The Note's Must-Reads for Thursday, October 14, 2010

October 14, 2010 3:52 AM

Compiled by ABC News Digital News Associates and Desk Assistants JACQUELINE NG FERNANDEZ, JAYCE HENDERSON, CARRIE HALPERIN AND MAGGY PATRICK

PRESIDENT OBAMA:
Newsweek’s Dirk Johnson: “Hometown Hero” While President Obama might get a cold shoulder from some Democratic candidates lately, he remains a powerful asset in his old stomping ground in Illinois. LINK

ELECTION 2010

ABC News: “Coons: 'She's Not Me, and She's Not Delaware'” Delaware Senate Candidate Chris Coons talks Christine O'Donnell on "Top Line." LINK

The Boston Globe’s Donovan Slack: “Angle has Reid on tenterhooks in Nevada race” Clad in cowboy hats and boots, waving American flags, and hoisting signs with slogans such as, “If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention,’’ some 150 Tea Party movement enthusiasts greeted Republican US Senate nominee Sharron Angle in this dusty frontier city. LINK

The Boston Globe’s Donovan Slack: “Stance on Fannie and Freddie dogs Frank” When US Representative Barney Frank spoke in a packed hearing room on Capitol Hill seven years ago, he did not imagine that his words would eventually haunt a reelection bid. LINK

The St. Petersburg Times’ Adam C. Smith: “Questions about use of campaign money still dog Marco Rubio in Senate race” This spring Marco Rubio's momentum in the U.S. Senate race was threatened by a series of revelations about him repeatedly using GOP campaign donations to pay for personal expenses — everything from personal care products to a family reunion to groceries. LINK

The Philadelphia Inquirer’s William Bender: “Polls show a tight race between Meehan and Lentz” The 7th Congressional District race between Republican Pat Meehan and Democrat Bryan Lentz had been a question mark on the map of competitive U.S. House races, mainly because of the lack of independent polling in the Delaware County-based district. LINK

The Los Angeles Times’ George Skelton: “Debates have brought Whitman and Brown into sharp contrast” He has been training all his life for this moment. He knows what needs to be done in Sacramento and how to do it, how to bash heads and bring the warring factions together. Meg Whitman is an insensitive know-nothing about government who's out to enrich her rich friends by eliminating the capital gains tax. LINK

Politico’s Alexander Burns: “Romney's strategy: Go big, go everywhere”  Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is grinding through the 2010 campaign state by state and district by district, adhering to a go-everywhere, never-say-no campaign schedule that will have recorded visits to 30 states before Election Day. LINK

The Washington Times’ Joseph Weber: “O'Donnell, Coons clash in debate over Obama's policies” Delaware Republican Christine O'Donnell wasted no time Wednesday night trying to prove she is a contender for the U.S. Senate. She outlined her plan during a nationally televised debate to create jobs and reduce the national debt while attacking her Democratic opponent, Chris Coons, as a "Marxist" and a "rubber stamp" for his party's failed economic policies. LINK

The Denver Post’s Tim Hoover: “Immigration, budget dominate Colorado gubernatorial debate” The three men vying to become Colorado's next governor spent much of an hour-long debate Wednesday on illegal immigration, as American Constitution Party candidate Tom Tancredo kept attacking Democrat John Hickenlooper for presiding over a "sanctuary city." LINK

USA Today’s Fredreka Schouten: “In this volatile election, money isn’t everything” Todd Young is a political novice with less name recognition than his opponent and even less campaign cash. LINK

CAMPAIGN TRAIL

ABC News: “Michelle Obama Hits Campaign Trail” The First Lady tells Sen. Feingold audience, "I don't do this very often." LINK

ABC News’ Z. Byron Wolf: “'Mom-in-Chief' Hits the Campaign Trail” Republicans have had their "Mama Grizzlies" in 2010. But today Democrats brought out the "Mom-in-Chief."  First lady Michelle Obama hit the campaign trail in what has been a tough year for her party, a year in which Democrats, who normally have a 10 point advantage with women, struggle among women voters. LINK

ABC News’ Huma Khan: “Bill Clinton Campaigns for Democrats Where Current Leaders Cannot” He hasn't held public office for nearly a decade, but Bill Clinton remains the Democrats' top choice of attack this campaign season. With three weeks to go until what Republicans are hoping will be a wave election, Democrats are bringing out their heavyweights in droves to help fledgling candidates. LINK

The Los Angeles Times’ Seema Mehta: “The stump's getting crowded as national figures flock to boost California candidates” Former President Bill Clinton and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will try to exert their influence on California's political races this week, the latest in a long list of luminaries to lavish attention on the state as the Nov. 2 election nears. LINK

OTHER:

The New York Times’ Thom Shanker, David Sanger and Eric Schmitt: “U.S. Aids Taliban to Attend Talks on Making Peace” United States-led forces are permitting the movement of senior Taliban leaders to attend initial peace talks in Kabul, the clearest indication of American support for high-level discussions aimed at ending the war in Afghanistan, senior NATO and Obama administration officials said. LINK

The Washington Post’s Lori Montgomery: “In push to let Bush tax cuts expire, Democrats to focus on narrowing income gap” For months, President Obama has stressed the budgetary rewards of eliminating tax breaks for the wealthy. But many Democrats see a more fundamental reason to let the Bush-era tax cuts expire in January: narrowing the growing divide between the rich and everyone else.  LINK

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