memeorandum: Midterm Calculus: Not Following the Midterms? You're Missing All the Fun (Nate Cohn/New York Times)

5:30 PM ET, October 17, 2014

Top Items:

Jake Tapper / CNN:

First on CNN: Obama will name Ron Klain as Ebola Czar — Washington (CNN) — President Barack Obama will appoint Ron Klain his “Ebola czar,” knowledgeable sources tell CNN. — The president on Thursday signaled his openness to the idea to have one individual coordinating the entire federal response …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times, Mediaite, Politico, Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor, American Spectator, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, Gawker, Business Insider, Althouse, Associated Press, Mashable, The Verge, New York Times and FOX News Radio

David McCabe / The Hill:

GOP blasts Obama Ebola czar pick — No sooner had the White House announced that it had selected Ron Klain to coordinate the administration's response to concerns about the Ebola virus than several congressional Republicans were expressing anger about the pick. — Most highlighted Klain's past as a political operative.

Discussion: Hot Air and No More Mister Nice Blog

Ezra Klein / Vox:

Ron Klain is a great choice for Ebola czar — Something I learned during the first two years of the Obama administration, when the staff infighting was at its worst: if you wanted to get somebody to say something nice, ask them about Ron Klain. — Klain entered the administration as Vice President Joe Biden's chief of staff.

Discussion: Agence France-Presse, Fox News, Washington Monthly, The Dish and New York Magazine

New York Times:
Ron Klain, Chief of Staff to 2 Vice Presidents, Is Named to Lead Ebola Response

Discussion: JustOneMinute, Wall Street Journal, Outside the Beltway, The Hugh Hewitt Show and Mediaite

A.B. Stoddard / The Hill:
No one at the helm on Ebola — The spread of Ebola in America …

Discussion: The Federalist, Business Insider and Weekly Standard

Belizean:

Belize Confirms Patient With Ebola Symptoms On Cruise Ship Off Its Coast — Reports tonight are that two individuals possibly infected with the Ebola virus are in Belizean waters. Local TV station Channel 7 monitored in the capital City Of Belmopan tonight, reported having credible reports …

Discussion: Mediaite and The Gateway Pundit

Washington Post:
Cruise ship carrying quarantined Texas hospital worker denied entry by Mexico

Discussion: New York Times, USA Today, Hot Air, Gawker and Shakesville

Rachelle Blidner / NY Daily News:
Ebola patient Nina Pham arrives at Maryland hospital after thanking Texas medical staff in emotional video

Discussion: USA Today, 6abc.com, New York Magazine, FOX News Radio and Gawker

Greg Botelho / CNN:
Nurse may have had symptoms of Ebola longer than first thought

Discussion: Jezebel, Outside the Beltway, The Gateway Pundit, Instapundit and TODAY

Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:
Charles Krauthammer: Ebola vs. civil liberties

Discussion: Betsy's Page

Jeffrey Sparshott / Wall Street Journal:

Obama: ‘My Credit Card Was Rejected’ — In what must have been an awkward moment for everyone involved, President Barack Obama said his credit card was declined at a New York City restaurant last month. — “My credit card was rejected. It turned out I guess I don't use it enough,” …

Discussion: JustOneMinute

Katie Zezima / Washington Post:

President Obama's credit card got rejected last month. Here's what happened next. — Presidents, they're just like us — their credit cards get declined. — President Obama's credit card was rejected last month at a restaurant in New York. — “I went to a restaurant up in New York when I was …

Discussion: New York Magazine

Paul Waldman / American Prospect:

The Return of the “Different Kind of Republican” — There's always a market, particularly in the media, for the politician who can surprise by running counter to the stereotypes of his or her party. As the two parties become more ideologically unified, that figure becomes even more compelling.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Politico, Daily Signal and Washington Times

Luke Brinker / Salon:
This may be the worst race-baiting campaign ad since Willie Horton

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Post, The Daily Banter, Mediaite and DCCC

Jose A. DelReal / Washington Post:
New GOP ad tries to tie Brad Ashford to felon who went on Omaha killing spree

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Ed O'Keefe / Washington Post:

Michelle Nunn supports Ebola travel ban, reaffirms support for Obama — MACON, Ga. — Add Michelle Nunn to the growing list of Democrats who support a temporary travel ban from West Africa to the United States in order to control the spread of Ebola. — “I support a temporary travel ban …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Political Insider blog and OnPolitics

Associated Press:
Rand Paul Contradicts Experts, Says Ebola Is ‘Incredibly’ Contagious

Discussion: Patterico's Pontifications, The Daily Caller and Washington Post

New York Times:
Keeping Ebola at Bay

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Daily Kos, Balloon Juice, Mediaite and Business Insider

Jonathan V. Last / Weekly Standard:

Six Reasons to Panic — As a rule, one should not panic at whatever crisis has momentarily fixed the attention of cable news producers. But the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, which has migrated to both Europe and America, may be the exception that proves the rule.

Discussion: American Prospect

New York Post:
Alarm after vomiting passenger dies on flight from Nigeria to JFK

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Times, Vox Popoli and Weekly Standard

Politico:
Why a travel ban wouldn't work

Discussion: Allen B. West, The Federalist and Mediaite

The Hill:
List: Lawmakers backing travel ban

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Mashable, Fox News, Daily Kos, Liberal Values and Guardian

Nate Cohn / New York Times:

Midterm Calculus: Not Following the Midterms? You're Missing All the Fun — Not Following the Midterms? You're Missing All the Fun — I have a confession: I think this is a great election. It's way better than 2012. All around, it might be the best general election in a decade.

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Justin McCarthy / Gallup:

Kentuckians Now More Likely to Align With GOP — Democratic presence, Obama approval at six-year lows in Kentucky — WASHINGTON, D.C. — A series of disheartening figures could make Democratic Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes' attempt to unseat Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell all the more difficult.

Discussion: Washington Post and Firedoglake

Rasmussen Reports:
Kentucky Senate: McConnell (R) 52%, Grimes (D) 44%

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and PoliticusUSA

Jim Rutenberg / New York Times:

How Billionaire Oligarchs Are Becoming Their Own Political Parties — In August, Tom Steyer and seven campaign advisers sat in a small conference room in Coral Gables, Fla., trying to figure out how to save the world. Steyer, who is 57, has a fortune of roughly $1.5 billion …

Discussion: Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times, Washington Post and Hullabaloo

Michael W. Chapman / CNSNews:

Rev. Billy Graham: ‘America is Just as Wicked as Sodom and Gomorrah Ever Were’ — Reverend Billy Graham, arguably the most well-known and respected evangelical preacher of the last 50 years, said in a recently published commentary that America was “founded by men who believed in prayer” …

Discussion: FOX News Radio and Vox Popoli

Karoli / Latest from Crooks and Liars:

Koch Group Sends Fake Voter Information To Discourage Illinois Voters — They're not satisfied to be breaking the law in North Carolina. Now they're aiming at Illinois. — First it was North Carolina, now it's Illinois. Same pattern of voter suppression by fraudulent mailing, too.

Joan McCarterFollow / Daily Kos:
Kochs now harassing voters in Illinois with registration mailers

Discussion: FOX News Radio

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Republican Joni Ernst Admits Why Republicans Really Hate Obamacare — Another secret recording. — Shares — Conservatives have made a series of specific predictions about the effects of Obamacare — overall costs would rise, insurers would flee the exchanges, premiums would go up, the ranks of the uninsured would not even fall.

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality, Washington Monthly, Raw Story, Washington Center …, Talking Points Memo, Lawyers, Guns & Money, msnbc.com and Washington Post

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System:

Perspectives on Inequality and Opportunity from the Survey of Consumer Finances — The distribution of income and wealth in the United States has been widening more or less steadily for several decades, to a greater extent than in most advanced countries.1 This trend paused during …

Discussion: New York Times, Business Insider, Washington Center …, Guardian and New York Magazine

Irin Carmon / msnbc.com:

This conservative cause is the GOP's worst nightmare — DENVER - There is one word that has defined the Colorado Senate race and it's a word that Republican Rep. Cory Gardner and other GOP candidates across the country are tired of hearing. The word is Personhood.

Discussion: National Review and Washington Monthly

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:

GOP Congressman: Hamas Could Infect Themselves With Ebola And Come To America — “Okay, well, part of their creed would be to bring persons who have Ebola into our country.” — View Video › — A Republican congressman says terrorists from Hamas could purposely infect themselves …

Discussion: Daily Kos and Taegan Goddard's …