The Commentariat -- Sept. 9, 2012

My column in today's New York Times eXaminer is titled "Stupid Stuff New York Times Columnists Wrote Today." It's a four-fer. The NYTX front page is here. Comments are open to all on NYTX.

Bob Woodward has a long piece in the Washington Post on the debt crisis, which is based on his new book. CW: Wimpiest wimp in the room (IMHO): Tim Geithner.

Adam Himmelsbach of the New York Times: "The N.F.L. has long fought the stigma of having a homophobic culture. Now, two pro football players have powerfully lent their support for same-sex marriage, taking a political figure to task in the process." Here's the full letter from Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe to Maryland sate delegate Emmett Burns (no relation, I swear). The last word is, appropriately, "Asshole."

Presidential Race

Bounce. Alina Selyukh of Reuters: "President Barack Obama ... widened his narrow lead over ... Mitt Romney in a new Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Saturday. The latest daily tracking poll showed Obama ... with a lead of 4 percentage points over Romney [47-43].... Obama increased his lead over Romney in certain favorable characteristics. Asked who was more 'eloquent,' 50 percent ... favored Obama, compared to 25 percent for Romney. Asked about being 'smart enough for the job,' 46 percent sided with Obama compared to 37 percent for Romney. In fact, Obama led Romney in a dozen such favorable characteristics, such as 'represents America' or 'has the right values.' The only such category in which Romney had an advantage was being 'a man of faith,' as 44 percent picked Romney...." ...

... Thud. Sam Wang of Princeton U.: on "the best glimpse we are going to get of the negative post-GOP-convention bounce. Basically, their convention appears to have helped Obama.... Why would the Republicans be hurt by their own convention? ... (1) The Ryan-VP bounce effectively used up whatever room there was for a bounce.... (2) The GOP convention was not particularly inspiring. Indeed, the most notable event was Clint Eastwood's empty-chair routine, which overshadowed Romney's acceptance speech." ...

... Nate Silver: "The question now is not whether Mr. Obama will get a bounce in the polls, but how substantial it will be."

The New York Times has a slideshow of B&W photos taken backstage at the Democratic convention.

Helene Cooper of the New York Times: "Kicking off a two-day bus tour through [Florida]..., the president told a rally [in Seminole] that Mitt Romney's running mate, Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, had proposed overhauling Medicare and replacing it with a voucher system that could mean higher costs for beneficiaries.... The president's advisers have indicated that they are eager to re-engage their opponents on their Medicare plan, while the Romney camp would prefer to talk about the economy.... Mr. Romney has sought to blunt Mr. Obama's Medicare offensive with attacks of his own, something Obama advisers appeared to await eagerly." ...

... Erik Wasson of The Hill: "At a St. Petersburg, Fla. rally, Obama noted that [Bill] Clinton 'made the case as only he can.... After he spoke, somebody sent out a tweet that said "you should appoint him 'secretary of explaining stuff.' ... I have to admit, it didn't say "stuff". I cleaned that up." CW: Akhilleus had some other suggestions for Cabinet positions in the September 7 Commentariat. ...

... President Obama cracks a birther joke.

Sean Sullivan of the Washington Post: "In an interview with NBC’s 'Meet The Press' set to air on Sunday morning, Mitt Romney said former President Bill Clinton elevated the Democratic National Convention and suggested the contrast between Clinton and other convention speakers might have worked against President Obama.... David Gregory spoke with Romney over of two days this week, and also interviewed Ann Romney. It's the first time since 2009 that Mitt Romney has sat for an interview with the Sunday news program." See also Infotainment. ...

     ... CW: since the GOP convention was a comparative flop, I'm not so sure Romney is the best person to critique the Democratic convention. But then it's David Gregory asking the questions. I'll bet he came down really hard on Ann Romney, her husband's so-called "women's ambassador," for refusing to address women's health issues. Sample women's health question: "Lady Romney, is it true that a woman should always brush her hair a hundred strokes a day?" Answer: "Well, of course -- if she doesn't have a lady-in-waiting to do it for her. And, you know, David, I've been talking to thousands of women all across this country, and that's what they're telling me -- they're praying for me & they're worried that if Mitt isn't elected, they could lose their ladies-in-waiting. For women, the economy is the most important issue." ...

     ... Update: Mitt tells Greggers he can do simple arithmetic, but his answers are still secret. ...

     ... AND. Seung Min Kim of Politico: "Mitt Romney is slamming the 2011 deal that ended the protracted congressional fight to raise the debt limit -- a vote that his own vice presidential pick backed.... 'I thought it was a mistake on the part of the White House to propose it. I think it was a mistake for Republicans to go along with it.'" CW: Mitt's story is becoming, "I chose Paul Ryan as my running mate because I disagree with every one of his policy positions & every vote he cast in Congress." ...

... George Stephanopoulos: "Putting himself at odds with his GOP presidential running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan this morning on 'This Week' refused to tell me that he would reject a hypothetical debt reduction deal -- composed of spending cuts and tax hikes by a ratio of ten to one - that Mitt Romney famously rejected during a presidential primary debate last year."

Willard Whitey Is at It Again. Ashley Parker of the New York Times: "... at a Saturday afternoon rally [in Virginia Beach, Virginia], Mr. Romney did not just recite the Pledge of Allegiance; he also metaphorically wrapped his stump speech in it, using each line of the pledge to attack President Obama." CW: Read the whole post. This is Romney (a) repeatedly lying about President Obama & (b) identifying him as "Not American." Yo, Dante Alighieri, time for a 10th circle of hell. I don't know about you, but Romney sure energizes me. ...

... That reminds me. Here's Steve Benen's 33rd weekly installment of "Mitt's Mendacity."

Shushannah Walshe of ABC News: "Paul Ryan said today the president has gone to 'great lengths' to make gas more expensive in this country." CW: this would be because it is always a good idea for an incumbent to raise gas prices right before an election. Probably the reason Obama caused Hurricane Isaac that shut down rigs in the Gulf & nearby refineries. He doesn't just control the National Weather Service; he controls the weather.

"Fair & Balanced" Fox "News" covers the conventions:

Missed this: Andrew Restuccia of Politico answered a question I had about the Democratic convention: "Where's Al Gore?"

Congressional Races

Katharine Seelye of the New York Times: Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) is running an ad in which he features President Obama paying him a compliment. CW: It's an excellent spot; now I see why he's whupping Elizabeth Warren:

News Ledes

AP: "The U.S. government is selling more of its shares in insurer American International Group Inc., in a move that should decrease its holdings below a majority stake for the first time since the $182 billion bailout in 2008. The sale is the latest step to recoup taxpayer money spent on the largest bailout of the financial crisis."

AP: "Damaging storms that spawned tornadoes in New York City, darkened tens of thousands of homes in the Washington, D.C., area and flooded New England streets turned a normal day of rest into a day of cleaning up for many East Coast residents on Sunday. No serious injuries were reported when a twister hit a beachfront neighborhood Saturday on the edge of New York City and a second, stronger tornado followed moments later about 10 miles away. Residents got advance notice...."

AP: "Insurgents killed at least 44 people in a wave of attacks against Iraqi security forces on Sunday, gunning down soldiers at an army post and bombing police recruits waiting in line to apply for jobs, officials said. The violence, which struck at least 11 cities and wounded nearly 240 people, highlighted militant attempts to sow havoc in the country and undermine the government."

The Commentariat -- Sept. 8, 2012

My column in the New York Times eXaminer is on David Brooks' "analysis" of President Obama's acceptance speech. The NYTX front page is here.

President Obama's Weekly Address:

     ... The transcript is here.

New York Times Editors: "In a scalding opinion issued on Thursday, Judge Royce Lamberth of Federal District Court rejected new rules imposed by the Obama administration last spring that limit access to counsel for prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, who are not actively challenging their detention.... Judge Lamberth ... is completely right."

Laurie Goodstein of the New York Times writes the story behind the conviction of Bishop Robert Finn for misdemeanor failing to report suspected child abuse. Plea bargains save taxpayer money, but really -- misdemeanor, my ass. ...

... New York Times Editors: "At a minimum, Catholic officials concerned about church credibility should press for the resignation of Bishop Finn for having abetted the scandal."

"Freaky Freon Friday." Elisabeth Rosenthal & Andrew Lehren of the New York Times: smuggling a banned A/C coolant has become big business in the U.S. & Europe.

Presidential Race

Frank Newport of Gallup: "President Barack Obama and the Democratic Party look as if they are getting at least a preliminary bounce from their convention. Today's (Friday, Sept. 7) Gallup Daily tracking update puts Obama's job approval rating at 52%, the highest it has been since May 2011, after the killing of Osama bin Laden. Obama has also moved to a 48% to 45% lead over Mitt Romney among registered voters in the election tracking, up from Obama's 47% to 46% margin over the last nine days."

Republican know-it-all Joe Scarborough in Politico: "Maybe there seemed to be such a disparity between the two conventions because the Republican Party has never been the least bit excited about its nominee. Or maybe it's because Democrats were simply blessed with a deeper bench of political athletes in 2012. But whatever the reason, Republicans were lapped by their rivals and may ultimately pay in November for botching Mitt Romney's debut. And that means that these conventions will have mattered -- a lot." CW: hey, Scarborough gets some things right.

Howard Kurtz of Newsweek: "While the pundits are generally calling the president's Thursday night address mediocre, Obama and his advisers had taken great pains to avoid soaring rhetoric that might have been derided as empty. Indeed, they extensively tested the president's speech in dial groups, a type of focus group where voters twist dials to register approval or disapproval of specific passages, and say it tested off the charts." ...

... John Harris, et al., of Politico: "A surprisingly long parade of Democrats and media commentators described the [President's] speech less as a failure than a fizzle -- an oddly missed opportunity to frame his presidency or the nation's choice in a fresh or inspirational light. Even those who liked the president's performance generally went no further than saying that he was effective in doing a job that needed to be done, in a tough-minded if prosaic style." ...

... CW: my impression is that the speech holds up better on paper than it did in delivery -- which is kinda surprising in an Obama speech. But I also think Ken Winkes' commentary in today's Comments is exactly right. Winkes points to some critical facts that Obama should have included in his speech -- facts low-information (i.e., most) voters simply don't know. ...

... Ryan Lizza of the New Yorker titled on the front page (but not on the post), "How Obama Might Lose": "There was an odd mismatch between Obama's claim about the enormous stakes of this election and his own preview of what he would do if re-elected." CW: Lizza's analysis is in line with my own observation (see NYTX column, linked above) that Obama is promising only to be the little Dutch boy with his finger in the dike. He's planning to save us from the flood but doesn't think he can actually effect flood control. ...

... Also in line with my NYTX column, Rick Hertzberg of the New Yorker: "... if Obama is re-elected, he will almost certainly face a Republican House and a Senate that, whichever party is nominally in control, is paralyzed by Republican filibusters. That is why there were no big plans, no sweeping visions." ...

... AND Hertzberg, Lizza, John Cassidy & Dorothy Wickenden discuss the conventions & the what-all to expect next:

Mark Warren of Esquire on Joe Biden. A lovely encomium, but the takeaway is Your Analogy of the Day -- Joe Biden : Violence Against Women Act :: Paul Ryan : forcible rape. That alone should tell all voters, women and men, who has the better judgment -- Obama or Romney.

Sarah Palin said she could see Russia from Alaska. Mitt Romney talks like he's only seen Russia by watching Rocky IV. -- John Kerry, speaking before the Democratic convention (video in yesterday's Commentariat)

Quote of the Day. I think he diminished himself by even mentioning my name. How does he even know my name? I mean aren't these guys supposed to be these big wig elites who don't waste their time on the little people like me -- me representing the average American who, yeah I did say in Alaska you can see Russia from our land base and I was making the point that we are strategically located on the globe and when it comes to transportation corridors and resources that are shared and fought over [in] Alaska and I as the governor had known what I was doing in dealing with some international issues that had to do with our resources that could help secure the nation. -- Guess Who (no prizes for this one!) on John Kerry's speech

Good question, Guess Who. How could a 2004 presidential candidate possibly find out the name of a 2008 vice-presidential candidate? Obviously, Kerry's research team did some deep diving. And you're right: mentioning you in beneath Kerry's dignity. And mine. Oops! -- Constant Weader

Afghanistan, U.S. Troops Aren't "Important" Enough to Mention. Ben Ambruster of Think Progress: "In an interview with Fox News..., Mitt Romney shot back at critics who complained that he didn't mention Afghanistan or praise U.S. troops in his convention speech last week....

When you give a speech you don't go through a laundry list, you talk about the things that you think are important and I described in my speech, my commitment to a strong military unlike the president's decision to cut our military. And I didn't use the word troops, I used the word military. I think they refer to the same thing. ...

     ... "His speech did mention the military, but only to say that he wants to 'preserve' a strong military (incidentally so does Obama)." ...

... Markos Moulitsas: "Wrong answer. You thank the fucking troops. They are not a laundry list. And while Romney might not think they are important, they kind of are. Romney then goes on to claim that he talked about a 'strong military,' which was totally the same as thanking the troops for their service. Except that it's not. One of them speaks to the institution, the other speaks to the individuals who do the work of the institution. It's the same distinction as corporations and the people who work for them -- a distinction that Romney famously fails to understand." ...

... CW: when Mitt talks about increasing "the military," what he's really talking about is increasing military contracts. And, yeah, I know military contractors, like all corporations, are people, too -- people like the ones that wacko leftie Ike warned about. Ike was warning about Mitt Romney, too.

Lady Romney Refuses to Answer Again. David Nelson of KWQC (Iowa): "Mrs. Romney ... said she wanted to speak about women's issues.... 'My message, really, was "women, I hear your voices."' ... When asked if she believes a lesbian mother should be allowed to marry her partner, Mrs. Romney said, 'I'm not going to talk about the specific issues.' ... When asked if she believes that employer-provided health insurance should be required to cover birth control, Mrs. Romney said 'Again, you're asking me questions that are not about what this election is going to be about.' ... [Nelson cited] an April 2012 Pew Research Center poll [which] found that 46% of women voters under age 50 said birth control is 'very important' to their vote this November.... Mrs. Romney responded 'but I personally believe, and this is what I'm hearing from women all across the country that they are going to look for the guy that's going to pull them out of the weeds and get them job security and a brighter future for their children. That's the message." The full transcript of the interview is here. The video is here. Quite a show. ...

... Tara Culp-Ressler of Think Progress: "... Ann Romney declin[ed] to address whether she believes women should have access to contraception through their employer-based insurance plans. Such questions are irrelevant, Romney said, because this election is not going to be about birth control.... In fact, women's access to reproductive health services is inextricably linked to the economic issues that countless women face." ...

... Joan McCarter of Daily Kos: Mitt Romney's "women's ambassador" says women's issues don't matter.

Congressional Races

McCay Coppins of BuzzFeed: "At a rally in the most conservative county in Iowa, Mitt Romney enthusiastically endorsed conservative lightning rod Rep. Steve King.... Obama campaign spokeswoman Lis Smith issued a statement: ... 'If his speech today praising Rep. Steve King -- who has questioned whether women get pregnant from rape and incest and said hateful things about immigrants -- is any indication, we know [Romney] wouldn't stand up to the most strident voices in his party.'" ...

... For more on King's immigrants = animals remarks, see Jillian Rayfield of Salon. And to get a fully picture of the Real Steve King, Hunter of Daily Kos has a good overview of the guy Romney wants to "partner" with in Washington.

Bob Salsberg of the AP: "Joseph Kennedy III, the first of his famous political family's generation to seek elective office, defeated two little-known Democrats in Thursday's primary in Massachusetts' 4th Congressional District. Kennedy, 31, will face the winner of a three-way Republican primary in the November election for the seat currently held by longtime liberal Democratic Rep. Barney Frank."

News Ledes

Washington Post: "The bleak [jobs] report is all but certain to spur the Federal Reserve to expand its efforts to generate faster economic growth and lower unemployment. The central bank, whose policymakers meet next week, is strongly considering pumping hundreds of billions of dollars into the mortgage market." CW: I'm not holding my breath.

New York Times: "Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton pledged on Saturday that the United States would soon lift cold-war-era trade sanctions on Russia, but she did not address related legislation in Congress that has so far blocked the move, infuriated the Kremlin and become an unexpected issue in the American presidential race." CW: the presidential race part, spelled out in the story, is interesting.

Reuters: "Nearly seventeen years after O.J. Simpson walked away from his murder trial a free man..., former Los Angeles deputy district attorney Christopher Darden on Thursday accused Simpson defense lawyer, the late Johnnie Cochran, of 'manipulating' one of the infamous gloves that the prosecution said linked Simpson to the grisly double murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman."

The Commentariat -- Sept. 7, 2012

Presidential Race

C-SPAN covers the Democratic convention without commentary. C-SPAN's convention coverage is also online. Day 3 (Thursday) begins at about 4:30 pm ET. The schedule of speakers & events is here. ...

... Here's the New York Times liveblog.

President Obama's full acceptance speech:

... Helene Cooper & Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Obama on Thursday night accepted the Democratic nomination for a second term, making a forceful argument that he had rescued the economy from disaster and ushered in a recovery that would be imperiled by a return to Republican stewardship." ...

... The Voice from Tomorrow presents the (prepared) text of President Obama's speech to the Democratic convention -- even as he speaks. Hey, it's a gift! ...

... "Downsizing the Dream." Glenn Thrush of Politico writes quite a balanced analysis of Obama's speech. ...

... "The Age of Diminished Expectations." Matt Miller of the Washington Post: "Obama's affirmative vision was largely rhetorical.... But when it came to actual policy, the choice Obama repeatedly framed calls on voters to avoid some very bad things that would happen if Republicans win and keep their promises.... But another choice -- a bolder, progressive agenda for real American renewal -- is not on the ballot this year."

... Steve Stromberg of the Washington Post: "Obama can point out that he is more reasonable than the Tea Party, more consistent than Mitt Romney and more mainstream than Paul Ryan. And he has a good shot at winning on those terms. But achieving the many fine social goals he favors will require more than a mandate not to be the other guys, but some sophisticated policy." ...

... Michael Grunwald of Time: "I didn't get that speech. It felt subdued and clichéd. It felt like a few speeches stitched together. It felt like after overpromising in 2008 he was determined to underpromise in 2012.... The speech felt like a downer, hope and all. Joe Biden made a better case for his boss, and Bill Clinton and Michelle Obama made MUCH better cases." ...

... Jim Fallows of the Atlantic makes three (or four) cogent points about Obama's speech.

Jodi Kantor of the New York Times: Malia & Sasha Obama will appear at the Democratic convention this evening. Kantor writes about the girls' life in the White House.

Vice President Biden's full acceptance speech:

... The text of the Vice President's remarks is here. ...

... David Firestone of the New York Times: Joe Biden, son of a used-car salesman, takes on the son of an auto executive: "I don't think [Romney is] a bad guy. I'm sure he grew up loving cars as much as I did. But ... I don't think he understood that saving the automobile worker, saving the industry, what it meant to all of America, not just autoworkers. I think he saw it the Bain way. Now, I mean this sincerely. I think he saw it in terms of balance sheets and write-offs." Firestone writes, "Better than most speakers at the convention, [Biden] refuted the contemptuous Republican assertion that Democrats are constantly on the lookout for government handouts. People who need government help for a college loan or job training aren't trying to become dependent, he said, they are seeking their own path out of dependency." ...

... E. J. Dionne: "Biden was effective, and at times powerful, speaking as a witness who watched Obama up close. And because of his reputation for saying what's on his mind, which has often gotten him into trouble, he has a kind of credibility that doesn't come automatically to those who are always, always on message. Biden has a gut understanding of white working class and less affluent middle class voters whom Obama needs because, basically, that's where Biden comes from." ...

... Literally, Joe Biden.

John Kerry, who heads the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is not usually a great speaker, but he did an excellent job talking about Obama's foreign policy:

Former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm "In Romney's world, the cars get the elevator; the workers get the shaft":

Rep. John Lewis (D-Georgia) speaks of his first visit to Charlotte & about voting rights today -- rights that the GOP is challenging across the country:

... Charles Pierce: "If I were running the president's campaign, I'd shut the hell up about Simpson-fking-Bowles and put John Lewis on an airplane and let him tell his story in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and everywhere else this atavistic authoritarian nonsense is going down. There's more at risk here than anyone knows."

Former Rep. Gabby Giffords [D-Az.] leads the Pledge of Allegiance:

Paul Krugman's column today is a balanced assessment of President Obama's stewardship of the economy. He adds, almost in passing, "... there's not a shred of evidence for the G.O.P. theory of what ails our economy...."

Oh, no! Amy Gardner of the Washington Post: "Big Shot Donors Packed like Sardines." This is so wrong. But it should make John Fund feel better.

(The Man from a Place Called) Hope Springs Eternal. Eric Weisbrod of CNN: on Facebook, Bill Clinton got more mention than words associated with the NFL opener. ...

... CNN: Hillary Clinton watched her husband's speech, in a taped version, while traveling in East Timor. Secretary Clinton has been working in Asia this week, & did not attend the convention -- the first Democratic convention she has missed in 4 decades. It is political tradition for secretaries of state not to attend party conventions. With photo. ...

... Dashiell Bennett of the Atlantic has a terrific post in which he illuminates the differences between what Clinton said & what his prepared text said. (A nightmare for the teleprompter operator!)

... Lori Robertson, et al., of FactCheck.org: "Former President Bill Clinton’s stem-winding nomination speech was a fact-checker's nightmare: lots of effort required to run down his many statistics and factual claims, producing little for us to write about. Republicans will find plenty of Clinton's scorching opinions objectionable. But with few exceptions, we found his stats checked out." ...

... James Fallows: Clinton's speeches succeed because he "treats listeners as if they are smart." ...

... Worse than I Realized. Jonathan Chait of New York: The "Associated Press 'fact check' of Bill Clinton's speech last night has attracted a fair amount of Internet abuse, but not nearly enough. It's not only a prime specimen of journalistic idiocy -- it's one of those documents that reveals the incredibly blinkered quality of conventional wisdom, so contemptuous of facts that challenge its assumptions." Read the whole post. ...

... Brad DeLong: "No. Glenn Kessler Doesn't Have Any Business Working for a Journalistic Enterprise That Wants to Have a Reputation. Why Do You Ask?" A short post. ...

... Paul Krugman: "Clinton did get one thing wrong, which he has persistently gotten wrong for years. He's stuck on the notion that we have a big structural unemployment problem [that is, reflecting supply factors, or whether it's mainly simple lack of demand]." Thanks to Victoria D. for the link.

Fluke-Bashing, Ctd. Tara Culp-Ressler of Think Progress: "After [Sandra] Fluke [appeared at] ... the Democratic National Convention last night to articulate the issues at stake in the ongoing War on Women, conservative media took to Twitter to bash her for 'whining' about needing free birth control for the activities that go on in her 'bedroom.'"

If I heard … the president is going to report on the promises he made and how he has performed on those promises then I would love to watch it. But if it is another series of new promises that he is not going to keep I have no interest in seeing him, because I saw the promises last time. Those are promises he did not keep and the American people deserve to know why he did not keep his promises. -- Mitt Romney, on why he wouldn't be watching the President's acceptance speech. Thanks to reader Judy K. for the link.

James Rosen of Fox "News": "Senior Romney-Ryan campaign officials tell Fox News the campaign will launch an enormous media offensive on Friday.... The push will include ad buys in several states that will cost tens of millions of dollars."

Trip Gabriel of the New York Times writes a lovely little piece about how hard it's been on Paul Ryan -- unassuming backbencher from Janesville, Wisconsin -- to unexpectedly find himself in the national spotlight where all-of-a-sudden people are picking on him for being a serial liar. Blechhh!

The Republican National Committee admits it's responsible for this lame ad:

     ... CW: And if you think the woman playing the former Obama supporter is a lousy actress, maybe that's because she isn't an actress at all: she's RNC staffer Bettina Inclan. Pema Levy of TPM: "Inclan began her current RNC post in January 2012, and has worked in Republican politics since well before Obama's 2008 election. She did Hispanic outreach for Rick Scott's 2010 Florida gubernatorial race worked on Capitol Hill for Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI) and as national executive director of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly." Somehow I don't think Inclan & Obama were going steady in 2008.

Related News & Opinion

Paul Krugman: "I've spent most of the day with a parent in the hospital; and my thoughts turned to the GOP platform, which boasts that "Our reform of healthcare will empower millions of seniors to control their personal healthcare decisions." ... It's really amazing how this notion of patients as consumers, just like people buying furniture or gardening supplies, has taken hold; anyone with the least experience of actual medical situations, which means almost everyone, has to know how totally unrealistic it is."

Nina Bernstein of the New York Times: "The presidential election may decide Medicaid's future. But many states faced with rising Medicaid costs and budget deficits are already trying to cut the cost of long-term care by profoundly changing Medicaid coverage, through the use of federal waivers."

Congressional Races

Talking Points Memo has a pretty good poll-tracker. The current polls -- not so good, particularly the Senate races.

News Ledes

Bloomberg News: "Payrolls rose less than projected in August and the unemployment rate declined as more Americans left the labor force, indicating the U.S. labor market is stagnating. The economy added 96,000 workers last month following a revised 141,000 rise in July that was smaller than initially estimated...."

New York Times: The Obama administration has decided to blacklist as a terrorist organization the Haqqani network, the militant organization responsible for some of the deadliest attacks against American troops in Afghanistan, several American officials said late Thursday."

Guardian: "US forces will continue to hold prisoners in Afghanistan even after they transfer their main detention centre to Afghan authorities this week..., a report from a rights group said, in a decision likely to anger Kabul officials who believed they had won control of all Afghan detainees.... Afghan lawyers have warned that this is unconstitutional and sets a dangerous precedent for the country's security forces."

AP: "A series of earthquakes collapsed houses and triggered landslides in a remote mountainous part of southwestern China on Friday, killing at least 50 people with the toll expected to rise. Damage was preventing rescuers from reaching some outlying areas, and communications were disrupted."

Reuters: "Yosemite National Park doubled the scope of its hantavirus warning on Thursday to some 22,000 visitors who may have been exposed to the deadly mouse-borne disease as the number of confirmed cases grew to eight and a third death was reported. U.S. officials recently sounded a worldwide alert, saying that up to 10,000 people were thought to be at risk of contracting hantavirus pulmonary syndrome after staying at the popular Curry Village lodging area between June and August."

AP: "Drew Peterson -- the crass former Illinois police officer who gained notoriety after his much-younger wife vanished in 2007 -- was convicted Thursday of murdering a previous wife in a potentially precedent-setting case centered on secondhand hearsay statements." Related Chicago Tribune story, videos here.

Space.com: "NASA's newest Mars rover Curiosity is taking its first tentative drives across the Martian surface and leaving tracks that have been spotted all the way from space in a spectacular photo snapped by an orbiting spacecraft." With photos. More from NASA.

BBC News: Britain's "Prince Harry has been deployed to Afghanistan for four months, the Ministry of Defence says. The prince, an Apache helicopter pilot, arrived on Thursday night at the main British base, Camp Bastion in Helmand."