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President Obama’s senior campaign adviser David Axelrod said Wednesday he’d shave his signature mustache if Obama loses Minnesota, Michigan or Pennsylvania to Mitt Romney. “I will shave off my mustache of 40 years if we lose any of those three states,” Axelrod declared on MSNBC’s "Morning Joe." Provoked by recent polls, the campaigns have been in a turf war over traditionally blue states. The Romney campaign says it sees an opening to steal some electoral votes that many believe Obama should’ve locked down by now. The Obama campaign says this is merely posturing by the Romney campaign, and a sign...

President Barack Obama said the reason he told Russia’s Dimitry Medvedev back in March--more than seven months before this year's presidential election--that he would have “more flexibility” after the election to work with Russian leader Vladimir Putin was because he was too busy campaigning and doing other "stuff." “The discussion there very much just had to do with the fact that it’s hard to negotiate additional treaties when I’m off campaigning and doing all kinds of stuff,” Obama said on Friday, explaining his open-mic comments with then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev earlier this year. The president’s latest comments came during an...

The U.S. Labor Department on Monday said it hasn’t made a decision yet on whether to delay Friday’s October jobs report, the final reading on the labor market before next week’s federal elections. A Labor official said the agency will assess the schedule for all its data releases this week when the “weather emergency” is over.

Original title: 'They are counting on Americans having amnesia': Biden attacks GOP rivals...before FORGETTING Senate Candidate's name ------------------------- Joe Biden once again is sticking his foot in his mouth. While on the campaign trail for Obama in the battleground state of Virginia on Saturday, the vice-president gave a shout-out to Senate hopeful Tim Kaine but referred to the local candidate by the wrong name. 'I'm a big Tom Kaine fan, a big Tom Kaine fan,' Biden said enthusiastically.

Iowa’s Des Moines Register newspaper endorsed Mitt Romney on Saturday, marking the first time the paper has endorsed a Republican for president in 40 years. “Both President Barack Obama and Governor Romney are superbly qualified … [but] Mitt Romney emerges the stronger candidate,” the paper announced. An Iowa victory would give Romney seven electoral votes. Recent polls show a close race in the state.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) was taken to a hospital on Friday afternoon after a multiple-car crash in Nevada. The extent of his injuries is unknown although Nevada Highway Patrol public information officer Loy Hixson said Reid's injuries did not appear to be life threatening, according to CNN. The crash occurred on Interstate 15, according to Las Vegas's KTNV, which runs near the Las Vegas strip. It happened around 1 p.m. local time and involved multiple cars, including two Metro vehicles, two Capital Police vehicles and two civilian vehicles, according to local Fox affiliate KVVU-TV. Officers on the scene...

Original title: 'Did your son always have balls the size of cue balls?' Biden's bizarre question to father of Navy SEAL who died in Benghazi attack --------------------------- The father of one of the Navy SEALs who was killed in the Libya consulate attack has criticised the White House reaction to his son's death - especially a bizarre and obscene comment Joe Biden made to him. Charles Woods, father of Tyrone Woods, said he thought Barack Obama had 'no remorse' over the attack and felt Hillary Clinton was 'not telling the truth'. And he revealed that at the ceremony for the...

The nation's weak economic recovery continued in the third quarter of 2012, with the growth rate reaching a sluggish 2%--largely fueled by a "burst" of government spending, according to news agencies. The growth rate was a modest improvement on the 1.3% expansion of gross domestic product achieved in the second quarter, and surpassed market expectations, which had been low. The 2% rate may yet be revised; last month the rate for the second quarter was revised downward from 1.7% to 1.3%. GDP growth for the past year remains stuck at an average of 1.74 percent, below last year's average of...

Original title: Romney's 'October surprise' WILL be released: Judge allows Mitt's secret evidence in bitter divorce of ex-Staples CEO to be made public --------------------------- Celebrity attorney Gloria Allred has won her battle to have Mitt Romney's sworn testimony in the bitter divorce of the ex-Staples CEO released to the public - in what is claimed could provide a damaging blow to his campaign. The Boston Globe filed the application to unseal the records and lift a gagging order on all parties involved after receiving a tip-off that there was 'juicy information about Romney' in the documents. On Wednesday, there were...

Alternate headline: Even Late Night Comedy Shows Must Interview Obama Off the Record. Noel Sheppard picks up David Letterman’s belated realization that Barack Obama — one of his favorite guests — has misrepresented Mitt Romney’s position on GM and the auto bailout for months. Letterman tells MSNBCs Rachel Maddow that he finds it disappointing when a challenger proves to be more honest than an incumbent President: DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST: Here’s what upset me last night, this playing fast and loose with facts. And the President Obama cites the op-ed piece that Romney wrote about Detroit, “Let them go bankrupt, let...

American Crossroads has a new ad out today, one that features a familiar face and voice — Clint Eastwood. Taking a distinctly more serious approach than his lighthearted, extemporaneous skit speech at the Republican Convention, Eastwood warns about rising dependence on China’s credit and the prospect of another four years of Barack Obama. America needs a turnaround artist, Eastwood says, and fortunately we have one at the ready: The reference to China will play well in Ohio and Pennsylvania, I’d bet — and I wouldn’t be surprised to see this ad go into heavy rotation in those states, as well...

Original title: Donald Trump to reveal ‘divorce papers of Michelle and Barack Obama’, claims respected financial pundit ----------------------------------- Donald Trump is to claim that he has unearthed divorce papers of Michelle Obama and the President, according to a respected financial pundit with links to the tycoon. It is alleged that the eccentric real estate mogul will claim that the documents show the First Lady and the President were at one point in their two decades of marriage seriously considering splitting up. Trump set the hare running on Monday by claiming that he was set to make an announcement on Wednesday...

Charlie Rose and Norah O’Donnell seem a little surprised by the results of this focus group conducted by CBS during last night’s debate, a group that consists of eight undecided voters in Ohio — a critical swing state for both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. Conventional wisdom and spot polls showed Obama winning a narrow victory over Romney in last night’s debate, but that’s not how CBS’ independents saw it:

President Barack Obama has offended the bayonet community ... TMZ has learned. TMZ spoke with multiple people in the bayonet industry who tell us they were shocked and even offended when Obama brought up the weapon during last night's debate. FYI -- Obama was going after Romney when he said, "You mentioned the Navy, for example, and that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916. Well, Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets, because the nature of our military's changed." According to the official U.S. Marine Corps website, every Marine is STILL required to complete a bayonet...

Romney for President released a new television advertisement titled “Apology Tour.” After taking office in 2009, President Barack Obama went on an apology tour around the world. He even said that America had “dictated” to other nations. Last night Mitt Romney responded, “Mr. President, America doesn’t dictate to other nations; we have freed other nations from dictators.”

If you had been on an extended vacation for the past four years, you would have been forgiven for watching this debate and thinking you were viewing a President Mitt Romney being challenged by a pretender called Barack Obama. It's not that Obama did not have command of foreign policy issues or did not make some telling points against an opponent who was vague at times and occasionally uncertain. But Obama clearly came into the debate believing he had to score points and change the dynamic of the race. In short, Obama started the 90 minutes here in Boca Raton,...

Original title: Romney won the presidential debate by looking presidential. Obama had a painful case of Biden's smile ----------------------------------------- Romney won the third presidential debate – and how he did it was encapsulated in a single exchange. The candidates were discussing military spending and Romney had just accused Obama of making harmful cutbacks. The President wheeled out what must have seemed like a great, pre-planned zinger: “I think Governor Romney maybe hasn't spent enough time looking at how our military works. You mentioned the navy, for example, and that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916. Well, governor,...

Joining in with the latest string of poll’s widening Mitt Romney’s edge over President Obama, a nationwide poll released by Monmouth University on Monday maintains that Romney has made inroads against the president, not merely since the first presidential debate, but has managed to continue that upward momentum even after the second debate (which Obama supposedly won) as well.

Original title: Barbra Streisand asks for 'emergency contribution' from Obama supporters: Are Hollywood Democrats panicking? ----------------------------------- With the Presidential election just two weeks away, prominent Hollywood Democrat Barbra Streisand has sent an “emergency” email to the entire Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) mailing list, urging all recipients to dig deep into their pockets for last minute Obama campaign donations, according to The Hollywood Reporter “The Democratic Party urgently needs your help. We’re just weeks from the most important election in a generation and every single thing Democrats like you and I spent a lifetime fighting for is on the line....

Last week, the Politico Battleground poll showed Obama with a 1-point lead over Romney. It was consistent with their polling throughout the campaign season, with Obama clinging to a small, but steady, lead over Romney. Today's Politico poll, though, taken last week, finds a 3-point shift towards Romney. The challenger now leads Obama by 2-points among likely voters, 49-47. In the swing states, Romney leads 50-48, hitting the critical 50% threshold. Let's note at the outset that this polling sample is D+4. I think that's a slight understatement of GOP turnout, but its certainly a defensible sample. Politico, somewhat surprisingly,...