Welcome to The Now

Because he had the nerve to say this about President Obama's handling of Sandy : “One thing he’s gonna be asked is, why did he jump on [the hurricane] so quickly and go back to D.C. so quickly when in…Benghazi, he went to Las Vegas? Why was this so quick?… At some point, somebody’s going to ask that question…. This is like the inverse of Benghazi.”  Really? REALLY? Go judge a horse contest*, dude. *On that note: are all people who deal with horse shows (M. Brown, M. Romney) jerks, or is this just a coincidence?

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3D art . We've made a lot of strides since 1916 . Black churches have some political soul searching to do. Like I said earlier: he has a plan . Stop wasting your money . Something tells me that Ellen DeGeneres is not a big Taylor Swift fan. Getting a used car? Watch your nuggets .

It was wrong for Barack Obama to use his experience as Commander in Chief against Mitt Romney during the Foreign Policy debate last night...and BTW, what Obama did is nothing like how I used my military experience against him during the Foreign Policy debate in 2008 .

But nevertheless, all of Mike Bloomberg's poo-pooing to both Obama and Romney about not talking about gun safety/regulation takes a backseat to that sweet, sweet cash .

And so does Gov. Romney. The question is: whose plan is better for the country, and which candidate is more likely to see their plan through and not abandon it for political expediency?

Via TPM . Reminder: religious affiliation is not required to be president.

Best served funny . Christopher Nolan had to do a lot to make people forget the previous Movie Batman . The only reason to dress as food for Halloween.   Diaz and Paltrow: Hip-Hop blondes . 

It's not anything about the 47% or the bailouts. It's not directly directed to abortion or same-sex marriage. It's only tentatively connected to foreign policy. The question that needs to be posted to Mitt Romney is this: " During your run for Senator for Massachusetts, you claimed to be a liberal-to-moderate Republican. During this Republican Primary, you said that your were a 'severe conservative.' I believe the American people need to know for sure: are you still a conservative Republican, or are you now a moderate Republican again ?" It has to be phrased in that manner, because there are only really three responses: " I am a Conservative Republican :" This means that Romney is accountable for everything the right-wing base of his party is saying and pushing. Women's Rights, Tax Cuts for the Rich, Saber-Rattling. Follow Bill Clinton's advice and tell the public that Romney plans to re-introduce the policies of Bush/Cheney. ...

To be honest, Robert Reich speaks on it better than me.

William Saletan breaks it down .

As explained in this Daily Kos diary . Sometimes, it's better to just play Tic-Tac-Toe than try to out-chess your opponent.

Meet Sarah Hicks, whose position on slaves strangely changed after marrying a slave owner . If your are an introvert, there's jobs for you . Sometimes having better lawyers and/or a marketing team trumps being first . The Earth has a sound .  Never knew Hulk Hogan put the guy from Law & Order in a sleeper .  Look at who's paying for the presidency . Seriously; what the hell is wrong with us ?

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news , world news , and news about the economy

Daryl Hannah arrested during a protest . Don't let them bite . The Circle of Life, Urban-style . Jobless rate falls to 7.8% .

The Governor was certainly more energetic, and the President was definitely more scholarly. But went the dust settles and both MSNBC and Fox News both calm down what everyone will realize is: Mitt Romney made more disputable claims that could come back to bite him in the ass; Romney's people (sans Chris Christie) sold the media on low expectations; Romney essentially embraced his modern Republican self to survive. That last point can't be stressed enough: Mitt Romney had to all but abandon his base and the Tea Party to save himself in this debate. The next few days will be important: if he just flips tomorrow, Friday or next week and says, "I didn't mean any of that stuff I said at the debates" to a crowd of conservatives, he's up shit's creek. As it is, embracing regulations like he did is bound to piss off some conservatives once their post-debate high wears off. Obama, on the other hand, didn't really say anything that Romney or the GOP c...

Some socialism provides confidence to capitalist markets. Employers who know their help is covered by healthcare, especially if they don't pay for it directly out of their own bottom line, gain confidence.   ...Public education providing skilled workers instills confidence in employers and job creators. ...Safe streets with good cops instill confidence in investors and business owners. ...Excellent roads and bridges and transport infrastructure instill confidence in the market as a whole.   Until the 19th Century capitalists figure out that, in a world of billions of consumers, not millions, their arcane models are no longer viable, we will suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.  -- " jep07 ,"  replying to the TPM story about Wall Street's take on the presidential election.

Stay calm. Avoid the "Zinger Trap." Get specific on the economy: what it was when you got there, what your administration tried to do, what obstacles your faced and what needs to be done. Keep the "47%" attacks to the minimum. Stress your foreign policy accomplishments.

Go back to being the "better option for the economy" candidate. Don't. Use. Any. Zingers. Embrace the fact that most Americans think you're a selfish rich jerk. Ask President Obama about using drones that end up attacking innocent people. Avoid using the word "fail" when referring to the President.

But since the party can't outright dump the guy, they're doing the next best thing .

Mr. And Mrs. Fox News Viewer must be scratching their heads right now. Romney sold his plan as a simplification of the tax code, so that average taxpayers could grasp it's context, and it's effect on their lives. Now it's too complicated for a short explanation? WTF? Ryan planned on sleepwalking through another interview, and got a rude awakening. -- Dan Lee Uhl , on this Think Progress post .