| | | | Dr. Oz and a doctor's note | | Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump released more medical information today. From the Democratic nominee, it was a two-page letter from her doctor, Lisa Bardack, who concluded that despite her recent bout with pneumonia, Clinton "continues to remain healthy and fit to serve as president of the United States."
Trump was more theatrical. After his aides told reporters he wouldn't share the results of a recent physical on the TV show hosted by "Dr. Oz," Trump did just that. He handed Oz a letter from his doctor, Harold N. Bornstein -- the same hyperbolic doctor who previously said Trump would be the fittest president ever. Audience members said Oz was impressed by Trump's health -- though Trump confessed he'd like to lose 15 pounds.
How it happened: Oz pressed Trump on why he wouldn't release more personal health information. And Trump, in a showman's stroke, reached into his breast pocket. "Well, I really have no problem in doing it, I have it right here," he said, turning to the audience. "Should I do it? I don't care, should I do it?"
Elsewhere on the campaign trail ... Trump's visit to Flint, Michigan, didn't go quite as planned -- but polls show him climbing in other swing states. But first...
The story to read today: Outgoing Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid's trip down memory lane with The Washington Post's Ben Terris. | | Donald Trump is gaining on Hillary Clinton in several key swing states. New CNN/ORC polls put him ahead in Ohio and Florida. Meanwhile, a Monmouth poll puts him up 44% to 42% in Nevada.
Good Senate polling news for the GOP, too: In Ohio, Sen. Rob Portman is up a whopping 21 points over Democratic challenger Ted Strickland. And in Florida, Sen. Marco Rubio bests Democratic challenger Patrick Murphy by 11 points. | | McCaul: Republicans (but not the RNC) were hacked | | Rep. Michael McCaul, the Texas Republican who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, caused a stir today when he told told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on "The Situation Room" that the Republican National Committee had been hacked, similarly to how hackers targeted the Democratic National Committee. But McCaul ultimately walked that comment back. Here's how it played out:
What McCaul said: "Yes, they have hacked into the Republican National Committee. So this is, again, they are not picking sides here I don't think. They are hacking into both political parties. They are not discriminating one party against other. They have hacked in both parties at the national level. We're not sure why they've released some documents and not others."
The RNC's denial: RNC chief operating officer Sean Cairncross told CNN: "There has been no known breach of the RNC's cyber network."
Then McCaul walked back the RNC-specific assertion, saying in a statement: "I misspoke by asserting that the RNC was hacked. What I had intended to say was that in addition to the DNC hack, Republican political operatives have also been hacked." | | Real talk with Colin Powell's hacked emails | | Hacked emails show former George W. Bush Secretary of State Colin Powell's frank assessments of Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and other top figures in American politics -- and Powell didn't hold anything back.
On Trump: Powell called the Republican nominee a "national disgrace and an international pariah." He labeled Trump's comment that 95% of African-Americans would support him in four years a "schizo fantasy." "He appeals to the worst angels of the GOP nature and poor white folks," Powell wrote.
On Clinton and her private email server: "Everything HRC touches she kind of screws up with hubris." He also complained that Clinton had cited him to deflect criticism, saying she "could have killed this two years ago by merely telling everyone honestly what she had done and not tie me into it. I told her staff three times not to try that gambit."
He also talked about the Bush administration. Read more from CNN's Eli Watkins. | | In a climate of bitter political partisanship, anti-media rhetoric and diversified media options, just 32% of Americans now say they trust the media "to report the news fully, accurately and fairly" -- the lowest level since 1972, when Gallup began polling. More from CNN's Dylan Byers.
What's Donald Trump have to do with it? Gallup said in its release: "With many Republican leaders and conservative pundits saying Hillary Clinton has received overly positive media attention, while Donald Trump has been receiving unfair or negative attention, this may be the prime reason their relatively low trust in the media has evaporated even more." | | Kochs turn attention from TV ads to organizing | | | From CNN's Theodore Schleifer: The powerful network helmed by Charles and David Koch is making a homestretch pivot away from the television ads on which they've spent millions of dollars and instead embracing their more traditional role: nuts-and-bolts organizing. The Koch network is spending $42 million on the air to help Senate Republican candidates -- but their TV reservations end October 5, and they're now encouraging donors to give to their nonprofits tasked primarily with the organizing voters in the key Senate states, rather than continuing to saturate the airwaves, Tim Phillips, the president of Americans for Prosperity, told reporters today. | | In search of Hill GOP support for Trump's child care plan | | I went to Capitol Hill today in search of Republicans supportive of Donald Trump's child care proposal, which was rolled out in a speech with Ivanka Trump last night. Most swing-state senators said they haven't yet seen it. "I'm glad he's offering specific proposals, but I don't know the details of them," said Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida. "Haven't had a chance to look into it," said Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner.
Some senators didn't want to talk policy at all. "You know, at some point in time, we'll see who's elected and then we'll deal with the actual policies," said Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tennessee.
And some had their deflections ready -- like South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, who wouldn't comment on Trump's plan but said: "I think we should spend more time asking the same questions about Hillary Clinton and her plans as opposed to trying to figure out a way to pigeonhole Republicans on Donald Trump."
Is Trump proposing too much spending by making maternity leave a government-funded right and by boosting military funding? Said Sen. Jon Thune, R-South Dakota: "I haven't looked at the particulars, but I do think whatever these proposals entail, we're going to have to figure out how we'll pay for them." | | | Bill Clinton mistakenly downgraded Hillary Clinton's pneumonia diagnosis to the flu. ... Hillary Clinton appears to be baiting Donald Trump by deciding to meet with several world leaders at the UN General Assembly next week. ... Clinton picked up an endorsement from the NBA's most popular player: Warriors guard Steph Curry. ... Registered to vote in DC: Malia Obama. | | | Get the Nightcap, a comprehensive summary of the most important political news, delivered to your inbox daily. | | | | | |
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