memeorandum: The student debt crisis in one chart (Suzy Khimm/Washington Post)

4:05 PM ET, October 19, 2011

Top Items:

Washington Post-Pew Research Center Poll — This poll was conducted for The Washington Post and the Pew Research Center by telephone October 13 to 16, 2011, among a random national sample of 1,007 adults, including users of both conventional and cellular phones.

Discussion: GOP 12, Indecision Forever, Wonkette, Taegan Goddard's …, Business Insider, Outside the Beltway, New York Magazine, The Political Carnival and Althouse

The Politico:

Why Perry went there — The Texas governor went into Tuesday night's debate looking for a reaction — and he got one.

Discussion: CNN, Hot Air, Wake up America, National Review, The Daily Caller, The New Republic, Booman Tribune, Hit & Run, Riehl World View, Michelle Malkin and Pat Dollard

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:

Perry Commits to Flat Tax, Reforming Entitlements — In a brief speech this morning at the Western Republican Conference, Texas governor Rick Perry announced that in six days he would reveal an “economic pro-growth package that will create growth” and encourage investment in America.

Discussion: National Review

Jonathan Bernstein / Washington Post:

Romney still the best at this, Perry not as bad, and the loser? Anderson Cooper — Well, it was the feistiest debate — Rick Perry even stayed awake for the whole thing, which was a nice change — and we had the welcome (at least for entertainment purposes) return of the Crazy GOP Audience thing …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Political Mojo, Daily Kos, The Huffington Post and A plain blog about politics

E.J. Dionne Jr / Washington Post:

The Republican Bickersons — That was fun tonight. Attack, defend, attack and attack some more. Texas Gov. Rick Perry had some problems in tonight's Republican presidential debate, as he's had before — do we really want to “defund the United Nations”? — but he was a real presence this time …

Discussion: p m carpenter's commentary, National Review, Northern Reflections and Daily Kos

John Feehery / Pundits Blog:

Bickering — Newt Gingrich had the line of the night toward the end of the debate when he complained that the moderator encouraged a level of bickering that could only make it harder for the GOP to get the White House. — I don't think Anderson Cooper was really trying to sink the Republican nominee for president in this debate.

Discussion: The Politico and CNN

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

The dangers of accidental candor — After five debates in six weeks, these get-togethers for the Republican presidential candidates were quickly becoming sleep-inducing. Last night in Las Vegas, though, was at least lively — with time running out, someone lit a fire under the candidates' feet.

Discussion: 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com, FrumForum, The Reality-Based Community, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos and Balloon Juice

The Politico:
Rick Perry vs. Mitt Romney: Now it's personal

Discussion: CNN, Washington Post, The Moderate Voice, GOP 12, ABCNEWS, Ballot Box, National Review, The Other McCain and Pajamas Media

New York Times:
Republican Presidential Candidates Debate in Las Vegas

CNN:
Five things we learned from Tuesday's GOP debate

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The Atlantic Online, FrumForum and Washington Wire

Joshua Altman / Ballot Box:
After eight debates, the GOP hopefuls get personal in Vegas

Discussion: CNN

Washington Post:
Rick Perry better known, more disliked by GOP conservatives

Discussion: msnbc.com, Daily Kos, GOP 12 and The Politico

Bloomberg:

U.S. Capital Now Richer Than Silicon Valley — Federal employees whose compensation averages more than $126,000 and the nation's greatest concentration of lawyers helped Washington edge out San Jose as the wealthiest U.S. metropolitan area, government data show.

Discussion: The Politico, The Atlantic Online, The Heritage Foundation, Weasel Zippers, Mediaite, Outside the Beltway, msnbc.com, Campaign 2012, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Gawker

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:

Reid says government jobs must take priority over private-sector jobs — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Wednesday said Congress needs to worry about government jobs more than private-sector jobs, and that this is why Senate Democrats are pushing a bill aimed at shoring up teachers and first responders.

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, Hot Air, Conservatives4Palin, RedState, Maggie's Farm, The Strata-Sphere, The Atlantic Online, USA Today, National Review, Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit, Pajamas Media and Washington Wire

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Ohio SB 5 Headed For Rejection — Labor is poised for a big victory in Ohio next month- PPP's newest poll of the state finds that voters intend to reject Senate Bill 5 by a 56-36 margin. Although that margin is consistent with what we found in the state earlier this year …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Taegan Goddard's … and The Political Carnival

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
GOP senators angry about Reid claim that they're rooting for economic failure

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Weasel Zippers

Alicia M. Cohn / The Hill:

West counters Obama: MLK would not have backed Wall Street protests — Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) rejected President Obama's comparison between Martin Luther King Jr. and what he called the “Occupy Wall Street gangs.” — “Martin Luther King Jr. would not have backed these types of protesters …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Adrianne Jeffries / The New York Observer:
Real World: Occupy Wall Street? MTV Issues Casting Call for Protesters

Discussion: Guardian, City Room, The Impolitic, Business Insider, Shakesville, New York Magazine, Danger Room, Deadline.com, Vox Tablet, Althouse, Gothamist, Runnin' Scared and The Informer

Naomi Wolf / Guardian:
how I was arrested at Occupy Wall Street

Discussion: AlterNet and New York Magazine

Sean Captaintoday / Fast Company:
The Demographics Of Occupy Wall Street

Discussion: New York Times, The Atlantic Online and Guardian

CBS Cleveland:
‘Occupy Cleveland’ Protester Alleges She Was Raped

Discussion: Verum Serum, UrbanGrounds, THE WESTERN EXPERIENCE, Weasel Zippers, Moonbattery, RedState, Scared Monkeys, The Gateway Pundit, Fire Andrea Mitchell! and iOwnTheWorld.com

Dylan Stableford / Yahoo! News:
Naomi Wolf arrested while defending Occupy Wall Street protesters

Discussion: Pajamas Media, LewRockwell.com Blog and JammieWearingFool

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
GOP rips Dems for anti-Semitism in Occupy Wall Street protests

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Frank Newport / Gallup:
Americans Blame Gov't More Than Wall Street for Economy

Discussion: DealBook, Outside the Beltway, Economix, Business Insider, Campaign 2012 and New York Magazine

Dennis Cauchon / USA Today:

Student loan debt hits record levels — Students and workers seeking retraining are borrowing extraordinary amounts of money through federal loan programs, potentially putting a huge burden on the backs of young people looking for jobs and trying to start careers.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Politico, Moneyland, Need to Know | PBS, Outside the Beltway, Gawker, LewRockwell.com Blog and Shakesville

Suzy Khimm / Washington Post:
The student debt crisis in one chart

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Political Mojo and Felix Salmon

Ana Ley / MySanAntonio.com:

Feds investigating break-in at county courthouse — aley@express-news.net — metro - An RV used by the suspects in the alleged break-in at the Bexar County Courthouse remains parked outside the courthouse moments before it was towed away by authorities in San Antonio on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011.

Discussion: CBS News, Associated Press, Reuters and Hot Air

Jim Forsyth / WOAI-TV:
Terror Link Downplayed in Courthouse Break-In

Discussion: Pajamas Media, Jihad Watch and BLACKFIVE

Jenna Hiller / KSAT-TV:
Bexar County Courthouse Break-In May Have Been Prank

Discussion: KENS, Jihad Watch and Atlas Shrugs

Phil Izzo / Real Time Economics:

What Percent Are You? — To get the full experience of this page, please upgrade your Flash Plugin — The Occupy Wall Street movement seeks to speak for the bottom 99% of the population by income, which includes pretty much everyone who makes less than $500,000 a year.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Mogulite, Weasel Zippers, Metropolis, The Atlantic Online, LewRockwell.com Blog and Gawker

Jon Huntsman / Wall Street Journal:

‘Too Big to Fail’ Is Simply Too Big — There is no evidence huge banks add sufficient value to offset the systemic risk they pose. — Is Dodd-Frank an appropriate regulatory response to the 2007 financial crisis? Tragically, no. That legislation ignores the government's pervasive role …

Discussion: Washington Post, Campaign 2012, The Enterprise Blog, The Volokh Conspiracy and National Review

Matthew Yglesias / ThinkProgress:
Jon Huntsman's Plan To End ‘Too Big To Fail’ Doesn't Do Anything To Shrink Big Banks

Discussion: Political Mojo

Lee Hughes / Columbian:

Politician didn't want event touted — Herrera Beutler's office asked paper to not publicize meeting; select residents called — Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler's office asked a Centralia newspaper not to publicize her community coffee meeting on Monday. — Who should be informed …

Discussion: The Politico

Alex Seitz-Wald / ThinkProgress:
GOP Rep. Asked Paper To Keep Town Hall Secret, Selected Residents Who Were Invited

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

ABCNEWS:

Animals Loose in Ohio: Town Under Lockdown — An Ohio town is under lockdown as dozens of wild animals including bears, wolves and tigers have escaped from a private preserve are and are on the loose after the owner of the preserve has been found dead. — Terry Thompson of Zanesville …

Discussion: CNN, Pat Dollard, New York Magazine and CBS Cleveland

ABCNEWS:

Transcript: ABC News' Jake Tapper's Exclusive Interview With President Obama — President Obama sits down with ABC News' senior White House correspondent Jake Tapper for an exclusive interview in Jamestown, N.C. (Courtesy the White House) — The following is a transcript …

Discussion: Hot Air, Weasel Zippers and JustOneMinute

Rebecca Rosenberg / New York Post:

Protest mob is enjoying rich diet — They may sleep in the park, but they eat like kings. — Hundreds of grimy protesters laying siege to Wall Street and stuffed into the now-smelly Zuccotti Park dine each night on gourmet meals prepared by a former hotel chef using only the finest organic ingredients.

Discussion: New York Magazine, Pajamas Media, MyFox Boston and JammieWearingFool