New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced he “will be making an eight figure independent spending campaign that will support moderates on both sides of the aisle — as well as independents — who have shown a willingness to work in a bi-partisan fashion.”

“Well, you want to jump out of your seat and rush down to the debate stage and take a swing at him.”

— Tagg Romney, in an interview on WPTF-AM, when asked how it felt to hear President Obama call his father a liar during last night’s debate.

Here are the latest polls from the battleground, updated through the day:

New Hampshire: Obama 50%, Romney 49% (Rasmussen)

Nevada: Obama 48%, Romney 45% (SurveyUSA)

Nevada: Obama 50%, Romney 47% (Rasmussen)

Nevada: Obama 50%, Romney 43% (Project for a New America)

Ohio: Obama 45%, Romney 42% (SurveyUSA)

Wisconsin: Obama 49%, Romney 48% (Marquette Law)

Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s (R) top legislative aide said that his boss had told him he had decided to run for re-election in 2014 — “a definitive statement that seemed to put to rest speculation over the longest-serving Texas chief executive’s future candidacy,” the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

But a spokeswoman for Perry quickly rebuffed the statement from her colleague, saying, “The only person to make that announcement is Governor Perry.”

Hollywood Reporter: “Early ratings for cable network coverage of Tuesday’s presidential debate have numbers surging ahead of the first showdown between President Obama and Mitt Romney earlier this month…”

“Nielsen figures have FNC’s telecast of the town hall debate matching its highest ratings ever (Sarah Palin and Joe Biden’s 2008 vice presidential debate) with 11.1 million viewers. On par with that record, FNC also scored a demo win with 3.46 million adults 25-54. Though its returns are shy of broadcast competition in NBC and ABC, it also topped CBS.”

“You all saw the man that I have sat with every day on average four
to six hours a day.”

— Vice President Joe Biden, quoted by Politico, on President Obama’s debate performance.

If you nearly get into a fight with your opponent at a candidate’s forum, you have know that it’s going to end up in a political ad.

[Read more…]

Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) tweeted last night that Mitt Romney “shot his whole wad” and repeatedly spelled President Obama’s name “Oboma,” the Washington City Paper notes. The tweets prompted at least one person to ask if she was drunk.

“Whatever it was, Norton was acting pretty sober this morning when, after attention from DCist
and elsewhere, she mass-deleted  tweets from last night and the
vice-presidential debate, as well as some seemingly-unrelated tweets
that also mentioned the president. Fortunately, they were all grabbed by the Sunlight Foundation.”

The Gallup daily tracking poll shows Mitt Romney has opened up a six point lead over President Obama among likely voters, 51% to 45%.

It’s the first time he’s had a lead outside the survey’s margin of error.

Markos Moulitsas: “Romney’s entire advantage comes from a massive lead in the South. Now
sure, some of that may be Florida, but the state-level polling certainly
doesn’t show that. So Romney is driving up big margins in Texas,
Alabama, Oklahoma, Mississippi and other such presidentially irrelevant
states?”

“If you look at the movie, he didn’t say it. Somebody in the
audience said it and he repeated it, and I’ve talked to him about it and
he apologized and that’s it.”

— Tommy Thompson (R), quoted by the AP, on remarks by his son caught on video suggesting President Obama should go back “to Chicgao — or Kenya.”

From President Obama’s Twitter feed:

Taegan Goddard: “He kept Romney on the defensive and came prepared … It was devastatingly effective.” OFA.BO/Qt2KiR #ObamaWinsDebate

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) October 17, 2012

Jimmy Kimmel asks people on the street who won last night’s presidential debate — several hours before it even took place.

[Read more…]

Major Garrett: “What also became clear after the dust began to settle from the rumble on Long Island was the electoral map has narrowed and Obama’s team, while conceding nothing publicly, is circling the wagons around Ohio, Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada. Plouffe said Obama remains strong in all four states but would not discuss the specifics of internal polling or voter contact analytics, saying only Obama has ‘significant leads’ in all four.”

“It is uncharacteristic of team Obama to concede any terrain but Plouffe offered no such assurances about Obama’s position in North Carolina, Virginia or Florida. Romney advisers have seen big gains in all three states and now consider wins likely, though not guaranteed, in all three. They are similarly upbeat about prospects in Colorado but not confident enough to predict victory. That Plouffe left Colorado off his list of states where Obama’s leading and can withstand a Romney surge might be telling.”

Matt Lauer asked Paul Ryan who would win the Wisconsin vs. Ohio State football game on November 17, Yahoo reports.

Lauer: “I would like you to tell the people of Ohio who’s going to win that game.”

Ryan: “They spoiled us last year. We spoiled them the year before–Jane and I were at that game. It really depends on who has the better record is going to lose, because that’s what happens.”

Lauer: “Who’s going to win the game, congressman? Tell the people of Ohio who’s going to win the game.”

Ryan: “It always depends on who’s got the better record. It’s up in Camp Randall [Stadium] this year. It’s up in Madison this year. Home field advantage works well. But if we’re doing better, they’ll beat us, and if they have a better record, then we’ll beat them. That’s always how it goes between the Badgers and the Buckeyes. How’s that for an answer?”

Lauer: “It’s a terrible answer. It’s OK, I’m out of time–you’re lucky.”

Religion News Service: “The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association removed language labeling Mormonism a ‘cult’ from its website after the famed preacher met with Republican nominee Mitt Romney last week and pledged to help his presidential campaign.”

David Challian: “President Obama has not stepped foot in the state since his convention drew to a close nearly six weeks ago. After he touches down in Iowa and New Hampshire this week, every other battleground state will have gotten some in-person Obama post-convention love except for the Tar Heel state.”