President Obama and Mitt Romney will meet tonight for their first debate.
As Blake Zeff noted in the Daily News, winning the presidential election is only part of what Obama needs to do. If he’s to have any chance of carrying out his promised agenda in a second term, he’ll also need to help Democrats win back the House and hold onto the Senate.
There is, by that reckoning, much at much at stake in the coming debates, whether or not you believe the Romney campaign’s sometime contention that they constitute a “restart” to a race he seems at the moment to be losing. Margins, and coattails, matter.
Quote of the Day
“He brought awesome cannoles with him to each meeting.”—Chris Owens on Frank Seddio’s tour of reform Democratic clubs.
Events
“Governor Andrew M. Cuomo is in New York City.”
9:30 a.m. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, State Senator Michael Gianaris, Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan and Bishop Taylor visit P.S. 111, at 37-15 13th St., in Long Island City, Queens.
10 a.m. Mayor Michael Bloomberg meets with Aurora shooting victim Stephen Barton, who is featured in the latest ad from Mayors Against Illegal Guns, at City Hall.
10:45 a.m. Republican senate candidate Wendy Long appears on The Mike Gallagher Show, on WOR710.
11 a.m. Quinn makes a capital budget announcement LaGuardia Community College, at 30th St., between Thomson and 47th Ave., in Long Island City, Queens.
Noon. City Council members Melissa Mark-Viverto, James Sanders, Jumaane Williams, Rosie Mendez, Steve Levin, New York Communities for Change, TWU and others express support and call for an expansion of state attorney general Eric Schneiderman’s probe of J.P. Morgan’s banking actives, at One Chase Manhattan Plaza, at the corner of Pine and William Streets, in Manhattan.
Noon. Long holds a press conference urging Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Robert Kennedy to explain their opposition to fracking, at Onondaga GOP headquarters, at 321 W. Onondaga St., in Syracuse.
3 p.m. Long appears on The John Spencer Show, on WVOX Radio 1460 AM.
5:15 p.m. Long appears on The Bob Lonsberry Show, on WSYR Radio 106.9 FM.
5:30 p.m. City Councilwoman Margaret Chin, Rep. Nydia Velazquez, the parents of Danny Chen and others hold a vigil for Pvt. Danny Chen, on the 14th St. side of Union Square, in Manhattan.
6 p.m. Long speaks at the Fall Fling of the St. Lawrence Republican County Committee, at the Freight House, on 20 Market St., in Ogdensburg.
6 p.m. Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries speaks at a debate watch party hosted by Angie Martinez, at Lucky Strike Lanes, at 624-660 W. 42nd St., in Manhattan.
7:15 p.m. Quinn is honored by Icia da Silva Foundation, at 1356 Broadway, in Manhattan.
7:30 p.m. City Councilman Leroy Comrie and Queens Young Democrats host a debate watch party, at Sangria Tapas Bar and Restaurant, at 9541 Sutpin Blvd., Jamaica, Queens.
7:30 p.m. Drinking Liberally hosts a debate watch party, at Village Pourhouse, 64 3rd Ave., in Manhattan.
8:15 p.m. Baruch College staff David Birdsell, Doug Muzzio, Eric Gander, Don Waisanen, David Hoffman, host a debate watch party, at Subotnick Center, at 151 E. 25th St., in Manhattan.
8:30 p.m. Harlem for Obama hosts a debate watch party, at The Corner Social, at 321 Lenox Ave., in Manhattan.
9 p.m. City Councilman Danny Dromm hosts a debate watch party, at 37th Rd., between 73rd and 74th Streets, in Jackson Heights, Queens.
2012 / Washington
A Wall Street Journal / NBC News poll shows Obama leading Romney 49-46 percent, and a “whopping 71% of likely Hispanic voters said they plan to vote for Mr. Obama.” [Neil King Jr. and Danny Yadron]
There are more pro-Obama ads than pro-Romney ads in Colorado, Florida, Ohio, Iowa, Boston, and Norfolk, VA. [Jim Rutenberg and Jeremy Peters]
Ann Romney, full-blown adviser and potential blocker of constructive criticism. [Michael Barbaro, Ashley Parker and Gay Stolberg]
Obama’s challenge: generating coattails in November so he can govern in January. [Blake Zeff]
Fox, Drudge and the Daily Caller promote a video of Obama talking about race, during the last presidential campaign. [Michael Shear]
“The [voter] fraud that the law purports to reduce does not actually exist, either in Pennsylvania or anywhere else in the country.” [New York Times]
Diana Taylor, a registered Republican, will host a fund-raiser for Democratic congressional candidate Sean Patrick Maloney. [Tara Palmeri]
An editorial page strongly supports state attorney general Eric Schneiderman’s lawsuit against J.P. Morgan. [New York Times]
2013 / City Hall
City officials declined to be interviewed for Ken Burns documentary about “The Central Park 5,” then sued him for his notes and unpublished tapes in order to defend themselves against a $50 million lawsuit the men filed. [Russ Buettner]
Bloomberg donated to a maternal health program in Tanzania. [Betsy McKay]
Quinn and Bloomberg disagree about the validity of the NAACP’s complaint about the entrance exam discriminating against minorities entering the city’s elite high schools. [Sally Goldenberg]
UFT president Michael Mulgrew pins the high teacher turnover on Bloomberg’s positioning on teacher evaluations. [Daily News]
Amadou Diallo’s mother said the legal fight to regain firearm privileges waged by one of the officers who shot her son was like “killing my son all over again.” [Wendy Ruderman and J. David Goodman]
Albany
As the state’s 9.1 percent unemployment rate remains steady, Cuomo has begun to tour development projects he’s helped get off the ground. [Thomas Kaplan]
M.T.A. Chairman Joe Lhota welcomed the state comptroller’s audit of his agency as a “thoughtful and thorough analysis.” [Matt Flegenheimer]
Democratic State Senate candidate George Latimer leads his G.O.P. opponent in Westchester, and a Republican Senate candidate, Assemblyman Sean Hanna, leads his Democratic opponent in Rochester, according to Siena’s poll today. [Erik Kriss]
Latimer leads Cohen 44-41 percent with 15 percent undecided. Hanna leads O’Brien 47-39 percent with 14 percent undecided. [Celeste Katz]
Cuomo has a 76-19 percent approval rating in SD-37, where Latimer leads Cohen. And Cuomo has a 80-17 percent approval rating in SD-55, where Hanna leads O’Brien. [Siena, Siena]
Friends have reportedly told Assemblyman Vito Lopez not to show up in Albany. [Ken Lovett]
Lopez’s replacement as Brooklyn Democratic leader, Frank Seddio, is visiting reform clubs. [Chris Owens]
From Capital
Senator Chuck Schumer, with pipe in hand, cheered the posting of a patent officer at Cornell. [Reid Pillifant]
Schneiderman expects to sue “other institutions.” [Reid Pillifant]
“New York’s ‘secret’ scheme to pay taxi drivers more.” [Dana Rubinstein]
A budget watchdog and the MTA disagree about the MTA’s finances. [Dana Rubinstein]
Councilman Charles Barron defends Obama’s remarks in that Daily Caller video. [Azi Paybarah]
The Partnership for New York City hired Stu Loeser, with eye toward the 2013 election. [Azi Paybarah]
CORRECTION: The original version referred to Ric Burns instead of Ken.
Images
Schneiderman on his lawsuit against J.P. Morgan. [AGschneiderman]
Front Pages
