Inside the campaign: How Mitt Romney stumbled  —  Stuart Stevens, Mitt Romney's top strategist, knew his candidate's convention speech needed a memorable mix of loft and grace if he was going to bound out of Tampa with an authentic chance to win the presidency.

BREAKING: VIDEO PURPORTS TO SHOW US AMBASSADOR DRAGGED FROM BENGHAZI CONSULATE  —  YouTube user “Abdalgadar Fadi” has uploaded a video on the arabic language version of the video sharing site purporting to show US Ambassador Christopher Stevens dragged from the consulate in Benghazi.

WEIGHING OFFER, CHICAGO TEACHERS REMAIN ON STRIKE … CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago teachers uncomfortable with a tentative contract offer decided Sunday to remain on strike, insisting they need more time before deciding whether to end an acrimonious standoff with Mayor Rahm Emanuel …

Obama up 5 in Virginia  —  PPP's newest Virginia poll finds Barack Obama leading by 5 points, 51-46.  Obama's lead is unchanged from a month ago when we found him leading 50-45 in the state.  He may not be seeing a bump from the convention in the state at this point, but he was in a pretty good position to begin with.

Poll: Warren opens up 6-point lead over Brown in Mass. Senate race  —  Elizabeth Warren has opened up a 6-point lead against Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) in their hotly contested senatorial race, according to a new poll.  —  The poll, from the Western New England University Polling Institute …

Maureen Dowd meets anti-Semitism charge  —  New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd set the Jewish political community on fire today with a column about the Republican ticket's foreign policy proposals that, according to her critics, peddled anti-Semitic imagery.

Benjamin Netanyahu To NBC: Those Who Believe Iran Should Have Nukes ‘Set A New Standard For Human Stupidity’  —  During his tour of several Sunday morning American talk shows, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told NBC's Meet the Press that Iran is guided by fanaticism with no rationality …

Obama crams for debates, works on being concise  —  (Reuters) - On long flights to swing states in the West and late nights at the White House after his children have gone to bed, President Barack Obama is cramming like a student for a test that could determine his political future.  —  The subject?

Ultimatum to US: ‘Criminalise blasphemy or lose consulate’  —  LAHORE:  —  Several Muslim parties and a Christian group held rallies on Sunday to protest against a movie released in America.  —  Around 10,000 people participated in the main rally organised on The Mall by the Tehreek Hurmat-i-Rasool (THR).

Obama can be sued over insulting film: Iran official  —  A senior Iranian official says US President Barack Obama could face legal action in connection with the production of an anti-Islam movie by an American Jew.  —  “A complaint could be filed with US courts against Obama for his violation …

E.J. Dionne Jr.  —  The American election's global reach  —  The Obama-Clinton alliance, formalized with Bill Clinton's blockbuster speech at the Democratic National Convention, confirms what has often been played down: President Obama has chosen to build on Clinton's legacy rather than abandon it.

Citizens United Obama film to air on TV  —  Citizens United has struck a deal with a dozen television stations to run its hour-long film featuring voters disaffected with President Barack Obama, sending the Republican critique of the incumbent into tens of millions of homes in the lead-up to Election Day …