News Nuggets 1068

DAYLEE PICTURE: Yosemite valley at dusk.  From National Geographic.

TWO HILARIOUS POLITICS NUGGETS!!
1.  Occupy Activists Commandeer Anti-Occupy Wall Street Rally from the Guardian [of the UK]
"Protest backed by billionaire Koch brothers fizzles out as Occupiers match numbers and attend with host of satirical signs. ... almost half of the sparse crowd were Occupy Wall Street protesters, smartly dressed and bearing signs parodying Americans for Prosperity's ultra-conservative message. "My sign says: 'I'm dreaming of a white president, just like the ones we used to have,'" said Stan Williams, a labour organiser and member of the Occupy movement."

2.  The Son Also Sets (Maureen Dowd) from the New York Times
"Sometimes in the course of human events, we must ask, as Hemingway did in “The Snows of Kilimanjaro,” what is that leopard doing at this altitude? As a candidate, Mitt Romney is awkward, off-putting and hollow, so bad that if he were a Bain company, he would shut himself down. ... Aside from Mitt’s penchant for being a piñata, the campaign is a moveable feast of missteps..."

Dangerous and Deepening Divide Between Islamic World, West from Reuters 
"The outrage and violence over a crude film ridiculing the Prophet Mohammad points to a chasm between Western free speech and individualism and the sensitivities of some Muslims over what they see as a campaign of humiliation. There seems no shortage of forces on both sides to fan the flames."

Exploiting the Prophet (Nicholas Kristof) from the New York Times
"Christians didn’t riot after seeing a photograph of Jesus steeped in urine, so why are Muslims up in arms about insults to the Prophet Muhammad?"

Romney Missed Big Chance with Latino Voters (Andres Openheimer) from the Miami Herald
"Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney had his best opportunity to reach out to Hispanics and increase his paltry 30 percent support among Latino voters last week when he appeared before a nationally broadcast Univision/Facebook forum in Miami. He blew it."

Just Say What You Stand For, Mitt (Dana Milbank) from the Washington Post 
"The best political minds at Romney headquarters have come up with an antidote to the candidate’s floundering presidential bid: “More Mitt” — putting more of him in front of more voters more often. This is supposed to be a good thing? ... But voters don’t need More Mitt. They need Core Mitt: a sense of what exactly he proposes to do as president. At this late stage, just six weeks before the election, even his most ardent supporters don’t know."

Back to Ohio, Romney Faces Uphill Battle in Key State from USA Today 
"A multiday bus tour through Ohio by Republicans Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan this week further shows the state's significance in the presidential race but also comes as a new poll shows Ohio presents an uphill battle for the GOP ticket. President Obama, who will also make stops in the Buckeye State this week, leads Romney 51%-46% among likely voters..."

Can Romney Replicate Bush’s 2004 Path to Victory? It Looks Dicey (Chris Cillizza) from the Washington Post
"... the bigger and more important question when it comes to the electoral-college conversation is whether former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney can come close to replicating the path to victory that President George W. Bush took during his 2004 reelection race. At the moment that looks like a dicey proposition, and that should make Republicans very nervous."

David Brooks: Mitt Romney Is 'The Least Popular Candidate In History' (VIDEO) from the Huffington Post
""Look at his high unfavorable ratings," host David Gregory said. "At 50%. The highest of any candidate running in recent memory. This is an image problem that his philosophical statements in this speech in May to fundraisers only exacerbates." Brooks did not mince words, calling Romney "the least popular candidate in history.""

Why is Romney Such a Loser? Seven Theories (John Cassidy) from the New Yorker
"Because the margin of error in Fair’s forecasting equation is three per cent, he isn’t really predicting a Romney victory; he’s just saying that the race should be close, really close. As of today, it isn’t. ... What’s gone wrong for Romney? Here are seven possible explanations:..."
Reasons 1 thru 6 are on the money -- No. 7 is dead wrong.

The Turning Point: Voter Contempt For GOP Driving Democrats Upward from the Carville-Greenberg Memo
"Looking closely at polling numbers, it is now clear that this election has reached a real turning point. The Republican Party has lost five points in voter identification over the past month. Contempt for the Republicans is pushing Democrats into the lead, not only in the
presidential race but across Senate and likely many House races as well."

Don’t Blame Mitt for the GOP’s Problems (Michael Tomasky) from the Daily Beast
"Conservative columnists are lining up to dump on Romney. But the real problem isn’t the candidate or his campaign. It’s the Republican Party and its pathologies."

Low on Cash, Romney Tries to Rally Donors for Final Phase from the New York Times
"Campaign filings, and disclosures by major “super PACs” supporting both candidates, challenge the appearance of financial strength that Mitt Romney enjoyed over the summer."

Why the Press Needs to Crash More Fundraisers (Peter Beinart) from the Daily Beast
"The press needs to storm the only place pols tell the truth."

How Perry Lost His Edge in Bid to Be President (Jay Root) from the New York Times
"Despite the support that Texas governor Rick Perry received when he joined the presidential race last year, a series of faux pas and debate inexperience came with political costs."

PBS NUGGET!!
The Bodice Ripper That Started It All from the New York Times
"The rivalries and resentments that animate “Homeland” and “Downton Abbey,” best-drama nominees at the Emmys, churned a decade ago in “The Forsyte Saga.”"