The Note's Must-Reads for Friday, September 21, 2012

The Note's Must-Reads are a round-up of today's political headlines and stories from ABC News and the top U.S. newspapers. Posted Monday through Friday right here at www.abcnews.com

Compiled by ABC News' Jayce Henderson, Amanda VanAllen and Carrie Halperin

PRESIDENT OBAMA: ABC News' Jordan Fabian: " President Obama Calls Immigration Reform His 'Biggest Failure'" President Obama appealed to Latino voters for a second term at a Univision-sponsored event today, and blamed Republicans for his failure to make good on his 2008 promise of immigration reform. Univision news anchors Jorge Ramos and Maria Elena Salinas repeatedly grilled Obama over whether he broke his promise to bring up an immigration reform bill in his first year in office, which he made to Ramos in 2008. LINK

The Lost Angeles Times' Matea Gold, Melanie Mason and Joseph Tanfani: " Obama outspends Romney on campaign advertising" President Obama pumped three times more money into media ads than Republican challenger Mitt Romney last month as both candidates dramatically stepped up their spending, racing through as much money as they brought in. August marked Romney's fastest rate of spending yet in the general election: His campaign burned through all $66 million it raised, double what it spent in July, according to documents it filed Thursday with the Federal Election Commission. LINK

The New York Times' Mark Landler: "Obama's Journey to Tougher Tack on a Rising China" President Obama's patience with China had been fraying for months, and by November 2010 he was fed up. Meeting with President Hu Jintao in Seoul, South Korea, Mr. Obama warned that if China did not do more to curb North Korea's bellicose behavior, he would have to take steps to shield the United States from the threat of a nuclear missile attack from the North. LINK

Politico's Edward-Issac Dovere and Daen Samuelsohn: " Obama Changes Change" So much for the bright, bold colors of hope and change. President Barack Obama admitted Thursday that his reelection campaign is more about gritty American realism. The response from Democrats: About time you came around. LINK

MITT ROMNEY: The Hill's Justin Sink: " Romney intensifies campaign schedule, attacks on Obama" Mitt Romney shifted his campaign strategy this week, intensifying his swing-state schedule and hammering President Obama with his own campaign slogans. The GOP presidential nominee needs to turn the page from recent stumbles as the campaign season heads into October, a month that features either a presidential or vice presidential debate every week. Furthermore, Romney is primed to take advantage of obligations that will keep Obama largely away from the swing states. LINK

The Wall Street Journal's Patrick O'Connor and Janet Hook: " Headwinds for Romney in Latest Poll Results" Mitt Romney's path to victory is narrowing, new polling data suggest, presenting challenges for the Republican nominee at a moment when he is trying to rebound from a week of bad headlines by refocusing on federal spending. President Barack Obama has opened an eight percentage-point lead in Iowa and maintains a five-point edge in Colorado and Wisconsin, according to Wall Street Journal/NBC News/Marist Poll surveys of the three presidential battlegrounds released Thursday. LINK

GOP: The New York Daily News' Kristen Lee: " Republicans pounce on Obama remark; 'You can't change Washington from the inside'" President Obama - who ran his 2008 campaign on the promise of "hope and change" - made a surprising admission after four years in office on Thursday: "You can't change Washington from the inside." Republicans immediately pounced on the president's seemingly off-the-cuff remark, which came after Mitt Romney's campaign had endured days of attacks over the GOP candidate's own unscripted comments at a secretly-recorded May fundraiser. LINK

PRESIDENTIAL RACE: The Washington Times' Dave Boyer: " Obama, Romney swap barbs on who's out of touch" President Obama sought Thursday to capitalize on opponent Mitt Romney's rough week, saying the GOP nominee is out of touch if he stands by his caught-on-camera moment calling many voters "victims" who are dependent on government. "When you express an attitude that half the country considers itself victims, that somehow they want to be dependent on government, my thinking is maybe you haven't gotten around a lot," the president said at a forum with Spanish-language network Univision in Miami. LINK

Bloomberg's Jonathan D. Salant: " Obama Up Over Romney in Three More Swing-State Polls" resident Barack Obama polls 50 percent among likely voters in three swing states, according to the latest survey that shows him pulling ahead of Republican nominee Mitt Romney in many of the election's battlegrounds. The NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist College poll gave Obama identical five-percentage leads, 50 percent to 45 percent, in Colorado and Wisconsin, and an eight-point advantage in Iowa, 50 percent to 42 percent. LINK

USA Today's Susan Page: " Romney fights on Medicare but Obama retains advantage" President Obama remains more trusted to address Medicare's challenges, the latest USA TODAY/Gallup Poll of Swing States shows, even as Mitt Romney challenged him over the issue Thursday in retiree-rich Florida. In the nation's 12 top battlegrounds, including the Sunshine State, voters by 50%-44% say they have more faith in Obama than his Republican challenger on Medicare. LINK

The Boston Globe's Michael Kranish: " Obama, Romney leave much unsaid on tax plans" Mitt Romney says he can cut both personal and corporate tax rates, making up for lost revenue by eliminating a raft of deductions. But he won't reveal which tax deductions he wants to kill, including the fate of the very break that helped make him so wealthy. LINK

ABC NEWS VIDEOS: " President Obama speaks with Univision's Jorge Ramos and Maria Elena Salinas at University of Miami" LINK " Univision's Meet The Candidates forum at the University of Miami" LINK

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