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November 1, 2012 CONNECT WITH SMARTBRIEF Share | Sign up | Archive | Advertise National Pulse  Obama, Romney campaigns sprint for the finish    Reuters The Obama and Romney campaigns are locking in their strategies for the final push ahead of Election Day, with both campaigns placing huge TV ad buys and arranging frantic campaign tours of key swing states. President Barack Obama is spending today in Wisconsin, Nevada and Colorado, while Republican challenger Mitt Romney is holding three events in Virginia. Both campaigns will then turn their attention to Ohio, without which either side would struggle to win the White House. The Hill (11/1)      Agenda Items  Christie, Obama trade praise over Sandy relief efforts    Obama with Gov. Christie and storm survivors in N.J./Reuters President Barack Obama and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, offered praise for one another Wednesday during a tour of the Garden State's storm-stricken coast. The optics of the situation could benefit Obama as the election nears, although Christie aides and N.J. analysts said the leaders weren't making political calculations. "I really think the two people here are doing what their primary jobs are, which are as chief executives, addressing what is absolutely a massive disaster," says Rutgers pollster David Redlawsk. Politico (Washington, D.C.) (10/31)      Nearly 4 out of 5 voters give Obama high marks for handling of Sandy National Journal (11/1)      30 million households face Alternative Minimum Tax hike The Hill/On the Money blog (11/1)      Video: A quick primer on the U.S. "fiscal cliff" The Wall Street Journal (10/31)      Election Assistance Commission remains rudderless as polling day looms Roll Call (free content) (11/1)      Daily Chuckle  Online atlas offers precinct-level view of 2008 election results    ESRI Researchers at Stanford and Harvard have joined forces to create an online "Election Atlas" giving a precinct-level view of the 2008 election results. The tool lets researchers glean information about the demographic and geographic foundations of President Barack Obama's winning coalition, showing how Obama and John McCain split rural and suburban voters. SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Leadership (10/31)      The Conversation  GOP strategist Karl Rove: Turnout will swing the election for Romney The Wall Street Journal (10/31)      Editorial: Romney turns up the volume on auto-bailout claims The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (10/31)      Ex-Gov. Jennifer Granholm: 3 cheers for Chris Christie Politico (Washington, D.C.) (10/31)      Columnist Kevin D. Williamson: It's the perfect time to pull the plug on FEMA National Review (10/30)      Data Points  What will Sandy mean for the election? Hurricane Sandy has devastated the East Coast -- and all anyone cares about is whether it will affect the election, says Stephen Colbert. "Make no mistake folks, this hurricane has got election all over it," Colbert declares. Comedy Central (10/31)      SmartQuote  Democracy is the only system that persists in asking the powers that be whether they are the powers that ought to be." --Sydney J. Harris, American journalist        SmartBrief delivers need-to-know news in over 100 targeted email newsletters to over 3 million readers. All our industry briefings are FREE and open to everyone—sign up today! Accounting Advertising Automotive Aviation & Aerospace Biotechnology Business Chemicals Construction & Real Estate Consumer Packaged Goods Distribution Education Energy Finance Food Service Health Care Insurance Legal Manufacturing Media & Entertainment Nonprofit Retail Technology Telecommunications Travel & Hospitality   Subscriber Tools SIGNUP   SEND FEEDBACK   E-MAIL THIS BRIEF Today's Brief - Permalink  | Print friendly format  | Web version  | Privacy policy Advertise Sr. National Account Director:   Jim Pataki 212-450-1682   SmartBrief Community: Most Clicked Facebook LinkedIn Get this RSS Feed Search Archive About Download a SmartBrief Mobile app today     Recent SmartBrief on Business & Politics Issues: Wednesday, October 31, 2012 Tuesday, October 30, 2012 Monday, October 29, 2012 Friday, October 26, 2012 Thursday, October 25, 2012     Lead Editor: Jim Berard     Mailing Address: SmartBrief, Inc.®, 555 11th ST NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20004     © 1999-2012 SmartBrief, Inc.® Legal Information