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

6:40 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, Washington Post, Mediaite, Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times, Politico, Christian Science Monitor, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, Gawker, Business Insider, Althouse, American Spectator, Mashable, Associated Press, The Hugh Hewitt Show, 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: No More Mister Nice Blog and Hot Air

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

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

Steve Mason / ABC News:

Hospital Worker Who Handled Ebola Samples Is on Cruise Ship — A Dallas health care worker who handled clinical specimens from an Ebola-infected patient is on a cruise ship in the Caribbean, with the worker self-quarantined and being monitored for signs of infection, the State Department said in a statement.

Discussion: 6abc.com, CNN, Balloon Juice, Truth Revolt and John Hawkins' Right Wing News

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

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

CNN:
Airline contacting people on flights with nurse infected with Ebola

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Huffington Post, Guardian and Jezebel

New York Times:
Keeping Ebola at Bay

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

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

Discussion: Betsy's Page

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, The Daily Caller, 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

Politico:
Why a travel ban wouldn't work

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Atlantic Online, The Hill, Daily Kos and Allen B. West

The Hill:
List: Lawmakers backing travel ban

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

Luke Brinker / Salon:

This may be the worst race-baiting campaign ad since Willie Horton — Fighting to save an embattled congressman, GOP tries to spook voters with menacing images of a black convict — The National Republican Campaign Committee unveiled a race-baiting ad Friday linking the Democratic candidate …

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

Paul Waldman / American Prospect:
The Return of the “Different Kind of Republican”

Discussion: Washington Monthly

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

Mike Allen / Politico:
Paul: African-American leaders may not yet embrace GOP

Discussion: Daily Kos, Daily Signal and Washington Times

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

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

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

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

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: BillMoyers.com, 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

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: Washington Monthly, Democratic Strategist and National Review

Pew Research Center for the People and the Press:

Political Polarization in Action: Insights into the 2014 Election from the American Trends Panel — The Pew Research Center has developed a new tool for looking at the 2014 elections - a panel survey that enables us to check in with the same representative group of Americans several times during the course of the campaign.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Daily Signal and Washington Post

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.