A lot is being made of a study released today from the Center for Media and Public Affairs that found that latenight talk show hosts have skewered Mitt Romney than all Democrats combined since the party conventions.

You don't really need a study, though, to tell you that David Letterman is the greatest perpetrator of Romney humor. The fact that Romney has refused to come on his show, but President Obama has, has been a constant source of Letterman's quips through much of the fall campaign.

The study found that Romney was the target of 148 jokes on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," "Late Show with David Letterman," "Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson" and "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon." Obama was the target of 62 jokes.

Letterman told 44 jokes about Romney and 9 about Obama.

There also were 290 jokes about Republicans and 138 jokes about Democrats.

The study was from Aug. 27 to Oct. 3.

The gap between Obama and Romney may have narrowed, however, following the first debate, what with the president's panned performance generating many quips.

Not included in the study were other late night hosts like Jimmy Kimmel, Conan O'Brien, Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart, although the findings probably wouldn't have changed much.

Brad Pitt has donated $100,000 to the Human Rights Campaign's National Marriage Fund, with money going to four states where same-sex marriage is on the ballot.

Per the Los Angeles Times, Pitt wrote in an email going out to HRC supporters, "It's unbelievable to me that people's lives and relationships are literally being voted on in a matter of days. In Maine, Maryland, Minnesota and Washington, voters will go to the polls to decide if gay and lesbian couples — our friends and neighbors — are worthy of the same protections as everyone else."

Pitt donated in 2008 to efforts to fight Proposition 8, and appeared at a fundraiser for the American Foundation for Equal Rights in March, where he played Judge Vaughn Walker in a reading of the play "8." HRC president Chad Griffin is the former board president of the foundation.

Pitt's letter is below:

"Mad Men" star Jon Hamm is the latest Obama support to urge voters to get to the polls early, this time for a web video aimed at Colorado. He and his girlfriend Jennifer Westfeldt campaigned in Colorado over the weekend.

Live coverage of the storm flooding parts of Manhattan is here.

Variety's Gordon Cox reports on the scene today here.

And coming soon, for sure: Endless analysis on how this affects the election, who it helps and how each campaign has responded to the "optics."

The Wesleyan Media Project reports that this has been a much more negative presidential campaign, judging from the ads, than in 2008. And that is perhaps reflected in the tone of viral videos made by each campaign's most fervent supporters. One of the latest to take off is from writer-director Joss Whedon, who urges a vote for Mitt Romney "to finally put this country back on the path to a zombie apocalypse." The spot had more than 1.8 million views as of Monday night. Last week, another video that got traction, "You Don't Own Me," used catchy music to call out Romney's stance on women's health.

The pro-Romney SuperPAC Ending Spending Action Fund spent a hefty sum on a magazine insert called MittZine in Sunday newspapers --- but only in swing states. The full magazine, downloaded here, is heavy on personal stories of the Romneys as well as tabloid ready stories about Brangelina and Oprah. The magazine has bylined articles and even and October date, as if this will be an ongoing publication. And there's even a crossword puzzle. "Gas prices have been going ____." "First name of the teenage girl whose life was saved by Mitt Romney."

A star of "Friday Night Lights" and an executive producer wrote an op-ed in today's USA Today to object to the way that Mitt Romney's campaign has been using a slogan from the show in his campaign. They are among a number of show biz figures who are stepping into the fray to protect their intellectual property, or those of their co-workers. But are their efforts genuine attempts to protect their creations, or misusing copyright law to stifle speech. That's the topic of my latest column in the print version of Variety, which you can read below.

Politicians like to use popular songs and slogans in their campaigns, and artists often feel helpless when even a portion of their work is used without permission -- especially by a candidate they oppose. On the other side, politicos are suspicious that the copyright claim is just an excuse to stifle their messaging.

Though both sides may squawk, the world of campaigns is so fast-moving that by the time both sides have aired their grievances, the candidate has moved on to a new election tactic. So a big-picture legal resolution is unlikely. And, as one lawyer says, "There is a fine line between free speech rights and copyright."

One of the more high-profile flaps was launched when"Friday Night Lights" executive producer Peter Berg sent Mitt Romney's campaign a letter asking them to stop using one of the show's signature catchphrases -- "Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose."Berg got no response, but perhaps a shrug: The campaign offered donors a rubber bracelet that featured a slight variation of the phrase.

Copyright law experts are skeptical whether Berg or the series producer, NBCUniversal, has much of a legal claim.

The disputes this cycle pale in comparison to those in the last presidential race, when a high-profile suit filed by Jackson Browne over the use of his music in Republican campaign spots led to a hefty settlement and apology from the Republican National Committee. But the 2012 battles are no less important to the issues over copyright.

During the summer, Mitt Romney's campaign produced a web ad including a clip of President Obama singing a few bars from Al Green's "Let's Stay Together." BMG Rights Management, representing the songwriters, asked YouTube to take down the video. When the website agreed, the Romney campaign quickly complained that it was fair use.

Some suspected that the move was instigated by Green, who is an ardent Obama supporter. But BMG said the takedown request was issued by the estate of one of the co-authors of the music, Al Jackson Jr., whose family said that they did "not wish his legacy to be associated with political ads by either candidate."

YouTube restored the video, apparently siding with the Romney campaign. "We also reinstate videos in cases where we are confident that the material is not infringing, or where there is abuse of our copyright tools," YouTube said at the time.

As of last week, the video was still posted.

Digital-rights advocates say such episodes point to misuse of the copyright system, especially when it comes to YouTube. Under the "safe harbor" provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, YouTube and other user-generated sites are shielded from liability if it promptly removes infringing content, which it does via a Content ID system and when it gets a takedown notice from the copyright holder.

It also has a counter notification process in which a campaign can appeal -- and although the Romney campaign video was restored within days, the process can take a week or more.

The trouble for a fast-moving election campaign is that by the time a video is restored, the message often has changed. In a study of abuse of the takedown process in the 2008 campaign, the Center for Democracy & Technology noted that in a campaign, "10 business days can be a lifetime, and the removal of important and timely non-infringing campaign videos for such a period can reduce their effectiveness and potentially impact an election. In other words, the damage is often done by the time a video can be put back online."

Yet for the artist who wants to stay apolitical, or who sees their work used by a candidate with alternate stripes, there can be a genuine worry that it will seem an implicit endorsement, particularly if it becomes a campaign theme.

The power of publicity can sometimes force a campaign's hand, saving the expense of a legal fight. That was the case with Bobby McFerrin, who had the hit "Don't Worry, Be Happy" in 1988 but was unhappy when the campaign of George H.W. Bush started using it at events. After McFerrin's outcry, in which he even dropped it from his own playlist, the campaign eventually stopped using the song.

The concern of false endorsement, in fact, can be greater than the concern over infringement.

The Supreme Court will meet in private on Nov. 20 to consider whether to take Hollingsworth vs. Perry, the federal challenge to Prop 8.

The American Foundation for Equal Rights, the org of political and entertainment activists, said that the justices would also consider several cases challenging the Defense of Marriage Act.

The high court is expected to release a list of cases it will consider on Nov. 26. If it takes the Prop 8 case, the oral arguments are expected to be held in the spring. If it refuses to take the case, it means that same-sex marriages can begin again in California. That's because the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Prop 8 is unconstutional.

Playwright Doug Wright, who won the Tony for "I Am My Own Wife," took to Facebook to deliver a message to friends who are supporting Mitt Romney, telling them "it’s like voting for George Wallace during the Civil Rights movements, and apologizing for his racism. You’re still complicit. You’re still perpetuating anti-gay legislation and cultural homophobia. You don’t get to walk away clean, because you say you 'disagree' with your candidate on these issues."

This follows a brewing campaign on Facebook to "unfriend" those who support the Republican nominee, particularly after the Log Cabin Republicans endorsed Romney earlier this week. In fact, given the wide gulf between President Obama's positions on LGBT issues and those of Romney, the choice on election day is being put into ever more personal terms. It probably doesn't help temper feelings by the fact that Facebook gives a complete list of friends who "like" Romney.

Another Broadway figure, Max Von Essen, also takes on the economic rationale for supporting Romney, sharing a letter to a friend who announced his support for Romney on Facebook. He writes that "Romney and Ryan believe that I am less than you."

The Log Cabin Republicans cited the economy as the reason for supporting Romney, "despite our disagreement with Governor Romney on the issue of marriage." In the LCR statement, the org said that they believed Romney would "move the ball forward compared to past Republican presidents" on "issues of concern to the LGBT community." That fueled speculation that Romney had made a "deal" with the group to give quiet support to legislation banning workplace discrimination of gays and lesbians, although even that seems to be contradicted by reports of what actually went on in a meeting between the candidate and the Log Cabin group.

 

Wright's full message is below:

Bruce Springsteen may be singing a hastily written Obama campaign song on the trail --- he's due to visit Pennsylvania for a campaign appearance on Saturday --- but a group of entertainers supporting the president's reelection has created a video, "Forward," in hopes that it will be the same kind of viral hit that Will.i.am's "Yes, We Can" was in 2008.

Ne Yo, the Goo Goo Dolls' Johnny Rzeznik, Herbie Hancock, Delta Rae and Natasha Bedingfield appear in the video. It was written by Gregg Alexander and Danielle Brisebois of the New Radicals, as well as Fred Goldring, exec producer of the "Yes, We Can" video and a member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. John Shanks produced the record, and Graham Henman produced and directed the video.

In the days remaining until the election, we'll be seeing a parade of show biz figures taking sides. Billy Ray Cyrus and Kelly Clarkson endorsed President Obama on Thursday, endorsements that were topped by the spectacle of Meat Loaf giving his nod to Mitt Romney. Here's video.

Seth MacFarlane, upcoming host of the Oscars, gave $150,000 to the Majority PAC, designed to elect Democrats to the Senate, according to the latest campaign filings.

MacFarlane made his contribution on Oct. 17.

Other donors to Majority PAC include King World's Michael King, who gave $50,000; L.A. attorney Thomas Girardi, who gave $100,000; and Newsweb Corp. chairman Fred Eychaner, who gave $1 million.

Meanwhile, the pro-Obama SuperPAC Priorities USA Action reported a $1 million contribution from Sidney Kimmel, the Jones Apparel Group chairman and film producer. Records show that the contribution was made on Oct. 9. Other big donors for the month of October so far include Alida Rockefeller Messinger, philanthropist and ex-wife of Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton, who gave $1 million; Zynga CEO Marc Pincus, who also gave $1 million; Cox Enterprises owner Ann Cox Chambers, who gave $500,000; George Soros, who gave $1 million; venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, who gave $1 million; and Linked In co-founder Reid Garrett Hoffman, who gave $1 million. Priorities raised $13 million during the period.

Last month, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Steven Spielberg each gave $1 million to Priorities USA Action.

Another celebrity is appearing in a get-out-the-vote video, this time "Girls" creator Lena Dunham who talks about voting for the first time --- in 2008, for Barack Obama --- like she would talk about losing her virginity.

As much as the spot, released by the Obama campaign, fits Dunham's persona, it's already creating a stir on the right. The Right Scoop called it 'DISGUSTING" and one of its bloggers wrote, "Talk about desperation."

The 1 minute video is below.

Updated

First Lady Michelle Obama appeared at a lunchtime fundraiser today at the Calabasas home of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett, in what is expected to be the final major L.A. fundraising event for the president's reelection campaign.

Sources who were there said that the event sold out with 300 or so people, and the gathering was expected to set records for money raised at one of the First Lady's Southern California fundraisers. An exact figure was not immediately released. Update: A finance source says that the event raised almost $2.5 million.

Among those at the event were Salma Hayek, Katy Perry, Wendy Williams, Clarence Avant, Nicole Avant, Nick Cannon, Aisha Tyler, Vivica A. Fox, Mai Lassiter and CAA's Rick Hess.

Tennis Channel CEO Ken Solomon, Southern California finance co-chair of Obama's reelection campaign, said that the crowd was "motivated," rather than distraught, with polls tightening to a neck-and-neck race nationally since the first presidential debate.

"The sense I am getting is the race is where it always was going to be right now," he said, adding that Obama maintains a lead in almost all of the swing state polls. He said that the release of the 47% video in September may have given some Obama supporters a sense that the president would maintain a lead to election day, but "we always knew it was going to tighten up after the first debate. That's physics."

Solomon, who attended the first debate in Denver, said that while Romney took on more moderate rhetoric and positions during the debates, the "half life" on the Massachusetts governor's pivot "has run its course."

Tickets to the event started at $2,500 per person, and went up to $40,000 fper couple for a greeting and photo op with Obama, as well as the luncheon.

On Friday, Michelle Obama is scheduled to attend a fundraiser at the La Jolla home of Irwin and Joan Jacobs.

The Obama campaign announced on Thursday that it had raised just over $90 million in the first 17 days of October. Romney's campaign announced earlier this week that it raised almost $112 million during that time frame.

The First Lady's speech echoed many of the themes she had at the Democratic National Convention --- a mix of the personal and policy positions. She praised Smith and Pinkett. "They have stepped up for us in so many ways, and it has truly just been a gift and a blessing to have you guys as friends and as part of our lives," she said.

Update: Per the pool report, "the crowd gathered on the shores of a lake that is part of a Japanese garden while the cool breeze of the Santa Ana winds moved away the heat that prevailed in the area the previous days."

Obama's complete remarks are below:

President Obama's appearance on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" gave the show its highest ratings for a Wednesday since Leno's return to the show in March, 2010. We're still awaiting a total viewing figure.

Based on overnight numbers, Obaam's appearance garned a 4.0 rating and a 10 share. Update: Our ratings guru here at Variety says that it works out to about 5 million viewers.

But the "headline" out of the appearance was Obama's comments on Richard Mourdock, the Indiana GOP Senate candidate under fire for comments he made about rape. The Obama campaign seems to be using the attention paid to "The Tonight Show" as a springboard for a new line of attack as the president campaigns across swing states today, with the line that male politicians shouldn't be dictating women's health.

That very well may continue this evening, when First Lady Michelle Obama appears on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" as part of a fundraising swing through Los Angeles. It includes a lunchtime event at the home of Will Smith.

 

President Obama has appeared on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" two other times since taking office, but the difference in his appearance this evening is that it comes with less than two weeks left in the campaign. It's a time when presidential candidates in the past have been going nonstop in the swing states, focusing on local markets rather than national exposure. And although Obama's jaunt to Los Angeles was sandwiched between a rally in Denver and an event in Las Vegas, his decision to appear on Leno is a contrast to that of Mitt Romney, who has largely avoided entertainment shows and even canceled a planned appearance on "The View" last week.

Romney did appear last month with his wife on "Live with Kelly and Michael" in an interview in which he commented on Snooki and admitted that he wore little to bed --- comments that may have felt like too much information. Obama's strategy appears to be to reach "low information voters," the buzzwords this cycle for those viewers who may not be tuned in to politics, or may simply be fed up with it. Plus there's the fact that an appearance on Leno may get more play the next day on morning TV than the latest iteration of a stump speech. While Romney told donors in the 47% video that he feared an appearance on "Saturday Night Live" would come across as frivolous, Obama seems to have no fear about appearing on late night TV.

Tonight, Obama slammed Richard Mourdock, Republican candidate for Senate in Indiana, for comments he made about rape. "You know, I don't know how these guys come up with these ideas," Obama said. "Rape is rape. It is a crime, so these various distinctions about rape don't make much sense to me, don't make any sense to me." The audience cheered Obama when he talked about women's health, and that decisions shouldn't be made by men.

On the day when Donald Trump offered to give $5 million to Obama's favorite charity if the president released his college transcript and passport application records, Obama quipped, "This all dates to when we were growing up together in Kenya."

Obama also talked about some of the discomfort he's had in the initial debate with Romney.

Photo: Obama campaign via Twitter.

Preview clips below.

Separate lawsuits have been filed against Dinesh D'Souza, the conservative author, activist and exec producer of "2016: Obama's America," contending that he tried to wrest control of the project and trumped the movie's release by writing a book based on the same material.

The movie has generated about $33 million at the box office, a hefty haul for a documentary and second only to Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11' when it comes to political projects.

According to the North County Times, one lawsuit charges that D-Souza violated an agreement with two partners by diverting money from the movie for his own projects. The other suit is from a group of investors who claim that they are entitled to proceeds from D'Souza's book "2016: Obama's America" because it was so closely connected to the movie.

These lawsuits, however, are not drawing nearly as much attention as D'Souza's resignation from an evangelical college after revelations of a relationship with a woman he identified as his fiancee while he was still married. While this may not be such a big deal in many circles, it is a genuine controversy in the evangelical press.

On Tuesday came word that a cable provider was offering subscribers free on-demand access to the runaway documentary hit "2016: Obama's America," an unflattering portrait of the president, to say the least. Armstrong Cable is going to be offering access to the documentary, released in theaters last summer, in swing states like Ohio and Pennsylvania. As the Grio reports, the chairman of Armstrong Cable is a contributor to Mitt Romney's campaign.

Meanwhile, the New York Times fills in details about National Geographic Channels plans to show 'SEAL Team Six: The Raid on Osama bin Laden," just two days before the election. Harvey Weinstein, a major Obama bundler, bought the rights to the film at Cannes and suggested that some moments of the president be added to the film. The director insists that there were plans for clips of the president from the start, but like the feature version of the story of the hunt for bin Laden, there is bound to be criticism that there is a political motivation behind the release. The feature, "Zero Dark Thirty," was originally scheduled to be released this month but was moved to December after controversy over access given to the filmmakers, Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal, and whether distribution plans were an effort to boost Obama's reelection prospects. The film's distributor is Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Obama staged his first major reelection Los Angeles fundraiser on the studio lot in April, 2011.

What to watch for is not necessarily the movies themselves --- which may struggle to find an audience in the cable universe --- but the ads that promote the projects. While it may be a stretch to see "SEAL Team Six" as electioneering, more of a case can be made that "2016" is. And that was what the Citizens United case was all about. David Bossie, the maker of an anti-Hillary Clinton documentary, sought to run it on cable, but more importantly, to advertise the project within 30 days of a primary election. The Supreme Court's Citizen United decision freed him --- as well as other filmmakers --- to do so without worry that their projects will be slapped with Federal Election Commission fines.

American Crossroads, a pro-Mitt Romney SuperPAC, is launching an ad in seven swing states featuring Clint Eastwood. The spot does not contain any reference to an empty chair, but features a message that the veteran actor-director tried to convey at the Republican Convention.

"There's not much time left, and the future of our country is at stake," Eastwood said.

A Crossroads official told Politico's Mike Allen that the spot "tested off the charts in focus groups in Florida and Ohio." He also said it was not "a stock celebrity endorsement spot."

But the ad does reflect a phenomenon of this campaign: Democrats and Republicans are unabashed in deploying celebrities in ads, e-mail pitches, social media and fundraising appeals. Cycle after cycle, as Democrats dominated support in Hollywood, Republicans fought back by charging that their opponents are beholden to the show biz elite. And while some congressional and Senate candidates are being targeted for taking industry money, like Elizabeth Warren in Massachusetts, those attacks are more muted at the presidential level because they have largely been taken off the table. The GOP is deploying celebrities too.

In fact, back when the Obama campaign was organizing a high-profile fundraiser at the home of George Clooney, and some GOP groups were prepared to criticize the tony event, Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt quickly pointed out Mitt Romney's personal courting of Kid Rock and Ted Nugent.

The final presidential debate between President Obama and Mitt Romney drew 59.2 million viewers, less than watched the first two debates this year but more than the audience for the final presidential debate in 2008.

Nielsen said that viewership was across 11 networks from 9 to 10:34 p.m. ET

The debate, the third and final of the season between President Obama and Mitt Romney, drew a combined 59.2 million viewers across 11 networks from 9 to 10:34 p.m. ET, according to Nielsen. While a boffo total, it couldn’t quite match the previous debates, which drew 67.2 million on Oct. 3 and 65.6 million on Oct. 16.

Four years ago, the final debate between Obama and John McCain drew 56.5 million.

NBC drew the biggest debate audience, with 12.39 million viewers, to 11.73 million for ABC and 8.44 for CBS.

The dropoff was not that significant given that the debate competed against "Monday Night Football" and the NLCS.

 

Ellen DeGeneres was awarded the Mark Twain Prize in Washington on Monday, an event in which she couldn't help but taking note of the fact that the ceremony would be show on PBS stations.

"I'm happy to be part of your farewell season," she quipped before an audience at the Kennedy Center.

Mitt Romney has called for ending federal funding for PBS, as well as the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

As she entered the Kennedy Center, DeGeneres also reiterated her support for President Obama and said, per Politico, “If you’re a woman, you should be very, very scared of that, for many reasons. And obviously as a gay person he doesn’t believe in me having the same rights, so of course I’m not happy about that.”

 

President Obama will participate in a live half-hour Q&A with MTV on Friday, once again drawing on pop culture to reach undecideds and to boost turnout among young voters.

An MTV spokeswoman said that they have also offered a half-hour to the Romney campaign. Nothing has been announced.

Obama's appearance will be called "Ask Obama Live: An MTV Interview with the President." MTV News correspondent Sway Calloway will sit down with Obama at the White House, and Andrew Jenks will be with a group of younger voters at a college campus in the D.C. area. Viewers also will be able to submit questions online.

On Wednesday, Obama will be in Los Angeles for an appearance on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." First Lady Michelle Obama will be in Los Angeles on Thursday for a fundraiser at the home of Will Smith, and will appear on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"

In recent weeks Romney has avoided daytime and latenight talk shows, although Ann Romney appeared on "The Tonight Show" last month and "The View" last week. But he canceled plans to appear on "The View," citing scheduling reasons, and declined to participate in Nickelodeon's "Choose or Lose" special.

President Obama's putdown of Mitt Romney --- that sizing up the U.S. Navy is "not a game of Battleship" --- was the most watched moment of the final presidential debate.

Viewership totals have not been released, but TiVo's said that moment ranked at the top of its own research. The other top moments were Bob Schieffer's question to Obama about whether he had any regrets about saying it was time for Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak "to go"; Obama refuting reports that the U.S. has an agreement "in principle" for talks with Iran; Obama talking about the U.S. role in organizing the Friends of Syria; and Obama's further comments about organizing the international community around Syria.

Fox News was the top rated cable news channel covering the debate, with 11.5 million viewers, followed by CNN with 5.8 million and MSNBC with 4.1 million.

There were three presidential debates, and three instant memes. Would that have happened without Twitter? Doubtful. From a strategic standpoint, the success or failure of the candidates in the debates will be framed by whoever wins the election. But from a media standpoint, this will be seen that social media offered up an instant, real-time analysis where a consensus was reached on standout moments and vivid statements even before the candidates had wrapped up. What is also clear is that the traditional punditry is following what is going on in social media and referencing it in their analysis. Tonight, for instance, minutes after the debate Tom Brokaw made reference to Obama's "horses and bayonets" reference as a trending topic, just as he as had Romney's "binders" comment last week.

Here's Twitter's stats:

• 105,767 TPM - 9:45pm EDT - Obama: "We also have fewer horses and bayonets"
• 102,339 TPM - 10:31pm EDT - Schieffer: "I think we all love teachers"
• 87,040 TPM - 9:58pm EDT - Romney on Obama's "apology tour"
• 85,152 TPM - 9:40pm EDT - Bob Schieffer steers conversation back to foreign policy
• 78,069 TPM - 10:29pm EDT - Romney on auto industry
• 76,720 TPM - 9:15pm EDT - Obama on Assad/Syria
• 74,856 TPM - 9:34pm EDT - Small business discussion
• 70,639 TPM - 9:12pm EDT - Obama: "You said Russia was #1 foreign threat to national security"

I'll be commenting here, but also will be over at KCRW.com, which has gathered a host of media types for a live chat. Their embedded player is below.

5:58 p.m.: Bob Schieffer is already at the specially designed desk, awaiting the start in just a few minutes of the debate. Given the scrutiny paid to the past three debate moderators, he undoubtedly will feel some pressure to ask followups. That's why his experience on "Face the Nation" should serve him better than the PBS newshour did Jim Lehrer.

6:00 p.m.: Schieffer says there is a vow of silence, but that certainly doesn't apply to candidates interrupting the others.

6:04 p.m.: Schieffer offers a historic footnote. This is the 50th anniversary of President John Kennedy informing the public of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

6:09 p.m.: Romney: "We can't kill our way out of this mess." Obama seizes on this by saying his strategy is "all over the map." Interesting how Romney is trying to differentiate himself from Bush's foreign policy, even though his advisers include many from the Bush White House.

6:13 p.m.: Obama is leaning toward Romney. Interesting body language. "Every time you have offered an opinion, you have been wrong."

6:15 p.m.: Obama has like a laser focus on Romney when he talks. Romney has a slight smile or smirk.

6:17 p.m.: It is almost 15 minutes in, and so far Schieffer is not Martha Raddatz or Candy Crowley when it comes to followups. Rather, he seems to be letting the candidates do at it.

6:18 p.m.: Interesting how Romney's arguments for foreign aid and human rights --- at least in this debate --- closely mirror Obama initiatives. This debate is about him being credible as commander in chief, not necessarily to outline differences, although he is doing that where he can.

6:25 p.m.: Obama says he does not regret not supporting Mubarak, and Romney says he also supported urging him to go. The bar is low for Romney to come off as credible, not necessarily to show how he would do things differently than Obama. But it's interesting how different Romney's rhetoric is compared to the "No Apology" theme in many previous foreign policy speeches. In fact, there has been no mention yet of No Apology, just the idea that Romney would be a steady hand, even as Obama is trying to convey that.

6:34 p.m.: This debate is being hijacked by domestic issues. In fact, this is descending to a recitation of stump speeches. Romney goes through his five point plan.

6:36 p.m.: Now on to education. Will Candy Crowley come back?

6:40 p.m.: Bob Schieffer is having a tough time keeping this to a foreign policy debate --- and getting cranky.

6:41 p.m. Schieffer finally interrupts, but Romney just keeps going.

6:42 p.m.: Obama: "He should have answered the first question." He's trying to help out Schieffer.

6:44 p.m.: Romney seems to be trying to pin sequestration --- the fiscal cliff --- on Obama's shoulders.

6:46 p.m.: The audience laughs at two of Obama's comments,one belittling Romney's comment about the country having fewer capabilities than in 1916; the other at the Romney campaign's economic plan posted on its web site. "We looked at the website. It still doesn't work."

6:48 p.m.: Obama: "I will stand with Israel if they are attacked." The Israel-Iran situation is one of the biggest security threats, but it is halfway through the debate.

 6:51 p.m.: Romney's statements on Iranian sanctions are similar to what is happening now, but the rhetoric is toned down from campaign speeches. The military option, he said, is the "last resort." He goes after Ahmidenjad and says he should be prosecuted for genocide.Exactly how this would work, who knows?

6:56 p.m.: Romney mentions "apology tour."

6:58 p.m.: "That is how I have used my travels." Obama talks about his visit to the troops and Israel while he was a candidate, and talks about how he didn't take donors or hold fundraisers. Romney was criticized for holding a fundraiser in Israel and for meeting with Sheldon Adelson there.

7:01 p.m.: Romney talks about the chaos in the Middle East, and that Iran is "four years closer" to getting a nuclear weapon. But he also appears to agree with the current Obama policy of sanctions on Iran.

7:06 p.m.: Romney: "You can't let the President lay out a whole series of items without letting me respond." There are rules?

7:01 p.m.: Romney now says that troops will be out of Afghanistan by the end of 2014. Obama has cited this as a policy shift on Romney's part, and it is the same as the current administration policy.

7:10 p.m.: Romney endorses Obama's drone strikes. I sense that the next day story, if not the "Saturday Night Live" skit, will be all about the the agreement between the candidates. The Obama campaign, however, will point out the differences as much more Bush-esque.

7:15 p.m.: A slip up: Schieffer says "Obama bin Laden."

7:17 p.m.: Obama is defending the policy on China, citing the recent tire case and Romney's criticism as being too "protectionist."

7:21 p.m.: Romney mentions China stealing "intellectual property,' as he did in the previous debate. He also says that he would name China a "currency manipulator" on day one. Schieffer follows up by asking him whether this would just start a trade war. "This just can't keep going," Romney says. I wonder how much counterfeiting and intellectual property is to the average American people, as much as it is important to creative industries.

7:25 p.m.: Now a debate over Detroit, and back to domestic issues with the tenuous connection to the China topic. This has allowed both candidates, once again, to recite talking points.

7:31 p.m.: Bob Schiffer wraps it up: "I think we all love teachers."

7:33 p.m.: Obama is (somewhat) spelling out what he will do in a second term. There has been a lot of second guessing of whether the campaign has spent too much time attacking Romney and not enough saying what he would do, and giving Romney a chance to be a sunnier figure. A case in point: Romney's first line in his wrap up is, "I'm optimistic about the future."

7:36 p.m.: "I will leave you with the words of my mom, go vote and that will make you feel strong." Obama says "that's great, Bob." Romney compliments him.

7:38 p.m.: Schieffer was generally passive as a moderator, although he picked up during the evening, and certainly was not Jim Lehrer. He was gentlemanly and even irreverent. (Best moment: "I think we all love teachers.") But this was an unwieldy foreign policy debate that continually drifted to domestic policy.

7:46 p.m.: Twitter says that the peak moment was at 6:45 p.m., when Obama referred to "fewer horses and bayonets." 105,767 tweets per minute.

8:08 p.m.: Romney's body language was more flinching and even a bit more nervous (he may have been sweating) than Obama's, who stared, even glared at him at points and tried to come across as unflappable. Romney made no outright gaffes, but I wonder whether his agreement with Obama while also criticizing the president's foreign policy may be more confusing than anything to voters. The instant polls are showing that Obama won, but a better indication of whether this will impact the race may come tomorrow when the ratings numbers are released. In an election that is about the economy, the mere labelling of it as a foreighn polocy debate may mean that more simply tuned out.

After the passage of California's Proposition 8 four years ago, a stinging defeat for same-sex marriage advocates, a group of Hollywood activists led by Rob Reiner and his political consultant, Chad Griffin, took a bold, activist approach to the issue, launching a federal legal assault on the state's ban on same-sex marriage that helped refocus the dynamics of the debate, and maybe even contributed a bit to the dramatic shift in public opinion toward support of gay nuptials.

After a string of court victories, their Prop 8 case is now awaiting word on whether the Supreme Court will accept it for review or deny cert, the latter of which would mean that marriages in the Golden State could resume. Griffin, who continues to sit on the board of the org they created, the American Foundation for Equal Rights, has gone on to lead the country's largest gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights orgs, the Human Rights Campaign, where his concerns are not just on the courts but on a quartet of ballot initiatives this November in Maine, Minnesota, Maryland and Washington -- hoping to win at least one, given a 0-32 record at the ballot box.

Griffin spoke with Ted Johnson on the role of the entertainment industry in shaping the debate the importance of role models and of welcoming former enemies into the battle who have evolved into friends.

TED JOHNSON:Primetime has a record number of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender characters this season. Vice President Biden recently cited the huge part that "Will & Grace" had in shaping public opinion. Even Republicans acknowledge the role of pop culture. So why has this acceptance not translated to gains on election day?

CHAD GRIFFIN: The leaders of the entertainment industry, have been at the forefront of the civil rights movement. They were there through the '50s and '60s, and they have been there throughout the LGBT struggle for rights. … If you look on TV today, you see characters that portray real life in this country. There are gay and lesbian people in communities and households across this country. And so at the end of the day, (the shows) are reflecting the reality that exists in people's lives. Folks in the entertainment industry are really stepping up from a philanthropic perspective (as well).

You can just look at (the lawsuit against) Prop 8. Were it not for David Geffen, we wouldn't have had a Prop 8 case. When we were trying to figure out how to file and fund that case, Rob and Michele Reiner and I met with David Geffen and he immediately wrote (a) $1.5 million (check), and called Steve Bing and asked him to raise the other $1.5 million. And I believe marriages will start in California, whether it is in a few weeks or it is in a few months.

TJ: You downplayed the role of the entertainment biz at the beginning.

CG: Early on, our opposition tried to make hay out of the fact that it was a bunch of lefty liberals that were funding this case. That's because they didn't want to put the focus on the plaintiffs and the legal arguments in the courtroom. In this case, discrimination was put on trial for the first time as it relates to same-sex marriage. In a court of law where truth and facts were the only thing that matters, we prevailed. And discrimination lost.

TJ: Is it unusual for you now that you are at HRC, working on ballot campaigns in Maine, Minnesota, Maryland and Washington. After all, you have been critical of the idea of having same-sex marriage on the ballot.

CG: When (the idea to put gay marriage on the ballot) came up in California, that was after we had already won (in federal court). I just didn't think it was strategic or wise to take the issue back to the ballot. I was and remain confident that we are going to win each step of the way. And we have three times, and there is still one final hurdle to go, and I am looking forward to that next step and to ultimately Prop 8 being gone forever from the books in California.

I have also said that having to go to a popular vote, having to determine the civil rights of a minority, is fundamentally unfair. Having said that, it is the system we have, and the opposition has taken unfair advantage of the initiative process, and we can't unilaterally disarm. We have to win. … Public opinion has moved at lightning speed on this issue, and in large part I give credit to the leaders in the entertainment industry. We now have support for marriage equality at over 50%, including a Washington Post poll that showed it over 50% in many of the swing states. We can win at the ballot box. We have the ability to finally take away their talking point that this (issue) has never won at the ballot box.

TJ: What is more helpful for someone from the entertainment industry to do: contribute money to these initiatives or lend their name?

CG: (At the recent HRC dinner in Washington) Sally (Field) didn't deliver a political speech. She delivered a personal story about love and fairness about her own family, about her son and how she loved each of her kids equally. And that has more power than anything. Folks in the entertainment community have a megaphone that is much larger than most people who stand up and tell their stories. Almost every time, when an undecided American hears one of these stories -- personal passion, personal stories of one's own family -- they move with us.

TJ: What do you think of Mitt and Ann Romney's embrace of "Modern Family"? They have each said that was their favorite show, but Mitt Romney opposes same-sex marriage.

CG: I laughed when I heard that. I initially wondered if they were serious. Because that show portrays real-life American families, particularly the roles that Eric (Stonestreet) and Jesse (Tyler Ferguson) portray, and the embrace (of them) by the straight couples on that show. … Look, I hope the Romneys and the Ryans and quite frankly anyone, Republican and Democrat who does not support equality, will increasingly watch these shows.

Bruce Springsteen, who headlined two rallies for President Obama's campaign last week, returns on Tuesday for an appearance in Charlottesville, Va.

Springsteen will appear at the nTelos Wireless Pavilion. He made the announcement on his website.

Last week, Springsteen debuted a new campaign song for Obama, called "Forward, and Away We Go."

Amid increasing nervousness among supporters over his reelection prospects, President Obama will return to Los Angeles on Wednesday to appear on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."

This will be Obama's third appearance on Leno's show since taking office. He was the first sitting president to appear on a latenight talk show when he guested on Leno in March, 2009.

Mitt Romney has so far avoided latenight appearances, but his wife Ann was on Leno's show last month.

Obama's visit is unusual in that it comes less than two weeks before the election. It is a signal that the campaign hopes to reach voters who may not follow politics closely, and break through the clutter of campaign commercials and nonstop coverage of the race on cable news channels.

Obama's visit on Wednesday evening will be connected to a campaign swing that includes stops in Iowa, Colorado and Nevada.

Updated

George McGovern, who died today at 90, was the Democratic standard bearer in one of the party's biggest presidential drubbings, losing to Richard Nixon in 1972 after a chaotic, divided and quixotic campaign. His candidacy was in large part a reaction to the turbulence of 1968, after which party rules were changed to democratize the nomination process and put the balance of power in favor of primaries, rather than party elders.

Even though McGovern's defeat was resounding, his campaign marked a turning point in the way that Hollywood engages in the electoral process. Thanks largely to Warren Beatty, who served as an unofficial adviser to the campaign, the liberal energy that mobilized to oppose the Vietnam war was channeled into fundraising strength. As Maureen Orth wrote in the Village Voice that year, Beatty masterminded the celebrity fundraising concert, including an April, 1972 event in which Barbra Streisand, James Taylor, Carole King, and Quincy Jones performed. It raised $320,000. Jack Nicolson, Cass Elliot and Burt Lancaster served as ushers.

Orth wrote, "In one night Beatty et al have already become the largest fund raisers in the Democratic Party. In fact, before Beatty started working his magic, political fund raising in California was dominated by the Republicans and the traditional Democrats' favorite candidate, Hubert Humphrey. McGovern's only loyal California financial support came from a small group of Los Angeles anti-war businessmen -- his average campaign contribution is still $26."

At the time, Beatty said, "It's not like C. Arnholt Smith contributing money or Frank Sinatra going out and doing a bunch of concerts for Hubert Humphrey. It's a whole group of artists, independent and intelligent people, getting together on the same bill behind McGovern, the man with the immaculate slate. I'm not saying people like Carole King, Quincy Jones or Barbra Streisand couldn't sell out a concert like this on their own, but having them together is why we know we'll sell out."

The McGovern campaign also helped define Los Angeles' Westside as a liberal power center, with Norman Lear, Stanley Sheinbaum and Max Palevsky forming what would become affectionately known as the "Malibu Mafia."

McGovern himself stayed in close touch with his industry supporters many years after the election, and even after he lost his Senate seat during the Reagan revolution of 1980. And given the Watergate scandal that was to take down the Nixon presidency, he was always a bit wistful as to what might have been, arguing that his campaign had a degree of prescience even if it went on to one of the greatest defeats in presidential history.

At an AFI tribune to Beatty in 2008, McGovern called Beatty a "great student of politics"and "a great friend." Streisand appeared in a video, wondering how different things would have been had he won.

"I agree with Barbra. It might have been better for the country if we prevailed," McGovern told the audience, who gave him a standing ovation.

 

Flashback to '72: McGovern's best speech may have been "Welcome Home, America," his acceptance address at the 1972 Democratic National Convention. The trouble was few people saw it, as a poorly timed out convention pushed his speech back past midnight. "It brings the term 'ad hoc' to new heights," Beatty said in the 2005 documentary "One Bright Shining Moment: The Forgotten Summer of George McGovern." Nevertheless, Beatty said, "It was a very good speech because he was there with the content."

The convention pushed issues like gay rights and women's rights onto the party platform, in a way that had never been done before. Gloria Steinem called it "the only time I had actually been to a convention that looked like the rest of the country." As unscripted as the convention was, perhaps the last time that such a gathering would not be tightly controlled, it was not the event that ultimately ruined McGovern's chances for good. That was the ill-fated selection of Thomas Eagleton as his running mate, leading to his bowing out from the campaign and McGovern's search for a replacement, Sargent Shriver.

 

Gary Hart, McGovern's campaign manager that year, said that the disorganization of the convention that year nevertheless saved the Democratic Party.

He writes on the Huffington Post, The control of power-brokers and party bosses was broken. Decrepit political machines largely collapsed. The political media thrived on the colorful diversity of the delegates at the 1972 Democratic convention in Miami. It was less than orderly, in the manner of true democracy. But the chaos of Chicago was avoided. And rather than split into several Democratic parties, which would have occurred if the new rules had not been adopted, today's Democratic Party survived and has elected three Democratic presidents since then.

 

Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg each donated $1 million in September to the pro-Obama SuperPAC Priorities USA Action.

The SuperPAC, which reported raising a record $15.2 million in September, also said that "Simpsons" creator Matt Groening contributed $50,000.

Katzenberg was one of the original donors to Priorities, having contributed $2 million when it launched last year and having committed to raising money for the independent expenditure org. Spielberg also contributed $100,000 to Priorities USA in July, 2011.

The Spielberg and Katzenberg contributions were made on Sept. 24, according to a filing Saturday with the Federal Election Commission.

Other donors included attorney David Boies, who also contributed $1 million. He has partnered with Ted Olson, a Romney supporter, in the federal challenge of Prop 8. They are awaiting word on whether the Supreme Court will review the case.

The largest single donor for the month was Fred Eychaner of Newsweb Corp. He contributed $2 million to the SuperPAC.

Past donors to Priorities include Chelsea Handler and J.J. Abrams. Morgan Freeman and Bill Maher have each contributed $1 million to the org.

The Macarena of this election cycle is Gangnam Style, the Korean video that became a runaway sensation on YouTube. Now an Atlanta civic arts group has produced a parody, with civil rights legend, Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), dancing at one point and urging the youth to vote.

Comedian Jeff Foxworthy will campaign for Mitt Romney in Colorado Springs on Saturday.

Foxworthy will attend what is being billed as a "Sportsmen's Victory Event" at the El Paso Victory Center, the campaign announced.

Foxworthy endorsed Romney earlier this year, and campaigned with him at events in advance of the Mississippi and Alabama primaries.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney is scheduled to be in Beverly Hills on Monday for a $15,000-per-couple luncheon fundraiser for Mitt Romney.

The invite does not disclose the location of the event. Romney himself will not be there, but he was in Beverly Hills on Sept. 22 for an event at the Beverly Hilton that drew $6 million and some 1,500 donors, including such entertainment figures as Jerry Bruckheimer, Gary Sinise and Terry Semel.

 

Dreamworks Animation's Jeffrey Katzenberg is the top individual donor to President Obama and SuperPACs that support his reelection.

That's based on an Associated Press analysis of 2.3 million campaign contributions. But pretty much a glance at the top Democratic contributors to SuperPACs made it clear that Katzenberg was at or near the top. He contributed $2 million at the launch of Priorities USA Action, the pro-Obama SuperPAC run by two former White House aides, in addition to helping to raise more than $500,000.

The top Republican donor isn't much of a surprise, either. It's Sheldon Adelson, of Las Vegas Sands Corp.

Here are the top five Democratic contributors to Obama's reelection, via the AP:

1. Jeffrey Katzenberg, $2.566 million

2. Irwin Jacobs, founder of Qualcomm, $2.122 million

3. Fred Eychaner, founder of Newsweb Corp., $2.066 million (tie)

3. Jon Stryker, Michigan philanthropist, $2.066 million (tie)

5. Steve Mostyn, personal injury attorney, $2.033 million

 

 

Here's Jon Stewart's complete, unedited interview with President Obama on Thursday.

 

President Obama and Mitt Romney went for humor at the Al Smith dinner, trading barbs and self-deprecating putdowns. "Please take your seats otherwise Clint Eastwood will yell at them," Obama told the crowd at New York's Waldorf Astoria. Romney: "I was hoping the president would bring Joe Biden along because he'll laugh at anything." Actually, the best one-liners came from Al Smith IV, great grandson of the former New York governor who was the first Catholic on a major party ticket in 1928. "Paul Ryan is such an effective attack dog, Mitt Romney might strap him to the roof of the car," Smith said.

Here's video of both candidate's remarks.

President Obama's guest shot on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" won't be shown until late tonight, but the pool report already is creating a stir based on a transcript of an exchange over the attacks in Libya.

Critics already are zeroing in on Obama's Spock-like characterization of the killing of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others. He said, per the pool report, "If four Americans get killed, it's not optimal."

But the full exchange shows that Obama was responding to Stewart's use of the word "optimal."

Jon Stewart: “Is part of the investigation helping the communication between these divisions? Not just what happened in Benghazi, but what happened within. Because I would say, even you would admit, it was not the optimal response, at least to the American people, as far as all of us being on the same page."

Obama: "Here’s what I’ll say. If four Americans get killed, it’s not optimal. We’re going to fix it. All of it. And what happens, during the course of a presidency, is that the government is a big operation and any given time something screws up. And you make sure that you find out what’s broken and you fix it. Whatever else I have done throughout the course of my presidency the one thing that I’ve been absolutely clear about is that America’s security comes, and the American people need to know exactly how I make decisions when it comes to war, peace, security, and protecting Americans. And they will continue to get that over the next four years of my presidency."

In other words, the word "optimal" refers to the "optimal response," not the fact that four Americans got killed. Or so it seems. The actual video will provide a better elaboration.

Meanwhile, Stewart did ask Obama about his performance at the first debate, and the president said that he had an "off night." Stewart showed him a photo him two pictures of Michelle Obama at the debates, one where she is looking at him angrily afterward and another where she is smiling broadly. "Do you know which debate was which?" Stewart asked.

"Cute. Cute Jon," Obama responded.

Stewart also asked why Obama thinks he can do even better to move his agenda through in another term if Republicans still hold at least one chamber of Congress. Obama said that he wants to "make sure as many Democrats are elected as possible."

Obama also said, "I still want to close Guantanamo. We haven't been able to get that through Congress."

And there were a few quips about Vice President Joseph Biden, as Stewart asked how many times a week Biden comes to a meeting in a wet bathing suit. "We had to stop that," Obama said. "I gotta say though he looks pretty good."

This was Obama's second appearance on "The Daily Show" as President, and Comedy Central today unveiled the results of a poll making the case for why he and other major political figures should guest on the show and perhaps "The Colbert Report."

The poll focused on millennials -- those aged 16-32 --- and found that 62% like when politicians use their humor, 54% say politicians need to loosen up, 55% say they want politicians to use their humor more often and 54% agree that the funnier a politician, the more likable he or she is.

"Between two politicians who had similar views and experience, Millennials would likely vote for the funnier, more relatable candidate," the authors of the poll concluded. It was conducted by TRU Insights and Insight Research. One question posed was what respondents look to to see a candidate being himself or herself, and 33% said an interview with a comedian, topping the list. As for frequent sources of election news, 50% cited political satire shows, compared to 68% for network news, 58% for online aggregators, 56% cable news and 52% Facebook or Twitter. Just 44% cited newspapers.

Today's decision by the Second Circuit to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act is yet another federal court to find the law unconstitutional. But the difference in the opinion today is that the appellate court, in its 2-1 opinion authored by an appointee of President George H.W. Bush, applies a higher level of court scrutiny to laws that single out, or discriminate, against gays and lesbians. That is why many activists, including those in industry groups, are taking special notice of this decision, especially as five different cases challenging DOMA now await word from the Supreme Court on whether they will accept petitions for review. That is in addition to the Proposition 8 case, which is being led by an org of entertainment and political activists via the American Foundation for Equal Rights.

In this case, Edie Windsor is challenging DOMA after her wife died and she faced hefty tax penalties in inheriting her spouse's estate, something that she would not have faced were her spouse a man.

U.S. District Judge Dennis Jacobs wrote that the "classification of same-sex spouses was not substantially related to an important government interest" and that "homosexuals are not in a position to adequately protect themselves from the discriminatory wishes of the majoritarian public." This is the "protected class" status that puts the burden of proof on the government when passing laws singling out gays and lesbians.

Chad Griffin, president of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, said in a statement, "Official government discrimination known as DOMA is on its last legs.  Court after court, including conservative jurists, have agreed that this discriminatory law cannot withstand constitutional scrutiny. We are at a monumental tipping point as the Supreme Court stands poised to review laws that have resulted in treating gays and lesbians as second class citizens."

Adam Umhoefer, executive director of AFER, said, "The body of evidence in support of marriage equality is clear and convincing.  This decision, as well previous decisions in other DOMA cases and in our federal constitutional challenge to California’s Proposition 8, signals that the arguments opposing the recognition of marriage for gay and lesbian Americans have no legal basis.  With today’s ruling, we are one step closer to the day when marriage equality is a reality for every American."

Nevertheless, four states have marriage on the ballot in November, and a recently released poll in Minnesota shows the initiative essentially tied.

 

He follows Bill Clinton --- like following "Elvis," the Boss says --- in an event in Parma, Ohio. He also debuts a new campaign song tied to the Obama campaign's slogan, "Forward." It was no easy task.

Springsteen posted an endorsement message on his website, where he also give nods to Sherrod Brown and Elizabeth Warren.

Video below.

 

On Tuesday, the dislike that President Obama and Mitt Romney have for each other was palpable at the Hofstra University debate. Tomorrow night, they will be at the Al Smith Dinner, the annual charity gala for the New York Archdiocese. In the heat of the presidential campaign, it has become a tradition for the two major party candidates to address each other --- in stand up humor. Just how biting Obama and Romney will get in their jokes depends on whether they go safe with self-deprecation or more daring with actual zingers. Here's a sample of John McCain and Obama speaking at the dinner in 2008. The event is named in honor of the former New York governor who was the first Catholic on a major party ticket when he was the Democratic nominee for president in 1928.

 

The least surprising news today was that the campaign of Howard Berman has released a 30-second ad spot tied to last week's debate flareup, in which rival Brad Sherman grabbed him forcefully and said, "Do you want to get into this?"

Just what impact the incident will have on the campaign remains to be seen. The Berman campaign cites a poll showing that he is . The spot will be shown on cable systems in the San Fernando Valley.

A poll of likely voters conducted by Kimball Political Consulting after the incident gave Sherman a six point lead over Berman, or 32% to 26%. Spencer Kimball also labelled it "the ugliest race in America." Overall, 42% of voters are undecided, he wrote, "suggesting a none-of-the-above attitude among voters.

Sherman's campaign is touting a huge cash advantage, as recent finance reports show that he has $1.8 million on hand to Berman's $393,000.

Berman's ad, meanwhile, highlights all the pickup that the incident got in the national media.

Tuesday's presidential debate drew 65.6 million viewers, down slightly from the 67.2 million who watched the first debate earlier this month, according to Nielsen.

The figure is slightly higher than the ratings for the second presidential debate in 2008.

Fox News topped all of the news networks, with 11 million viewers, followed by CNN with 5.8 million and MSNBC with 4.9 million.

NBC News topped broadcasters with 13.8 million viewers, followed by ABC with 12.5 million, CBS with 8.9 million and Fox with 4.6 million.

Update: NBC News also topped all networks in post-debate analysis, with 11.4 million viewers, followed by ABC with 9.5 million and CBS with 7 million. A factor in NBC's win may be "The Voice,' which topped all series on Tuesday. More here.

Dennis Miller already has performed at fundraisers for Mitt Romney, including a recent one in Beverly Hills, so it was no surprise when the campaign announced today via press release that he had endorsed the candidate.

Are we in for a battle for celebrity endorsements? On Thursday, Bruce Springsteen will perform for Obama in Ohio and Iowa.

Romney said in a statement: "Dennis Miller is a funny guy, but he understands that the challenges facing our nation are no laughing matter, said Mitt Romney. “We’ve both traveled across America, and we’ve seen hardship in many different forms. Whether it’s the family that can’t pay the mortgage, the unemployed worker who can’t find a job, or the kids graduating from college with no prospects for a career, too many people are hurting. This country needs a turnaround, one that I can deliver. As I travel around the country explaining my plan for a stronger middle class, I am happy to have Dennis Miller on my team."

Miller said, "I'll be voting for Mitt Romney on November 6th because he is a good man perfectly suited to help solve our many problems," said Dennis Miller. "Let's be honest with each other, folks. If we've reached a time in our nation's history where men like Romney are demonized and said to be the problem, we are missing the point as badly as the point can be missed. The punditry always says that Romney ‘looks’ Presidential. Here's what they don't tell you. It has little if anything to do with his appearance and absolutely everything to do with the way he has led his life."

Update: Miller campaigned for Romney today.

CNN's Candy Crowley this morning defended her fact check of Mitt Romney during last night's debate, and denied that she had taken back her comments in a post-event interview. GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan and conservative commentators claimed the Crowley was reversing herself when she told CNNlast night that Romney was "right in the main."

Crowley told Soledad O'Brien this morning that she was not backtracking. "what I said on that stage is the same thing I said to you actually last night."

"The question was — we got so stuck on that ‘act of terror.’ Now, did the President say this was an act of terror? The president did not say — he said ‘these acts of terror,’ but he was in the Rose Garden to talk about Benghazi, so I don’t think that’s a leap."

The Libya moment is the one that is being played over and over again from tonight's debate, and moderator Candy Crowley explained to CNN what was going through her head when she decided to fact-check Mitt Romney's suggestion that President Obama didn't call the Benghazi attack a terrorist incident until 14 days later.

Crowley told Soledad O'Brien, "Well, I knew that the president has said act of terror, because this has kind of come up before, and also I heard him that day.  And what Mitt Romney was going for, and I think where he tripped himself up was that he picked that one wrong fact.  The president did call it or refer to it in some ways an act of terror, and so it felt as though - and the president kept looking at me going, you know, and I thought, well, I did know then, I said, you know, he did call it an act of terror.  That's what caused the applause.

She added, "And then I said, but you are correct that they didn't know for a couple of weeks that it wasn't related to the tape and there was no riot outside the consulate, so - and that side of the room clapped. ... I wasn't trying to get them to clap, I was trying to sort of - you know, bring some kind of clarity to the conversation."

Mitt Romney's response to a question about equal pay for women included this line, about filling his administration while governor of Massachusetts: "I went to a number of women's groups and said, 'Can you help us find folks,' and they brought us whole binders full of women."

Now it is trending on social media and Tumblr.

 

5:36 p.m.: I'll be blogging the 90-minute townhall debate, which, judging from much of the punditry out there, is make or break time for President Obama to slow or stop Mitt Romney's momentum. Because the third and final debate is on foriegn policy, this debate may be the last best chance that Obama has to sway voters on domestic issues before a mass audience. Then again, the election is just shy of three weeks away, and if Romney takes a commanding lead, it'll be interesting to see what kind of media coverage he gets given that the entire narrative of this race has been that it will be close to the end.

Nevertheless, the challenge will be for Obama to win the confidence of voters, just as Romney seems to have done in the first debate. But it's an even bigger challenge because the onus is on both candidates to connect with the voters in the townhall and then to the viewing audience and also to slam the other guy.

A lot of attention will be paid to Candy Crowley, and the extent to which she asks questions or even steps in to clarify them.

6:00 p.m.: Brian Williams calls this "the most important date of this campaign so far for President Obama." There are 80 undecided voters in the hall, begging the question, is that all the undecided voters in the country? Credit to organizers for finding them.

6:06 p.m.: Candy Crowley is asking a followup question, trying to narrow the focus to those who need a job right now. This actually will be challenge to both candidates, as Romney pledged that Jeremy will have a job by 2014, and Obama used his time to outline his campaign platform.

6:12 p.m.: Jeremy's question has turned in to answers about whether Romney would have let Detroit go bankrupt. He is trying to say that his position is no different from what Obama did. Obama challenges that, suggesting the Romney would have simply let the auto industry go out of business.

6:14 p.m.: A pointed question from one man on why Secretary of Energy Chu said that it was not his reponsbility to lower gas prices. Obama responds with a pledge of an all the above approach, while Romney slams Obama on restrictive energy policies.

6:20 p.m. This is the most vigorous part of the debate so far, as Romney says that Obama has reduced production on public lands while Obama says that it is not true. He hits Obama on the Keystone pipeline. Most visual moment: Romney following Obama, asking him to answer a question, as Obama takes his seat.

6:29 p.m.:The tax question seems to have brought the campaign to what it was before the conventions, if not throughout the campaign: That is, raising the taxes on the middle class or not.

6:35 p.m.: Obama is challenging Obama on specifics, saying we haven't heard anything "beyond Big Bird and elimination of Planned Parenthood funding." "The math doesn't add up."

6:37 p.m.: "Of course they add up," Romney says. he defends his plan by noting that he has been governor and ran the Olympics. He then pivots to the deficit. "Talk about not adding up."

6:39 p.m.: Pay equity for women: This seems tailor made to an Obama campaign talking point, which is signing the Lilly Ledbetter Act. Romney uses the opportunity to talk about the number of women he has hired while governor of Massachusetts.

6:44 p.m.: Obama is extending this answer to address contraception coverage, child care and Planned Parenthood funding. Polls have showed erosion in the gender gap between Obama and Romney, in Romney's favor.

6:47 p.m.: This is actually a compelling question to Romney; How would he be different than Bush. he cites energy, trade, balanced budget, and small business. "Our partty has been focused on big business too long." But there is no mention of foreign policy.

Obama hit Romney especially on China, questioning whether he ever could be tough on them on trade given his business dealings.

6:54 p.m.: Michael Jones, "I am not as optimistic as I was in 2012." This is the softball of the night that allows Obama to essentially recite his accomplishments --- and campaign talking points. But the questioner does have a point about optimism, which is a contrast to 2008.

Romney: "We just can't afford four more years." He hits Obama on promises of 5.4% unemployment, as well as proposals on Medicare and immigration. "This is a president who has not done what he said he would do." He is using his answer to show that things are actually worse than Obama says, or even that may seem.

7:01 p.m.: Immigration is another issue on which the Obama campaign has an advantage with Latino voters, according to polling. Obama uses the opportunity to hit Romney on his primary debate statement that there should be a system of "self-deportation."

Also a pet peeve: Romney referred to the Democrat Senate and the Democrat House. "Democrat" is a noun, "Democratic" is an adjective. The latter is grammatically correct.

Romney does correct Obama's assertion that he was the standard bearer in 2008, and even quips that he was "licking his wounds" over his loss to John McCain.

7:11 p.m.: A question on Libya, where the administration has flailed on the questions of just what happened. Obama responds with a strident "buck stops here" response, but Romney uses it to question the administration's whole policy on the Middle East. "This strategy is unraveling before our very eyes."

7:20 p.m.: Candy Crowley says that Obama did call Benghazi an "act of terror" a day after the attacks, as Romney questions it. "Can you say that a little louder, Candy?" Obama says. This is an awkward moment for Romney, and I imagine Crowley will take some heat in the hours and days ahead.

7:22 p.m. Gun control. This is an issue where both candidates have been criticized for not taking greater steps to restrict the flow of guns. Obama says, vaguely, that he will work to restrict guns that kill many people at once, while Romney says he doesn't favor any legislation. But he also tries to hit Obama on the "fast and furious" program.

Crowley asks Romney why he supported an assault weapon ban in Massachusetts, but doesn't favor a ban now. He says that it was legislation where they got both sides together.

"He has said he was for the assault weapon bans before he was against it," Obama says.

Neither candidate's response is likely to please gun control advocates, including New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has chided both campaigns for not putting forth more initiatives in the wake of the Aurora shooting.

7:27 p.m.: An "outsourcing question" yields abnother criticism from Romney on his policy with China. Obama brings up a campaign attack from the summer, that Romney's Bain was a "pioneer of outsourcing."

7:35 p.m.: Romney brings up China's failure to protect intellectual property rights, which is of great interest to Hollywood studios. But almost all of the studio chief are supporting Obama.

7:37 p.m.: Romney uses his final answer to bring up universal coverage in Massachusetts, religion and the private sector, but does not cite Romneycare, Mormonism and Bain, underscoring the challenges that he has had throughout the campaign either as he runs in the primary or against Obama.

Obama uses his final question to bring up the 47% video --- which may be crarfty because even though Romney has disavowed it, the Republican nominee won't have the time to respond.

7:44 p.m.: This was a much more spirited and testy presidential debate than I expected, perhaps more so than in any before, as the candidates felt free to engage, interrupt and even (from the camera angle) stalk each other. Obama was more engaged, informed, cool and collected than the first debate, while Romney tried to use a few moments to put Obama on the spot, but stumbled on the Libya question. Romney was slightly more nervous than he was in the first debate, even a bit rattled  by the end, and some of his responses came across as non-sequiturs. He largely held his own, but it was less a visionary performance and more of a defensive one. His worst moment was talking about the rules of the debate, challening Crowley. For meeting and even exceeding expectations, it was Obama's night, particularly on Libya. But it was not a wild disparity in debate performance as it was the first time around.

7:55 p.m.: Twitter stats: 7.2 million tweets, vs. 10 million in the first debate.

Peak moment: 6:57 p.m., on the immigration question, when Romney slipped on the questioner's name. 109,560 tweets per minute.

8:09 p.m.: I actually thought Crowley did as good a job as could be expected, given the determination of the candidates to pretty much run the debate the way that they wanted. The selection of questions left a bit to be desired, but there may not have been much choice from a townhall format. Asking candidates what is the greatest misperception about them is not a hard question, but a soft one, perfectly tailored to giving them essentially a closing statement. But Crowley was smart to follow up at least a few of the softballs with followups that put the candidates on the spot, even if they didn't directly answer the question. And she was prepared to fact check Romney questioned why it took 14 days for Obama to declare the Benghazi attacks a "terrorist" attack. In short, she did the best with what she had.

A followup to my column earlier this week on the coming ad war in Minnesota, Maine, Maryland and Washington, where same-sex marriage is on the ballot: Via Towleroad comes this new video, Marriage=Biology (Not Bigotry), from the National Organization for Marriage. The video, with a female British narrator and animated graphics, attempts to define opposition of same-sex marriage as the reasoned position, comparing the government's restriction as akin to prohibiting pedophilia or incest. It also casts the opponents as victims of losing their free speech rights, citing instances where those who opposed same-sex marriage lost work or jobs. The video already has inflamed marriage equality supporters, but a strategy of those who oppose gay nuptials has been to remove the guilt that voters may feel when they cast their ballots.

With Morgan Freeman narrating a campaign spot, Bruce Springsteen performing at rallies and Jay-Z doing get-out-the-vote videos, President Obama's campaign is deploying celebrities to make a closing case to voters in a more prominent way than perhaps in 2008. The idea is to cut through the clutter of campaign commercials running non-stop in the swing states, even if evidence is inconclusive on whether celebrity endorsements matter or even hurt.

But the Obama campaign perhaps has some leeway against GOP attacks that he is embraced by the Hollywood elite, as Mitt Romney's campaign has jumped at the chance to appear with sports and reality celebrities, not to mention give Clint Eastwood a prominent speaking slot at the convention.

Here's one of the Obama campaign's latest videos, featuring a number of LGBT celebrities including Zachary Quinto, Chaz Bono, Jane Lynch, George Takei, Billie Jean King and Wanda Sykes.

 

Meanwhile, according to Talking Points Memo, the conservative org Concerned Women for America is responding to the MoveOn ad featuring a host of Hollywood actresses, arguing that "Hollywood women" do not speak for all of America.