The Note's Must-Reads for Monday, October 8, 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' Amy Walter: " 30 Days Out: Fundamentals Still Favor Obama" There's a new injury going around in political circles these days: it's called political whiplash. It's caused by the ever changing - sometimes violently so - perceptions of the presidential contest. LINK

The Hill's Elise Viebeck: " Obama campaign: Romney 'fails the commander-in-chief test'" President Obama's campaign is telling Mitt Romney to "bring it on" with his foreign policy address Monday. In a prebuttal to Romney's speech, Obama campaign spokeswoman Lis Smith said the former governor "fails the commander-in-chief test" on "every measure." LINK

The Los Angeles Times' Michael Memoli and Seema Mehta: " Obama chides Romney on taxes but acknowledges he debated poorly" President Obama mocked Mitt Romney on Sunday night for shifting his positions in the first nationally televised debate and added that his foe was not offering "change," but a "relapse" to failed GOP policies. And for the first time, he publicly acknowledged his own poor showing. LINK

The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza: " Is Obama overrated as a candidate?" In his closing remarks at the first debate in Denver last week, President Obama uttered the following sentence: "Four years ago, I said that I'm not a perfect man and I wouldn't be a perfect president." For anyone who has watched Obama campaign for a second term this year, the phrase is old hat - part of the president's seemingly self-effacing acknowledgment that he has, is and will continue to make mistakes but that he does so in the service of trying to do the right thing. LINK

Politico's Byron Tau: " Obama campaign prebuts Romney's foreign policy speech" The Obama campaign is prebutting Mitt Romney's Monday foreign policy speech - saying he has a high bar to clear to show he's ready for the responsibilities of presidency. "This is the same guy who, when he went overseas on his trip, the only person who has offended Europe more is probably Chevy Chase," campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters traveling on Air Force One Sunday. LINK

MITT ROMNEY: ABC News' Rick Klein: " 'World News' Political Insights: Mitt Romney's Big Moment" Mitt Romney has the nation's attention again. Romney doesn't have the race he wants, at least not yet. But he has his best opportunity yet to change the presidential race that had shown signs of slipping away from him, if he can build on his strong debate to make the argument he's long sought to make against President Obama. LINK

The Washington Times' Seth McLaughlin and Stephen Dinan: " Romney to slam Obama on warfare" Mitt Romney on Monday will accuse the Obama administration of fundamentally misunderstanding the threat of radical Islam, using a major foreign-policy speech at the Virginia Military Institute to say President Obama is rejecting six decades of bipartisan consensus by not flexing more U.S. muscle on the world stage. LINK

Bloomberg's Julie Hirschfeld Davis: " Romney Presses Consensus While Hitting Obama's Foreign Policy" With the presidential race entering its final month, President Barack Obama's campaign is trying to paint Republican nominee Mitt Romney as a fabricator on his tax policy and other issues, while the challenger is turning his attacks to the incumbent's foreign policy. The president is seeking to regain footing after a lackluster debate performance as Romney tries to build momentum and make up ground in a race where he trails nationally and in the states most likely to decide the election. LINK

VICE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE: The Wall Street Journal's Janet Hook: " Bigger Bang Expected From Ryan-Biden Bout" When Rep. Paul Ryan and Vice President Joe Biden debate Thursday night as their parties' vice presidential nominees, there will likely be more fireworks than when their running mates met on stage last week, advisers predict. Mr. Biden has suggested he is eager to draw bright contrasts between himself and his Republican counterpart, in the aftermath of President Barack Obama's lackluster performance in his debate with GOP nominee Mitt Romney. LINK

The New York Times' Peter Baker and Trip Gabriel: " With Biden Up Next to Debate, Obama's Aides Plot Comeback" President Obama's campaign is working feverishly to restore its momentum after a lackluster debate performance last week, an effort that began with a conference call 10 minutes before the debate even ended and led to new advertisements, a rewritten stump speech, a carefully timed leak and a reversal of months-old strategy. LINK

CAMPAIGN 2012: USA Today's Gregory Korte: " Campaign's final month begins on opposite coasts" A month before Election Day, President Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney are on opposite coasts, delivering starkly different messages to distinct audiences today. Romney will deliver a foreign policy address to formally dressed cadets at the Virginia Military Institute this morning, attacking Obama for what adviser Alex Wong called a foreign policy marked "by passivity, by delay and by indecision." LINK

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