Mourdock Won’t Back Down, Krugman Talks Romney Victory, and More

Heart of the Matter:

Indiana Senate candidate Richard Mourdock is standing by a comment he made Tuesday night that rape pregnancies are “something God intended,” though the Republican is claiming his remark has been misinterpreted. “I spoke from my heart. And speaking from my heart, speaking from the deepest level of my faith, I would not apologize. I would be less than faithful if I said anything other than life is precious; I believe it’s a gift from god,” Mourdock said. (Read more)

Will Mitt Take a Hit? Could Richard Mourdock’s rape comment hurt GOP efforts to retake the White House? That’s one of the questions being asked since he is, after all, supported by Republican nominee Mitt Romney. Although Romney has distanced himself from Mourdock’s remark, he hasn’t withdrawn his endorsement of the Indiana Senate candidate. The former Massachusetts governor cut an ad this week in support of Mourdock, which Romney’s campaign has not asked to be taken down. (Read more)

New Questions on Libya: The GOP is seizing on recently leaked emails from the State Department that said a militant group claimed credit for the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi hours after the incident. Obama administration officials initially said the violence was a spontaneous demonstration against an anti-Islam video posted on YouTube. Republican Sens. John McCain (Arizona), Lindsey Graham (South Carolina) and Kelly Ayotte (New Hampshire) wrote in a letter to President Obama that, “This latest revelation only adds to the confusion surrounding what you and your Administration knew about the attacks in Benghazi, when you knew it, and why you responded to those tragic events in the ways that you did.” (Read more)

Agenda Setting: During an interview with The Des Moines Register that was originally off the record, but has since been published, President Obama laid out major policy objectives for his second term. Among the items were two he was unable to accomplish during his first term: immigration reform and budget consolidation. The president also detailed how he would accomplish both. (Read more)

Poll Police: Here’s a startling trend around the country: Voter misinformation and intimidation are on the rise. The tactics are designed to prevent eligible voters from casting their ballots on Election Day. For example, in Florida, Virginia and Indiana, voters received phone calls telling them they could cast their ballot by phone (that’s false). And in Ohio and Wisconsin, billboards in mostly low-income and minority areas warn residents about committing voter fraud. (Read more)

Sorry, Sir: Mitt Romney’s son Tagg has apologized to Barack Obama for saying after the second debate that he wanted to “take a swing” at the president. Aides to Obama said Tagg told the president he was sorry while the two were speaking onstage at Lynn University on Monday night after the third debate. (Read more)

Video of the Day: During an interview on The Huffington Post Live on Wednesday, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman speculated on what it would mean for the economy if Mitt Romney were elected president. Hint: It’s not good. “I think there’s a real chance he’ll manage to pursue a policy in the first couple of years that simultaneously blows up the deficit and depresses the economy,” he said. The result: a possible “deficit explosion” coupled with a “double-dip recession.”