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1.) Bye, bye Bachmann? — A new poll suggests that the Michele Bachmann’s reelection effort may be more competitive than expected. TheDC’s Alexis Levinson reports:
“Minnesota Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann appears to be in danger of losing her House seat. According to an internal poll conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner for Democrat Jim Graves, Bachmann’s challenger, the two are locked in a tight race. The poll of 401 likely voters found that if the election were held today, Bachmann would lead the relatively unknown Graves by just five points — 47 percent to 42 percent. Including undecided voters who are leaning toward one candidate, the race narrows to a two-point gap, with Bachmann leading 48-46.”
Perhaps her constituents didn’t appreciate her foray into presidential politics — come to think of it, Republican voters elsewhere didn’t seem to like it very much either.
2.) Worse than advertised — America’s economic woes may be worse than the jobs numbers superficially suggests, Betsi Fores reports for The Daily Caller News Foundation:
“Last Friday’s jobs report does not tell the whole unemployment story, according to American Enterprise Institute blogger and CNBC contributor James Pethokoukis. He writes, ‘If the labor force participation rate was the same as when Obama took office in January 2009, the unemployment rate would be 11.2%.’ Had the participation rate remained the same as the previous month, Pethokoukis points out, ‘the unemployment rate would be 8.4 percent’ — higher than the 8.1 percent in the August report. Those who have returned to work amidst the meager recovery are often only finding jobs that are part-time and pay less than what they formerly earned.”
In other words, President Obama has succeeded in fixing the economy in the same way he succeeded in bringing the Olympics to Chicago. (The Olympics aren’t coming to Chicago.)
3.) Cheney vs Obama — Former Vice President Dick Cheney responded negatively to reports that President Obama has attended fewer than 50 percent of his daily intelligence briefings. TheDC’s Jamie Weinstein (ME!) reports:
“Former Vice President Dick Cheney took a shot at President Obama late Monday night after it was reported that the president has attended fewer than half of his daily intelligence briefings. ‘If President Obama were participating in his intelligence briefings on a regular basis then perhaps he would understand why people are so offended at his efforts to take sole credit for the killing of Osama bin Laden,’ Cheney told The Daily Caller in an email through a spokeswoman. ‘Those who deserve the credit are the men and women in our military and intelligence communities who worked for many years to track him down. They are the ones who deserve the thanks of a grateful nation.'”
4.) Simple Schumer — Apparently Chuck Schumer is tempted to consume laundry detergent — and because he can barely resist this bizarre urge, he wants to protect others from it through legislation. TheDC’s Caroline May reports:
“At a Sunday press conference calling for stricter rules on concentrated laundry detergent pod packaging that some children have mistaken for candy, New York Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer admitted that even he has felt drawn to down a few detergent pods himself. ‘The incidents are skyrocketing,’ the New York Daily News reported Schumer said during a joint press conference with medical professionals. ‘These pods were supposed to make household chores easier, not tempt our children to swallow harmful chemicals. I saw one on my staffer’s desk and I wanted to eat it.'”
Don’t say Chuck Schumer doesn’t tackle the important issues.
5.) Poll of the Day: Democratic Party viewed better than GOP — CNN/ORC poll asks like voters nationwide for their impression of the Republican and Democratic parties: 51% said they had a favorable opinion of the Democratic Party, while 43% said they had an unfavorable opinion. As for the GOP, 42% said they had a favorable opinion of the party, while 52% said they had an unfavorable opinion of it.
6.) Tweet of Yesterday — Jake Tapper: am wondering which is less successful, Hollywood addiction rehab or Saudi terrorist rehab.
VIDEO: Laura Ingraham says to GOP that ‘if you can’t beat Barack Obama … shut down the party’