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' Carrie Halperin

DEMOCRATS

ABC News' Josh Haskell: " Calif. Dem Says Ryan Lies Like Nazi's Goebbels" The chairman of the California delegation to the Democrats' convention was criticized by both parties for comparing Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan to the Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels. In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle on Saturday, John Burton said, "They lie and they don't care if people think they lie. Joseph Goebbels . It's the big lie, you keep repeating it." Goebbels was the minister of propaganda during Hitler's Nazi regime. LINK

The Hill's Ben German: " Dems back global climate deal in platform" The Democrats' official platform expected to be approved at the party's national convention on Tuesday calls for an international deal to limit greenhouse gas emissions. The platform says Democrats will pursue efforts to combat climate change through regulations and market solutions, setting up a continued battle with Republicans who argue such steps could hold back the economy. LINK

The New York Times' "Jim Rutenberg: " Democrats Say U.S. Is Better Off Than Four Years Ago" A day after fumbling a predictable and straightforward question posed by Mitt Romney last week - are Americans better off than they were four years ago - the Obama campaign provided a response on Monday that it said would be hammered home during the Democratic convention here this week: "Absolutely." LINK

The Washington Post's Felicia Sonmez and David Nakamura: " Obama, Romney campaigns clash on Labor Day over whether Americans are better off" As Democrats began gathering Monday for their nominating convention in Charlotte, Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan brought the fight directly to them in North Carolina, hitting President Obama hard on the question of whether Americans are better off now than when Obama took office. "He can't tell you that you're better off," Ryan said at an appearance in Greenville. "Simply put, the Jimmy Carter years look like the good old days compared to where we are now." LINK

Politico's Jennifer Epstein:" Democrats Release Platform" The Democratic Party released its platform on Monday night, laying out positions on issues ranging from health care to lobbying reform and ending the war in Afghanistan. The party's support of same-sex marriage was well-reported earlier this summer, but most of the other positions outlined in the document are aligned with longstanding Democratic views. LINK

PRESIDENT OBAMA

USA Today's Susan Page: " Interview: Obama says GOP drawing 'a fictional Barack Obama'" President Obama says he's older and wiser than he was during the heady 2008 campaign, and he has a more complicated message urging voters to stick with him as the country slowly digs out of "a very deep hole" on the economy. So is the election less fun, the second time around? LINK

The Wall Street Journal's Laura Meckler: " Obama to Press Case For Four More Years" With Republicans trying to fan disappointment with President Barack Obama's leadership, Democrats begin the final run to the election with a convention beginning here Tuesday that aims to convince economically struggling voters the president has a workable plan for a turnaround. LINK

POLLING

The Los Angeles Times' Michael A. Memoli: " Polls show North Carolina as Romney's best pickup opportunity" Two new polls released on the eve of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte show the host state to be on the outer edge of the 2012 battleground states that President Obama carried four years ago. A new Elon University poll conducted for the Charlotte Observer and Raleigh News & Observer gives Republican challenger Mitt Romney a 47% to 43% advantage over Obama. Another, from the Democratic-affiliated Public Policy Polling, has the candidates deadlocked at 48% each. LINK

DNC

The New York Daily News' Celeste Katz: " Democratic National Convention is Michelle Obama's time to reveal President's personal side" When Michelle Obama takes the stage at the Democratic National Convention Tuesday night, she'll address the nation this time as a known commodity. The First Lady has come a long way since her convention adress in Denver four years ago, when she was tasked with convincing a reluctant public that she was more than some of her brow-furrowing words. LINK

The Washington Times' Charles Hurt: " Convention security the embodiment of a police state" Interest in the political conventions has plummeted, approval of politicians has reached historic lows and our public treasury is nearly broke. So what does the behemoth bureaucratic government apparatus do?It erects the most impenetrable wall of security ever amassed to protect and promote the political gatherings that separate the hyper-elite from those out of power, unimportant and irrelevant. In other words, taxpayers. LINK

ABC NEWS VIDEO

"Drunk DNC Delegates Disrupt Democrats' To-Do List" LINK

BOOKMARKS

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