memeorandum: A play set in Ancient Egypt was cancelled because the cast was too white (The Tab)

2:25 PM ET, October 5, 2016

Top Items:

Michael Levenson / BostonGlobe.com:

Bill Weld says he will focus his fire on Donald Trump — The Libertarian vice presidential candidate, William F. Weld, said Tuesday that he plans to focus exclusively on blasting Donald Trump over the next five weeks, a strategic pivot aimed at denying Trump the White House and giving himself a key role in helping to rebuild the GOP.

Discussion: Salon, Hot Air, Mediaite and Talking Points Memo

Fairleigh Dickinson University:

VP Picks Favored More than Trump and Clinton in Fairleigh Dickinson University National Poll; — Results Put Clinton Over Trump by Double Digits — In the race for the White House, the most recent national survey of likely voters from Fairleigh Dickinson University's PublicMind finds …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, No More Mister Nice Blog, Politicus USA and Political Wire

David Frum / The Atlantic:

Mike Pence Pretends That Trump Never Happened — They call it the debate that meant nothing. That's true if your mind is focused on November 8, as most minds are. But if you care to gaze a little further into the future than that, Tuesday night's vice-presidential debate revealed something big …

Margaret Hartmann / New York Magazine:

Libertarian VP Candidate Bill Weld Gives Up, Will Focus on Preventing Trump Presidency — As some presumably small portion of Americans sat through a dull debate between the Republican and Democratic vice presidential nominees on Tuesday night, a far more interesting drama was unfolding within the Libertarian ticket.

Discussion: Towleroad and The Week

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

The Mike Pence vs. Tim Kaine vice-presidential debate transcript, annotated — Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence met face-to-face for the first time Tuesday night, as the running mates took part in the only vice-presidential debate of the 2016 election.

David Weigel / Washington Post:

Aftermath of Kaine-Pence debate pits reality against alternate reality — FARMVILLE, Va. — The first and last vice presidential debate of 2016 was not just a clash of candidates, but a clash of realities — and of two theories about how media and politics work.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, ThinkProgress, Mother Jones, Talking Points Memo, New York Times, Politico, The Gateway Pundit and Independent Journal Review

Peter Schroeder / The Hill:

RNC: Kaine interrupted over 70 times — The Republican National Committee claimed Tim Kaine — and the moderator over 70 times during Tuesday's vice presidential debate. — Shortly after the debate ended, the RNC made a quick note of Kaine's aggressive style in an email to reporters.

Discussion: ABC News, Scared Monkeys, Business Insider, Politico, Mediaite, Washington Free Beacon, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and AOL

Ezra Klein / Vox:

Reports suggest Donald Trump is unhappy with Mike Pence for winning the VP debate — How will Trump react to Pence upstaging him? — Here's a question you wouldn't normally have to ask after a vice presidential candidate turned in a widely praised debate performance …

Discussion: alan.com, Salon, Talking Points Memo, RedState, Washington Post, AOL, Business Insider and The Week

Frank Bruni / New York Times:

Mike Pence's Galling Amnesia — Back when Mike Pence hosted a talk radio show in the 1990s, he described himself as “Rush Limbaugh on decaf.” — For much of Tuesday night, he was like Forrest Gump on chamomile, squarely and steadily plodding forward, seldom tugged from his talking points and never particularly rattled.

Discussion: Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times

LeftOfCenter / Latest from Crooks and Liars:

He-Men Of Fox News: Emasculated Because Kaine Said ‘Person’ — So the morning after on Fox, Tucker Carlson goes on a rant against gender-neutral language. At the VP debate, Senator Tim Kaine proclaimed himself as “Hillary Clinton's right-hand person,' and Tucker is sure that's proof …

Discussion: The Nation

Henry C. Jackson / Politico:

6 things Trump definitely said that Pence claimed he didn't — Tim Kaine came into the vice presidential debate with a clear goal: make Mike Pence own all of Trump's most controversial moments. — But Kaine was unable, with Pence successfully parrying his attacks as the debate dissolved …

Discussion: The Atlantic, CNN, McClatchy Washington Bureau, Slate, Mother Jones, Los Angeles Times, Washington Monthly, The Week, Media Matters for America, Guardian, AOL and Washington Post

Steven Shepard / Politico:
Insiders: Pence outclassed Trump

Discussion: Washington Post, Mediaite, The Hill, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Vox, The Week, ThinkProgress, ABC News, Hot Air, 24Ahead and MichelleMalkin.com

Tom Boggioni / Raw Story:
The internet loses it after Pence accuses Kaine of ‘whipping out that Mexican thing again’

Discussion: New York Times, CNN, TheBlaze.com, Mediaite and Balloon Juice

CNN:
Pence edges Kaine in VP debate instant poll

Discussion: The Atlantic, Washington Post, Hot Air, Independent Journal Review, Infowars, The Times of Israel, National Review and Media Matters for America

Louis Nelson / Politico:
Trump's campaign manager denies he's irked at being upstaged by Pence

Discussion: ABC News, Hot Air and Vox

Ali Breland / The Hill:
CNN poll: Pence won debate

Discussion: Politico, ABC News, Scared Monkeys and Washington Post

Alex Weprin / Politico:
VP debate ratings down from 2012

Discussion: Independent Journal Review and Vox

Ben Schreckinger / Politico:
Republicans pine for Pence at top of ticket

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Magazine and CNN

Jeff Stein / Vox:
Mike Pence says Clinton-Kaine is an “insult-driven” campaign as Trump tweets insults

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post, Salon, Daily Kos, CNNMoney, Fox News, Hullabaloo, New York Times and Balloon Juice

Jill Serjeant / Reuters:
TV audience for vice presidential debate about half that of Trump-Clinton

Discussion: Fox News Insider

Dylan Byers / CNNMoney:
Who is vice presidential debate moderator Elaine Quijano?

Discussion: Washington Post, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Daily Kos and Mashable

Byron York / Washington Examiner:
Pence gives GOP a boost, but Dems pleased with Kaine attacks on Trump

Discussion: Washington Post and The Huffington Post

New York Times:

N.S.A. Contractor Arrested in Possible New Theft of Secrets — WASHINGTON — The F.B.I. secretly arrested a National Security Agency contractor in recent weeks and is investigating whether he stole and disclosed highly classified computer codes developed to hack into the networks of foreign governments …

Discussion: U.S. Department of Justice, Mother Jones, Talking Points Memo, Guardian, Business Insider, RT, Jezebel, Independent Journal Review, Engadget, The Verge, Boing Boing, The Week, McClatchy Washington Bureau and Mashable

Juliet Eilperin / Washington Post:

Al Gore to campaign for Clinton, hoping to galvanize young voters on climate change — Former vice president Al Gore will start campaigning for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, according to individuals briefed on the plan, in an effort to mobilize young voters who see climate change as a key issue.

Discussion: New Republic, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller and The Week

Sarah Ferris / The Hill:
Bill Clinton goes way off message on ObamaCare

Discussion: Hot Air, Instapundit, Politico, Patterico's Pontifications and ABC News

Daniel Strauss / Politico:
Al Gore to hit campaign trail for Clinton

Discussion: RedState, Daily Wire and Towleroad

Alex Griswold / Mediaite:
Andrea Mitchell Says Clinton Will Soon Unveil Secret Weapon to Attract Millennials... Al Gore

Discussion: Red Alert Politics and The Daily Caller

Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo:

WATCH: Megyn Kelly Reminds Conway Why Trump Polls Poorly With Women — In a post-debate interview on Tuesday night, Fox News' host Megyn Kelly pushed Donald Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway to defend the Republican nominee's low poll numbers with women, telling Conway that women …

Discussion: The Week

Callum Borchers / Washington Post:
Donald Trump sniped at Megyn Kelly as the vice presidential debate began

Discussion: New York Magazine, Vox, WRIC-TV, BizPac Review, NPR, Mediaite, Hullabaloo, WJHL, Politicus USA, USA TODAY College and Mashable

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Momentum shifts in battle for Senate — Democrats are seizing on Sen. Kelly Ayotte — 's (R-N.H.) remarks at a debate that Donald Trump — is “absolutely” a role model for children as a pivotal moment in the race for the Senate majority. — The Democrats see Ayotte's comments …

Discussion: Politico and alan.com

Richard Rubin / Wall Street Journal:

Trump's October Surprise? It Could Be His 2015 Tax Return — Donald Trump has been reeling this week after The New York Times published portions of his 1995 state tax returns showing a $916 million loss that could offset his income from 1996 forward. Releasing the 2015 tax return could give him an opportunity to counter that story.

Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:
On local radio show, Eric Trump accidentally admits why his father won't release his taxes

Discussion: Washington Post, alan.com, The Daily Beast, BuzzFeed, ABC News and Politico

Michelle Fields / The Huffington Post:

Conservative News Darling Is Falling Apart, Staff Says — Glenn Beck's The Blaze was once the envy of other right-leaning sites. Not anymore. — WASHINGTON Glenn Beck's website The Blaze is coming apart, suffering from a lack of editorial direction, staff attrition and internal discord, according to sources inside the news outlet.

Discussion: Raw Story and Mediaite