Ann Romney, to critics in GOP: “You want to try it?  Get in the ring.”  (AUDIO)  —  Ann Romney says fellow Republicans who've criticized her husband need to “stop it” and realize “how lucky” the party is to have Mitt Romney as its nominee.  —  Ann Romney spoke late this afternoon to about 200 people …

Obama pressed on failures at Univision forum  —  CORAL GABLES, Fla. - President Barack Obama on Thursday faced some of the toughest questioning of his reelection campaign to date, pressed repeatedly on his failure to achieve comprehensive immigration reform and other unmet promises from his 2008 run.

Warren-Brown Post-Debate Analysis (Videos added)  —  I will add to this, and embed videos when available, but here's my quick take.  (Full video here)  —  Very strong opening for Brown on fake Cherokee issue.  He didn't handle it the way I would have, but he picked an issue …

Pakistan TV Airs Obama Ad Denouncing Anti-Islam Video  —  Pakistan's Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf appealed for calm as security forces bid to counter violent protests against an anti-Islam film that continues to spark demonstrations in the Muslim world.

Noonan: Romney Needs a New CEO  —  How to save a listing campaign, the Baker Way.  —  “Nothing is written.”  That was T.E. Lawrence to the Arab tribesmen in Robert Bolt's screenplay, a masterpiece, of “Lawrence of Arabia.”  You write no one off.  Nothing is inevitable.  Life is news—"What happened today?"

IG: White House ‘Made it Impossible’ to Pursue Lead in Fast and Furious Probe  —  (CNSNews.com) - The White House's refusal to release communications related to the Fast and Furious gun-walking program and the refusal of a White House official to be interviewed about the matter “made it impossible” …

U.S. Distrust in Media Hits New High  —  Fewer Americans closely following political news now than in previous election years  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans' distrust in the media hit a new high this year, with 60% saying they have little or no trust in the mass media to report the news fully, accurately, and fairly.

Disdain for Workers  —  By now everyone knows how Mitt Romney, speaking to donors in Boca Raton, washed his hands of almost half the country — the 47 percent who don't pay income taxes — declaring, “My job is not to worry about those people.  I'll never convince them that they should take …

Life Expectancy for Less Educated Whites in U.S. Is Shrinking  —  For generations of Americans, it was a given that children would live longer than their parents.  But there is now mounting evidence that this enduring trend has reversed itself for the country's least-educated whites …

Mitt Romney ‘Dyed His Face Brown’ to Appeal to Latino Voters  —  Mitt Romney currently trails President Obama among registered Latino voters by nearly 40%, and getting caught saying things like “it would be helpful to be Latino” certainly isn't helping.  —  But has it gotten so bad that Romney …

Collapse of the Cairo Doctrine  —  In the week following 9/11/12 something big happened: the collapse of the Cairo Doctrine, the centerpiece of President Obama's foreign policy.  It was to reset the very course of post-9/11 America, creating, after the (allegedly) brutal depredations of the Bush years …

Joe Biden - not Mitt Romney, President Obama, Bill Clinton or Clint Eastwood - most watched convention speaker in landslide!  —  Vice president's speech watched by 14.7% of the 289.7 million people who live in U.S. television homes: Nielsen  —  Vice President Joe Biden makes his point during …

What working class whites really think about dependency and redistribution  —  It's been widely observed that Mitt Romney's attacks on Obama over Medicare, welfare, dependency and “redistribution” are about driving up Romney's share of working class white support.

Project S.H.A.M.E.: Megan McArdle, a Covert Republican Party Activist Trained by the Billionaire Koch Brothers  —  We are delighted to post the latest offering of Project S.H.A.M.E., a media transparency initiative led by Yasha Levine and Mark Ames.  —  Megan McArdle

Unanswered questions about the attack in Libya  —  Two news reports suggest that the White House line of “the movie made them do it” is a false account of what occurred in the consulate attack and brutal murder of our diplomatic personnel in Libya.  However, national security spokesman Thomas Vietor insisted …

Rick Perry Blames Separation Of Church And State On Satan  —  In a conference call with fellow evangelicals earlier this week, Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) shared his thoughts on the origins of the constitutionally mandated separation of church and state.  Rather than tracing the idea …

Tim Kaine Explained  —  The candidate's spox cleans up his debate remarks in a short TPM interview. … I think I see the problem.  Tim Kaine was elected twice to statewide office in Virginia, narrowly both times (Lt. Gov. in 2001, governor in 2005).  He earned the sort of pragmatism …

Paul Ryan to seniors: Obamacare threatens Medicare  —  Washington (CNN) - In a speech to seniors on Friday, Republican vice presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan will warn them about the threat of Obamacare when he appears at the AARP conference after President Barack Obama addresses the group via satellite.

Chick-fil-A no longer will fund traditional-marriage groups  —  Chick-fil-A stopped funding traditional-marriage groups in an effort to open a new Chicago restaurant, but the company initially kept quiet about the decision, prompting gay rights groups to speculate that the company feared a backlash from conservative customers.

Romney Supporters Clash With Protesters In Florida  —  “Get a job.”  “I'm proud to be one percent.”  —  SARASOTA, Fla. — Supporters and opponents of Mitt Romney faced off outside of the Republican nominee's rally here in an at-times-violent confrontation.