took courageous action today …

Discussion: New York Times, Gateway Pundit, The Huffington Post, Grist and Speakeasy

ssa.gov:

Under the Law No Social Security COLA for 2011 — Monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for more than 58 million Americans will not automatically increase in 2011, the Social Security Administration announced today. — The Social Security Act provides …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The Foundry, Opinion L.A., Politics Daily and Washington Post

Ezra Klein:

Do the polls back up the attacks on the Chamber of Commerce? — From one “Beltway inside-game commentator” to another: No, the attacks on the Chamber of Commerce aren't helping Democrats in the election. A MoveOn.org poll showing that voters respond negatively when asked …

Discussion: Mother Jones, The Washington Independent, Swampland and The Plum Line

John Hawkins / Right Wing News:

The Pamela Geller Interview — It has been great to see my friend Pamela Geller from Atlas Shrugs starting to gain more national prominence. She's a got a new book out, The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration's War on America, she's been the point person on the Ground Zero Mosque right …

Discussion: YID With LID

Sarah Pavlus / Media Matters for America:

AUDIO: Murdoch says News Corp. donations were in interest of “shareholders and the country” — Responding to shareholder questions regarding News Corp.'s controversial $1 million contributions to the Chamber of Commerce and the Republican Governors Association, Rupert Murdoch said the donations were …

Discussion: Raw Story and The Caucus

William P. Barrett / Informer:

Hey, Secret Big Political Donor, Don't Forget The 35% Gift Tax — In the run-up to next month's elections, a big and controversial development has been the ability of tycoons to make unlimited political donations without any public disclosure whatsoever. This is done by giving the money to certain 501 …

Discussion: msk.com, Ben Smith's Blog, The Washington Independent and TaxProf Blog

Phil Rosenthal / Chicago Breaking Business:

Lee Abrams resigns from Tribune Co. — Lee Abrams. (Handout) — Tribune Co. Chief Innovation Officer Lee Abrams, who began the work week by sending a companywide e-mail that contained content deemed inappropriate, resigned Friday. — The e-mail, the latest in a weekly series …

Discussion: Romenesko and The Informer, more at Mediagazer »

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:

How Romney made a bestseller — Mitt Romney boosted sales of his book this spring by asking institutions to buy thousands of copies in exchange for his speeches, according to a document obtained by POLITICO. — Romney's book tour ran from early March to late May of this year …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Salon, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, Conservatives4Palin.com and The Moderate Voice