Bagels and Ballots — Wednesday
A Story You Can Bank On: Illinois senatorial candidate Alexi Giannoulias, a former official at his family’s Chicago area bank, is “consistently vague” about just what he did there, the Chicago Tribune finds. In the words of his opponent Mark Kirk, “First he said he was the senior loan officer and ran much of the bank in order to be elected state treasurer. Then, when it was revealed that the Tony Rezko loans were made, he said, ‘Well, I left in 2005.’ Then when it was revealed that he took a $2.7 million tax deduction that required him to justify 500 hours of work (in 2006), he said that he actually was there in 2006.” (Chicago Tribune)
Some Communion Crackers With Your Tea?: The Forward reported a few weeks back that the Tea Party is pretty Christian — and a poll has confirmed it. The American Values Survey conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute, found that 47% of those who identify as Tea Party supporters also describe themselves as being part of the religious right or the conservative Christian movement. (MitzVote)
Florida’s Social Security Wedge: As independent Floridian senatorial candidate Charlie Crist struggles to move forward in the election, he released an ad attacking Republican opponent Marco Rubio on social security — which is bound to be an important issue among the state’s Jewish retirees. Crist says Rubio’s plan leaves seniors to “work longer, get by on less,” a tactic that Rubio’s campaign has deemed a “desperate false attack.” (The Palm Beach Post)
And in Jew York: The state’s gubernatorial candidates Republican Carl Paladino and Democrat Andrew Cuomo have been spending time wooing Brooklyn’s black hatters. (Spoiler: the Paladino visits included a jibe at Sheldon Silver). (New York Daily News)
A Head to Roll? At Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit, the presidential seal on Barack Obama’s lectern fell to the floor. “Whoops, was that my, uh?” Obama asked, amid laughter. “Oh, goodness. That’s all right. All of you know who I am. But I’m sure there’s somebody back there that’s really nervous right now. Don’t yathink? They’re sweating bullets back there right now.” MitzVote feels their pain. (CNN Money)
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