memeorandum: Unemployment rate below 8%, but Romney says not enough (CNN)

10:40 AM ET, October 5, 2012

Top Items:

US jobless rate falls to 7.8 pct., 44-month low — US unemployment rate falls to 7.8 pct., lowest since 2009, giving Obama a potential boost — WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent last month, dropping below 8 percent for the first time in nearly four years …

Discussion: The PJ Tatler and The Hinterland Gazette

Talking Points Memo:

Romney: ‘This Is Not What A Real Recovery Looks Like’ — Following news that the U.S. economy added 114,000 jobs in September, with unemployment falling to 7.8%, Mitt Romney on Friday released the following statement on the September unemployment report:

Discussion: Suburban Guerrilla

Jeff Cox / CNBC:

Jobs Growth Rises 114,000 as Rate Slides to 7.8 Percent — Job growth remained tame in September, with the economy creating just 114,000 net new positions though the unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent, the first time it has been below 8 percent in 43 months.

Discussion: Hot Air, Outside the Beltway and Scared Monkeys

CNN:

Unemployment rate below 8%, but Romney says not enough — Washington (CNN) - Mitt Romney, who has used an unemployment rate above 8% to hammer President Barack Obama for the past several years, was left without his usual attack line Friday as the September jobs report showed the rate falling to 7.8%.

Discussion: ABCNEWS and Politico

Alex Kowalski / Bloomberg:

U.S. Jobless Rate Declines to 7.8%; 114,000 Jobs Added — September Jobs Report: Breaking Down the Numbers — The unemployment rate in the U.S. unexpectedly fell to 7.8 percent in September, the lowest since President Barack Obama took office in January 2009, as employers took on more part-time workers.

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Shaila Dewan / New York Times:

Jobless Rate Falls to 7.8%, Lowest Since January 2009 — The nation's unemployment rate dropped below 8 percent in September to its lowest rate since President Obama took office, the Labor Department said Friday. — While employers added only a modest 114,000 jobs last month …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Associated Press, Economix, The Maddow Blog, New York Magazine, Marbury and HyperVocal

NBC / Economy Watch:

Unemployment rate falls to 7.8% as economy creates 114,000 jobs — UPDATED 9:50 a.m. EDT: The nation's unemployment rate dropped to the lowest it has been in almost four years in September, giving President Barack Obama a potential upbeat talking point as the presidential race heads into the final innings.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Washington Monthly, The Moderate Voice, Wonkblog, Via Meadia, The Gateway Pundit and Joe. My. God.

Brian Beutler / Talking Points Memo:

Huge September Drop In Unemployment, Economy Adds 114,000 Jobs — The U.S. economy added 114,000 jobs in September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in line with analyst expectations and comparable to an initially disappointing August figure, which was revised significantly upward Friday from 96,000 to 142,000.

Brett LoGiurato / Business Insider:
JACK WELCH: Obama Is Manipulating The Jobs Numbers Because His Debate Performance Was Awful

Discussion: The PJ Tatler

Business Insider:
BOOM: UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FALLS TO 7.8%, BIG UPWARD REVISION TO LAST MONTH

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Mediaite, Calculated Risk and Washington Examiner

Fox News:
Jobless rate falls to 7.8 percent in September, as Obama looks for boost

Discussion: americanthinker.com and The Right Scoop

Rolling Stone:
The First Debate: Mitt Romney's Five Biggest Lies

Discussion: The Reaction, The New Republic, Discourse.net, Liberal Values, Mother Jones, Beach Peanuts, The Maddow Blog, Washington Post, Hullabaloo, Prairie Weather, Election 2012, Daily Kos, Crooks and Liars and Sky Dancing

Hadas Gold / Politico:

Romney: ‘47 percent’ remarks ‘wrong’ — Mitt Romney came full circle on his “47 percent” remarks Thursday night, calling them “just completely wrong” in an interview on Fox News. — When asked by host Sean Hannity what he would have said if President Barack Obama had brought …

Discussion: americanthinker.com, Gawker, No More Mister Nice Blog, Taylor Marsh and nation.foxnews.com

Washington Post:
Romney: ‘47 percent’ remarks were ‘completely wrong’

Discussion: Balloon Juice, Election 2012 and Fox News Insider

Mario Trujillo / Ballot Box:
Romney says he was ‘completely wrong’ on ‘47 percent’ comment

Discussion: CNN, New York Magazine, The Moderate Voice and Rumproast

Jake Tapper / ABCNEWS:

Email Shows State Department Rejecting Request of Security Team at US Embassy in Libya — (Image Credit: Ibrahim Alaguri/AP Photo) — ABC News has obtained an internal State Department email from May 3, 2012, indicating that the State Department denied a request from the security team …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, JustOneMinute, The PJ Tatler, Weasel Zippers, americanthinker.com and Conservative Hideout 2.0

Matt Higgins / CBS DC:

Top Obama Fundraiser To Release Bin Laden Film 2 Days Before Election — LOS ANGELES (AP) — A film dramatizing the death of Osama bin Laden is set to debut next month on the National Geographic Channel, two days before the presidential election. — “Seal Team Six: The Raid on Osama bin Laden …

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Riehl World News

CNN:
Osama bin Laden movie to air weekend before election

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, Weasel Zippers and Associated Press

Paul Bedard / Washington Examiner:

Was Obama rattled by developing donor scandal story? … President Obama reelection campaign, rattled by his Wednesday night debate performance, could be in for even worse news. According to knowlegable sources, a national magazine and a national web site are preparing a blockbuster donor scandal story.

Discussion: Power Line, iOwnTheWorld.com, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, The Right Scoop and Riehl World News

Mike Ramsey / CBS Chicago:

NAACP Official: Obama Campaign Staffer Threatened Me — CHICAGO (CBS) — The President of the South Suburban Branch of the NAACP alleges a director of the re-election campaign of Barack Obama has threatened and intimidated him because he doesn't support the president.

Discussion: The Hinterland Gazette, Weasel Zippers and Jammie Wearing Fools

Tim Catts / Bloomberg:

Former GE CEO Jack Welch Says White House Manipulates Jobs Data — History Says No — Former General Electric Co. (GE) Chief Executive Officer Jack Welch accused the Obama administration on Twitter of manipulating today's employment data for political advantage.

Discussion: Politico, Election 2012, Washington Monthly, The Caucus, Wonkette, The Raw Story and The Hinterland Gazette

Kyle Balluck / The Hill:

Dems hope Biden can blunt Romney momentum post-debate — Democratic strategists are eyeing the forthcoming debate between Vice President Biden and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) with a mix of hope and nervousness in the wake of President Obama's widely panned performance in his initial encounter with Mitt Romney Wednesday night.

Discussion: Jammie Wearing Fools

Jonathan Easley / Ballot Box:
Ryan, Romney turn their fire on Biden

Discussion: CNN, Politico, Wizbang and The Hill

Reuters:

Federal Judge Approves Scaled-Down Florida Voter Purge — TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a challenge to Florida's recent voter purge efforts, clearing the way for the removal of about 200 suspected non-U.S. citizens from state voter rolls before the November 6 presidential election.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars

Megan McArdle / The Daily Beast:

Iran on the Verge of Hyperinflation — Sanctions wreak havoc on the rial — In fact, on the verge might not be the right way to put it; in the middle of might be more accurate. Steve Hanke estimates that inflation is running at 70% a month. This is, as Alex Tabarrok points out, nowhere near a record.

Discussion: JOSHUAPUNDIT, Wonkblog and AEIdeas

Megan McArdle / The Daily Beast:
Just Say No To Layoff Notices — Obama Administration pressures …

Discussion: Business Insider

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:

Former college hoops star endorses Romney in new ad — Former National Basketball Association player Greg Anthony is featured in a new ad for the Romney campaign, in which he explains why he voted for President Obama in 2008 but is switching to the GOP candidate in 2012.

Hillary Reinsberg / BuzzFeed:

For Some, DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz Goes Too Glam — Critics call her “almost unrecognizable” in a Vogue profile. So what? — Wasserman Schultz in Derek Lam in the October 2012 Vogue profile. — Source: Marcus Mam / via: seemanagement.com

Discussion: The Hill and Weasel Zippers

New York Times:

Campaign Gains a New Intensity in Debate's Wake — DENVER — President Obama and Mitt Romney confronted what one feared and the other hoped was an altered campaign on Thursday, pounding new urgency into what was shaping up as a wide-open final sprint to Election Day.

Discussion: NationalJournal.com, Washington Post and The Caucus

Politico:
How Obama's debate strategy bombed

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Hill, First Read, Washington Post, The Huffington Post, The Week, Hot Air, New York Times, Reuters, Los Angeles Times, CNN, neo-neocon, Connecting.the.Dots, NBC Latino, BuzzFeed, The PJ Tatler and Washington Examiner

Ronald Brownstein / NationalJournal.com:

Obama's Missing Piece: A Second-Term Agenda — After his lackluster debate performance, President Obama needs to better articulate his second-term agenda. — DENVER—President Obama didn't have many good moments in this week's first presidential debate. But it was telling that the few came …

Terence P. Jeffrey / CNSNews:

Unemployment Rate Plummets to 4.3%—For Government Workers — (CNSNews.com) - The best news anywhere in the U.S. economy over the past three months has been in the government sector, where unemployment has dropped dramatically from 5.7 percent in July to 5.1 percent in August to 4.3 percent in September …

Discussion: Riehl World News