Former Aide On Obama: ‘It’s Stunning That He’s In Politics, Because He Really Doesn’t Like People’

Neera Tanden, a former aide to both Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, had this to say about the relationship of the two presidents:

Clinton, being Clinton, had plenty of advice in mind and was desperate to impart it. But for the first two years of Obama’s term, the phone calls Clinton kept expecting rarely came. “People say the reason Obama wouldn’t call Clinton is because he doesn’t like him,” observes Tanden. “The truth is, Obama doesn’t call anyone, and he’s not close to almost anyone. It’s stunning that he’s in politics, because he really doesn’t like people. My analogy is that it’s like becoming Bill Gates without liking computers.”

It's a revealing statement from Tanden, who "served as senior advisor for health reform at the Department of Health and Human Services, advising Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and working on President Barack Obama’s health reform team in the White House to pass the bill," according to her bio at the Center for American Progress. She is currently president and CEO of the liberal organization.

Via: Weekly Standard

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[EXCLUSIVE] 77% likelihood Romney wins popular vote, according to famous U of Colorado study

The University of Colorado (CU) prediction renowned for perfect accuracy will predict a popular-vote win for Mitt Romney later this month, Campus Reform has learned. 

The poll has accurately predicted every presidential election since it was developed in 1980. It is unique in that it employs factors outside of state economic indicators to predict the next president. 

CU Political Science Professor Dr. Michael Berry, who spoke with Campus Reform at length on Tuesday, said there is at least 77 percent chance that Romney will win the popular vote.

Professor Michael Berry from the University of Colorado told Campus Reform in an exclusive interview that there is a 77 percent chance Romney will win the popular vote.

“Our model indicates that Governor Romney has a 77 percent likelihood of winning the popular vote,” said Berry.

That number is significant, not only in its size, but because of the fact that only four presidents since the nation’s founding have won the presidency without capturing the popular vote, the last being George W. Bush in 2000. 

Berry noted his model has never been wrong at predicting the outcome of a presidential election. 

“For the last eight presidential elections, this model has correctly predicted the winner,” he said. 

Berry also acknowledged that while his poll is accurate, however, that his model does not “calculate a specific confidence level for the Electoral College result.”

The study, conducted every four years, is non-political and employs historical data as well as current unemployment numbers and income levels.

In the crucial swing states of Florida, Ohio, and Virginia, a recent poll reveals that a majority of voters believe the health of the economy is the most important issue of this election.

Additionally, more than double of the respondents in a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll trust Romney over Obama to fix the economic state of our country (63%-29%).

Along with the economy, unemployment adds an element which only increases the probability of the CU prediction. 

“The apparent advantage of being a Democratic candidate and holding the White House disappears when the national unemployment rate hits 5.6 percent,” Berry said. 

Kenneth Bickers of CU-Boulder adds, “the incumbency advantage enjoyed by President Obama, though statistically significant, is not great enough to offset high rates of unemployment currently experienced in many of the states.”

The Colorado model has had such accuracy over the years, these results have received no criticism from academic peers, according to Berry.

Via: Campus Reform

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CNN Moderator Gives Obama 9% More Time

Amid persistent complaints and interruptions from both candidates, President Obama ultimately got more than three extra minutes of speaking time than Mitt Romney during Tuesday's debate.

(PHOTOS: The in-your-face debate | Also on POLITICO: Crowley defies contract, asks questions)

According to CNN's timekeeping, Obama got 44:04 minutes of speaking time, while Romney got 40:50.

Both candidates pressed the moderator Candy Crowley — sometimes aggressively — into allowing additional responses and back-and-forth exchanges.

Via: Politico

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Obama, Romney turn up the tension in second presidential debate

President Obama and Mitt Romney tangled in the opening moments of their second debate on the economy, taxes and energy – as the president tried to make up for lost ground in the wake of his opening debate performance.

The president was decidedly more aggressive Tuesday as the debate at Hofstra University in New York got under way.

He mocked Romney’s five-point economic plan and referenced Romney’s tenure at private equity firm Bain Capital.

“Governor Romney says he’s got a five-point plan. Governor Romney doesn’t have a five-point plan. He has a one-point plan. And that plan is to make sure that folks at the top play by a different set of rules,” Obama said. “That’s been his philosophy in the private sector. That’s been his philosophy as a governor. And that’s been his philosophy as a presidential candidate.”

Romney called Obama’s assessment “way off the mark.”

While Obama said Romney’s policies are “squeezing middle-class families,” the Republican nominee claimed president’s policies were doing the same.

“The president’s policies have been exercised over the last four years, and they haven’t put Americans back to work,” Romney said.

The two candidates frequently interrupted each other, in what was turning out to be a feistier face-off than the first round.

The stakes for Round 2 were high. Since Obama’s lackluster debate debut on Oct. 3, a succession of national and battleground polls has shown Romney gaining and in some cases surpassing Obama.

Via: Fox News

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INFOGRAPHICS: Federal Spending by the Numbers 2012

Several key questions still remain to be asked of President Obama and Governor Mitt Romney during tonight’s debate. Among them: What would each of them do to reduce the growing burden of federal spending on American households?

In 2012, the federal government spent $29,700 per American household. Of that amount, $9,400 was deficit spending. Put another way, $3.20 out of every $10 spent was borrowed.

These facts and more are available in a new Heritage report: “Federal Spending by the Numbers 2012.”

In 20 powerful graphics and four detailed tables, “Federal Spending by the Numbers 2012” analyzes government spending trends in the past and future. Heritage experts explain where the federal government spends the most, which areas of the budget have grown the fastest, and when the entitlements and net interest begin to overwhelm all other federal spending.Specific examples of government waste are featured at the end.

By 2025, the major entitlements and net interest will grow to 18.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), devouring all tax revenue at the historical average level. (continues below chart)

Via: The Foundry

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Romney 50%, Obama 46% Among Likely Voters

Obama down sharply among men, college grads, and Southern voters vs. 2008

by Lydia Saad

PRINCETON, NJ -- Half of likely voters now prefer Mitt Romney for president and 46% back President Barack Obama in Gallup interviewing through Monday.

While Romney's four-percentage-point advantage is not statistically significant, he has consistently edged ahead of Obama each of the past several days in Gallup's seven-day rolling averages conducted entirely after the Oct. 3 presidential debate. Prior to that debate -- regarded as a decisive Romney win by political experts and Americans who watched it -- Romney averaged less than a one-point lead over Obama among likely voters.

The latest result, from Oct. 9-15, is based on 2,723 likely voters drawn from more than 3,100 registered voters.

The effect of the Denver debate on voter preferences is also seen in the trend among registered voters. Prior to the debate, in late September/early October, Obama generally led Romney by five or six points among registered voters. Since the debate, the margin has been three points or less.

Via: Gallup

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HUME TWEET: 'This May Be The Single Most Devastating Take-Down Of A Piece Of Journalism I've Ever Seen'

Oh no! We can’t let Romney win, he’ll let lobbyists in the White House!!!

By Timothy P. Carney | October 16, 2012 | Washington Examiner

If Romney wins, will lobbyists defile the White House that Obama has kept so clean and so pure? That’s what Politico suggests with this piece today headlined “Lobbyists ready for a comeback under Romney.”

President Barack Obama’s gone further than any president to keep lobbyists out of the White House — even signing executive orders to do it.

In crafting and signing those executive orders, I wonder if Obama relied on the help of White House deputy counsel Cassandra Butts (1), White House special assistant Martha Coven (2), or the chief of staff or the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, Michael Strautmanis (3), all of whom were registered lobbyists. (I’m only numbering registered lobbyists.)

Politico’s Anna Palmer reports:

Industry insiders believe that Mitt Romney will unshackle the revolving door and give lobbyists a shot at the government jobs their Democratic counterparts have been denied for the past four years

Yeah, I bet those Republican lobbyists will get envious stares from the likes of Fannie Mae, Cigna, Credit Suisse lobbyist Laricke Blanchard (4), whom Obama named deputy director of policy for the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation. Former teachers union lobbyist Gabriella Gomez (5) would be jealous – if her job as assistant secretary of Education gave her the time for such self-indulgence. Former crop-industry lobbyist Krysta Harden (6) must be thinking “why couldn’t I get a government job – besides my job as assistant secretary of Agriculture.”

Palmer writes of the possibility of Romney

“Allowing lobbyists back into the White House”

You mean after he kicks out the lobbyists in Obama’s White House like Patton Boggs lobbyist Emmett Beliveau (7), O’Melveny & Myers lobbyist Derek Douglas (8), and Pfizer’s, AT&T’s lobbyist at Akin Gump Dana Singiser (9)?

Romney would have to toss out Obama’s orders, which shook up how President George W. Bush did business and let Obama claim his agenda wouldn’t be hijacked by special interests.

Yes, it let Obama claim that – falsely. Remember how the stimulus was a pork fest for K Street? Remember how the drug lobby wrote much of Obamacare. Remember how Obama gave Chrysler to the UAW? Remember – oh, I could go on, but I’ll return to the Politico piece...

 

Via: Washington Examiner

 

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Presidential Debate, Round 2

Pressure on Obama to check Romney surge at NY debate
Published October 16, 2012 | FoxNews.com
First, President Obama was too cool. Then Vice President Biden was, by some accounts, too hot.
Can Obama get it just right?

At his second debate against Mitt Romney, the pressure is unquestionably on the president to recapture the momentum. The debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., comes as new polls continue to show Romney closing the gap in key battleground states in the wake of the candidates' opening bout.

And the president's team is making clear that Obama will have a more aggressive -- and more prepared -- approach this time.

"He's excited for it," campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. "He's calm and energized."
Romney's campaign has said little about how and whether the Republican nominee's style might differ Tuesday night, compared with the opening debate, though a second clear-cut victory for the Republican challenger could be a game-changer. A senior Romney adviser said the campaign anticipates a "more aggressive" Obama.

"We expect he'll launch one attack after another in an attempt to distract from his record and make up for his weak performance in Denver," the adviser said.

Both campaigns are stacking the debate hall with surrogates, who will be in place to spin the performances and try to get their version to dominate media coverage going into Wednesday.
Romney's campaign also announced a fresh endorsement Tuesday morning from Ross Perot, though the former presidential candidate is not on the surrogate list for the New York debate.

"We can't afford four more years in which national debt mushrooms out of control, our government grows, and our military is weakened. Mitt has the background, experience, intelligence and integrity to turn things around," Perot said in a statement. Read the full story on FoxNews.com ....

Via: Fox News

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Swing States poll: Women push Romney into lead

9:06PM EDT October 15. 2012 - WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney leads President Obama by four percentage points among likely voters in the nation's top battlegrounds, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, and he has growing enthusiasm among women to thank.

As the presidential campaign heads into its final weeks, the survey of voters in 12 crucial swing states finds female voters much more engaged in the election and increasingly concerned about the deficit and debt issues that favor Romney. The Republican nominee has pulled within one point of the president among women who are likely voters, 48%-49%, and leads by 8 points among men.
MORE: Follow who's up and who's down in the polls

The battle for women, which was apparent in the speakers spotlighted at both political conventions this summer, is likely to help define messages the candidates deliver at the presidential debate Tuesday night and in the TV ads they air during the final 21 days of the campaign. As a group, women tend to start paying attention to election contests later and remain more open to persuasion by the candidates and their ads.

That makes women, especially blue-collar "waitress moms" whose families have been hard-hit by the nation's economic woes, the quintessential swing voters in 2012's close race.

Via: USA Today

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Electric Car Battery Maker A123 FIles for Bankrupcy

 

A123 Systems Inc. fell as much as 16 cents, or 70 percent, to 7 cents a share in over-the-counter trading as of 9:43 a.m. Photographer: Jeffrey Sauger/Bloomberg

 

The filing may fuel a debate over government financing of alternative-energy and transportation businesses. Federal grants and loans to companies including A123, Fisker Automotive Inc. and Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA) have drawn scrutiny from congressional Republicans following the September 2011 bankruptcy filing of solar-panel maker Solyndra LLC two years after it received a $535 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Energy Department.

“This action is expected to allow the company to provide for an orderly sale,” A123 said in a press release. Johnson Controls plans to acquire A123’s automotive-business assets in a deal valued at $125 million and will provide financing of $72.5 million to support A123’s operations, according to the release. A deal to sell a majority stake to a Chinese company fell through, A123 said.

The Energy Debate Continues at www.bloomberg.com/sustainability

The company listed assets of $459.8 million and debt of $376 million as of Aug. 31 in Chapter 11 documents filed today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware.
The Waltham, Massachusetts-based company said yesterday it expected to fail to make an interest payment due yesterday on $143.8 million of notes expiring in 2016.

Largest Shareholders

A123’s largest shareholder is Heights Capital Management Inc. of San Francisco, with 12.5 million shares, or a 7.3 percent stake, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. IHI Corp., based in Tokyo, has 8.45 million shares, or about 5 percent, and General Electric Co., based in Fairfield, Connecticut, holds 7.37 million shares, or about 4.3 percent.

The 30 largest consolidated creditors without collateral backing their claims are owed a total of more than $161 million, according to court papers. U.S. Bank NA, as trustee, is listed as the largest unsecured creditor with a claim of $142.8 million, according to court papers. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP has a claim of $2.8 million, Jabil Circuit Inc. has a claim of $1.7 million and Hydro Quebec has a claim of $1.5 million.

Via: Bloomberg

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The Washington Times: The President’s Popularity Bubble Has Burst

Mitt Romney continues his surge in the polls two weeks after the first presidential debate. Democrats keep waiting for Barack Obama’s free-fall to stop, but the polling is looking less like a fleeting bounce than a strong market correction.

G

Bounces are temporary. What goes up comes down. They are the products of momentary enthusiasm, like the national-convention spike enjoyed by both sides. Mr. Romney’s rise since the Oct. 3 debate has been more durable. It’s more like what happens when artificially inflated prices dramatically change course. In this case, the Obama bubble — which had been gathering steam the previous weeks — suddenly and dramatically burst.

President Obama remains in a state of denial and maintains electoral prosperity is just around the corner. “What’s important is the fundamentals of what this race is about haven’t changed,” he chirped last week. To the contrary, the fundamentals are driving his numbers down. Economic growth is shrinking. Jobs are scarce. Mr. Obama has amassed two times the federal debt in one term that President George W. Bush did in two terms. These are the inconvenient truths that have driven the correction in the polls. Mr. Romney’s debate performance was the catalyst for Mr. Obama’s collapse, but the ruinous economic reality has kept the Democrat’s downslide going.

The Obama contraction has been most dramatic in battleground states. Three weeks ago, Obama campaign manager Jim Messina said, “There are two different campaigns, one in the battlegrounds and one everywhere else. That’s why the national polls aren’t relevant to this campaign.” At the time, the political operative might have had a point. Many poll-aggregation sites showed a steady state-by-state run-up for Mr. Obama. Those charts now show dramatic contractions, wiping out months of gains overnight. It’s a classic correction curve.

Via: The Washington Times

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Poll: Romney’s Likeability Numbers Skyrocket In Wake Of Debate…

Mitt Romney is finally getting his Sally Field moment: They like him. At least more than they used to.

President Barack Obama clings to a 1 percentage-point national lead in a head-to-head matchup with the GOP nominee, but the first presidential debate has significantly improved Romney’s personal image.

A new POLITICO/George Washington University Battleground Poll of likely voters puts Obama ahead of Romney 49 percent to 48 percent, a statistical tie and the same as the week before. Across the 10 states identified by POLITICO as competitive, Romney leads 50 percent to 48 percent.

Even as the head-to-head number held stubbornly steady for the past month, Romney improved his likability numbers. A slim majority, 51 percent, now views Romney favorably as a person, while 44 percent views him unfavorably.

The former Massachusetts governor had been underwater on this measure. In mid-September, 49 percent of respondents viewed him unfavorably. Going into the first presidential debate in Denver on Oct. 3, the electorate was evenly split 47 percent to 47 percent on what to make of Romney

.

On the generic congressional ballot, Democrats continue to hold a 2 percentage-point edge, 46 percent to 44 percent, over Republicans.

POLITICO considers the 10 competitive battlegrounds to be Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin.

VIa: Politico

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Debbie Wasserman Schultz pushes women to vote Obama as Romney narrows gap

The Obama campaign continued its effort to attract women voters during a Monday conference call with reporters, with Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz charging that Republican nominee Mitt Romney would be “a president who wants to essentially force us to refight battles that we thought were won long ago, and essentially either make us or keep us as second class citizens.”

“Women’s health and economic security depend on President Obama winning the White House. And because women make up 55 percent of the electorate, women will decide this election,” Wasserman Schultz said.

After the first presidential debate in Denver, Colo., Romney made strides in narrowing the polling gap among women voters.

“In every poll, we’ve seen a major surge among women in favorability for Romney” Democratic pollster Celinda Lake told USA TODAY, regarding a Monday USA TODAY/Gallup Poll that showed likely women voters giving Romney a bump in swing states following the debate. “Women went into the debate actively disliking Romney, and they came out thinking he might understand their lives and might be able to get something done for them.”

An October Pew Survey found that where Obama had an 18-point lead among women last month, following the president’s poor debate performance, the candidates are now tied among likely women voters (47 percent to 47 percent). The USA TODAY/Gallup Poll released Monday found Obama leading Romney overall by 9 points among registered women voters, but narrowing the gap to give Romney the edge in swing states.

Via: The Daily Caller

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Obamacare Extends Its Losing Streak to 114

Obamacare makes the ’62 Mets look like the ’27 Yankees.  Since President Obama signed Obamacare into law on March 23, 2010, Rasmussen Reports has conducted 114 polls asking likely voters whether they’d prefer to keep Obamacare or repeal it.  All 114 times, voters have said they’d prefer to repeal it.  In 107 of those polls — including the one released today — Obamacare’s margin of defeat has been double-digits.

Only four teams in the modern history of Major League Baseball (1901-present) have managed to lose 114 or more games.  The 1962 New York Mets lost 120, the 2003 Detroit Tigers lost 119, the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics lost 117, and the 1935 Boston Braves lost 115.  (Even the St. Louis Browns never managed to lose 114 games.)  Yet, as horrible as these four teams were, they nevertheless combined to win 157 games, and they each had a winning percentage of at least .235.  Obamacare has a win-loss record of 0-114 and a winning percentage of .000.

Via: Weekly Standard

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CBO: Bailout Will Lose $24 Billion

Obama: ‘We Got Back Every Dime’ of Bailout; CBO: Bailout Will Lose $24 Billion. Who to Believe!!!!

(CNSNews.com) – President Barack Obama said on Thursday that “we got back every dime we used to rescue the financial system."

According to the Congressional Budget Office, however, the government will lose about $24 billion on the bailout.

“We got back every dime we used to rescue the financial system, but we also passed a historic law to end taxpayer-funded Wall Street bailouts for good,” Obama said in Miami Thursday.

The Congressional Budget Office--based on figures from Obama’s own Office of Management and Budget---gives a different assessment.

“The cost to the federal government of the TARP’s transactions (also referred to as the subsidy cost), including grants for mortgage programs that have not yet been made, will amount to $24 billion,” said the CBO report, which was released on the same day Obama spoke.

Via: CNS News

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Obama Bans Drilling in Half of Alaska's 'Petroleum Reserve'

WALL STREET JOURNAL - President Obama is campaigning as a champion of the oil and gas boom he's had nothing to do with, and even as his regulators try to stifle it. The latest example is the Interior Department's little-noticed August decision to close off from drilling nearly half of the 23.5 million acre National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.

The area is called the National Petroleum Reserve because in 1976 Congress designated it as a strategic oil and natural gas stockpile to meet the "energy needs of the nation." Alaska favors exploration in nearly the entire reserve. The feds had been reviewing four potential development plans, and the state of Alaska had strongly objected to the most restrictive of the four. Sure enough, that was the plan Interior chose.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says his plan "will help the industry bring energy safely to market from this remote location, while also protecting wildlife and subsistence rights of Alaska Natives." He added that the proposal will expand "safe and responsible oil and gas development, and builds on our efforts to help companies develop the infrastructure that's needed to bring supplies online."

The problem is almost no one in the energy industry and few in Alaska agree with him. In an August 22 letter to Mr. Salazar, the entire Alaska delegation in Congress—Senators Mark Begich and Lisa Murkowski and Representative Don Young—call it "the largest wholesale land withdrawal and blocking of access to an energy resource by the federal government in decades." This decision, they add, "will cause serious harm to the economy and energy security of the United States, as well as to the state of Alaska." Mr. Begich is a Democrat.

The letter also says the ruling "will significantly limit options for a pipeline" through the reserve. This pipeline has long been sought to transport oil and gas from the Chukchi Sea, the North Slope and future Arctic drilling. Mr. Salazar insists that a pipeline could still be built, but given the Obama Administration's decision to block the Keystone XL pipeline, Alaskans are right to be skeptical.

Via: The Wall Street Journal

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GOP Demands Obama Plan on Debt Ceiling

A pair of Senate Republicans is pressing the Treasury Department for details on when the government will reach its $16.4 trillion debt ceiling — and how long it can avoid hitting the limit.

Sens. Orrin Hatch (Utah) and Jeff Sessions (Ala.) asked Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Monday to lay out a precise timeline for when the government expects to near the debt ceiling and what "extraordinary measures" can be taken to prolong the deadline.

The request comes while much of Washington is consumed with addressing the glut of Jan. 1 policy changes known as the "fiscal cliff," and serves as a reminder that the debt ceiling also looms as another high-stakes battle.

Hatch and Sessions are the ranking members of the Senate Finance and Budget committees, respectively.

According to the pair, the government is already drawing near the new limit.

Citing Treasury data, they said the government's debt load, as of Oct. 11, stood $275 billion below the new level, which was expanded by $2.1 trillion under the last-minute debt-limit deal reached in August 2011.

Via: The Hill

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Convicted Terrorist Scheduled to Speak Before Presidential Debate

Convicted terrorist scheduled to speak Tuesday night before presidential debate

BY MATTHEW BOYLE

A convicted terrorist released from federal prison in December 2008 is scheduled to speak in Hofstra University’s “public area” outside Tuesday’s presidential debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, The Daily Caller has learned.

Andrew Stepanian, a felon who went to prison for animal enterprise terrorism, appears on Hofstra University’s published schedule at 8:00 p.m., during the hour before the debate begins. Stepanian runs The Sparrow Project, a left-wing PR project whose website indicates connections with the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Stepanian, an ardent animal rights activist, was convicted in 2006 of terrorism stemming from a criminal conspiracy to target a company that tested medications on laboratory animals. He received a three-year sentence for his activities on behalf of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC).

Via: Weekly Standard

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GOP STUDY: For Every Person Added to Labor Force, 10 Added to Those Not in Labor Force

For Every Person Added to Labor Force, 10 Added to Those Not in Labor Force

A new chart from the minority side of the Senate Budget Committee details the fact that, since January 2009, for every person added to the labor force, 10 have been added to those not in the labor force. Here's a chart showing the dwindling labor force:

That is, in nearly the four years, since President Obama took office in January 2009, only 827,000 people have been added to the labor force, while during that same time period, 8,208,000 have been added to those not in the labor force.

Via: Weekly Standard

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Obama Travel Schedule Indicates Campaign Disaster

Obama travel plans show map is wide open

By Richard McGregor

“As I look out over the landscape today, everything screams ‘tie’,” said Bill Galston, of the Brookings Institution, a Washington think-tank. “Nothing – the national polls and the state polls – is outside the margin of error.”

“In 2008, the Obama campaign was expanding the map to places like Indiana, but that is not the case now.”

Mr Obama spent three full days in Iowa in early August, an almost unprecedented commitment of presidential time for a state with few votes to offer.

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“The schedule is very telling – it suggests that the Obama campaign sees the electoral college map as being completely in play,” said Mike Franc of the ­Heritage Foundation in Washington.

Romney Smokes Obama In Pre-Debate Coin Tosses

AP

HOFSTRA DEBATE DETAILS AND ORDER

1) Staging -Romney won the toss.  Romney will enter and remain stage right, camera left.  Obama will enter and remain stage left, camera right.

2) Order of candidate introductions - The Romney campaign lost the coin toss.  Obama will be introduced first.  Romney will be introduced second.  The campaigns will advise on exact wording of candidate introduction.

3) Order of questioning- Obama loses toss.  Romney will take the first question. Obama will take the second question.

4) Closing statements -There will be no closing statements at this debate.

5)  Spouses' order of introduction- Romney wins toss, Mrs. Romney will be introduced first.  Mrs. Obama will be introduced second.  The campaigns will advise on exact wording of introductions.

Via: Fox News

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Catholic Bishops Call Biden Dishonest

America’s Catholic bishops have a problem with Vice President Joe Biden’s claim that religious institutions won’t be required to pay for insurance coverage that includes contraception, sterilization and drugs that may cause abortion.

They say it isn’t true.

"With regard to the assault on the Catholic Church, let me make it absolutely clear,” Biden said during his debate with Republican vice presidential nominee Rep. Paul Ryan on Thursday. “No religious institution -- Catholic or otherwise, including Catholic social services, Georgetown Hospital, Mercy Hospital, any hospital -- none has to either refer contraception, none has to pay for contraception, none has to be a vehicle to get contraception in any insurance policy they provide. That is a fact. That is a fact."

The U.S. Conference of Bishops disagreed, and issued a letter on Friday taking issue with Biden’s position.

“This is not a fact,” the letter states. “The HHS mandate contains a narrow, four-part exemption for certain ‘religious employers.’ ”

The bishops argue the White House offered a proposal in February that essentially would have put the responsibility of providing such drugs and services on the institution’s insurance companies. The offer was essentially rejected, and the issue is being played out in roughly 40 lawsuits, including one filed by the University of Notre Dame, in 12 federal courts across the country.

“That exemption was made final in February and does not extend to ‘Catholic social services, Georgetown Hospital, Mercy Hospital, any hospital,’ or any other religious charity that offers its services to all, regardless of the faith of those served,” the bishops’ letter continued.

They also said the proposal does not even “potentially” relieve organizations from the obligation to pay for contraception and to be a “vehicle” to get contraception.

The White House did not respond to a request Monday for comment.

Via: Fox News

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