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SALT LAKE CITY — Conservative talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh on Tuesday wound a circuitous route tying Hillary Clinton to a Muslim sisterhood:
- Hillary Clinton.
- Clinton's aide is Huma Abedin, wife of Anthony Weiner.
- Abedin has a mother named Saleha Mahmood Abedin, who some conservatives say is a member of the Muslim Sisterhood.
- Saleha Abedin's best friend is Naglaa Mahmoud, the new first lady of Egypt (although she rejected the title).
- Mahmoud's husband, newly elected Egyptian Pres. Mohammed Mursi, is "the new Muslim Brotherhood guy."
"That's really all you need to know," according to Limbaugh.
Limbaugh goes on to explain how this relates to Clinton: "That's why Hillary is out celebrating the brotherhood. That's why Hillary is joining Obama in telling the military to give it up for the Brotherhood guy."
An Obama vs. Romney cookie contest
First Lady Michelle Obama and Ann Romney are facing off in a cookie contest.
Obama submitted a recipe for white and dark chocolate-chip cookies that are a go-to when the family wants to "splurge" after a healthy meal. Romney went with M&M's cookies that are a "family favorite."
Family Circle has held a Presidential Cookie Bake-Off for the last five elections, "ever since Hillary Clinton and Barbara Bush bumped spatulas," according to the magazine.
The contest has been successful at predicting who would later live in the White House: only one winner has not gone on to Washington, when Obama lost to Cindy McCain in 2008.
Votes can be submitted online via Facebook.
Public opinion polls
A recent poll by NBC and the Wall Street Journal found that Pres. Obama and GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney are in a dead heat in the run-up to the general election.
The poll found that, if the election were held "today," 44 percent of respondents would vote for Romney, and 47 percent would vote for Obama. The margin of error was 3 percent. The majority of people said they would "definitely" vote for their respective choices.
The poll also found that a plurality of Americans would be pleased if the healthcare law were overturned — 73 percent — versus 22 percent who would be disappointd with that outcome.
In addition, the poll found that 60 percent of Americans believe Pres. Obama inherited the current economic conditions, compared to 26 percent who blame the president's policies for the country's economic woes.
The poll was conducted of 1,000 adults and has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.
More Youkills drama for Obama
The Obama and Romney camps have been trading jabs since Obama made a joke Monday during a campaign speech in Boston.
Pres. Obama thanked the city for trading Kevin Youkills from the Red Sox to his own favorite team: the Chicago White Sox. The crowd booed — lightheartedly, it appeared — and Obama joked that he probably should not have brought up baseball.
In an email to reporters, Romney press secretary Andrea Saul said Obama had taunted Red Sox fans, but the Obama campaign told a different story.
White House press secretary Jay Carney, a Red Sox fan, told reporters there had been "really silly reporting of the episode," the Associated Press reports.
Carney said most people were saying "Yoooouk," not "Booo," in support of Youkills. He also said Obama was standing by his team and refusing to pander to the home crowd, because "true sports fans understand loyalty."
The debate later moved to Twitter, where Carney reiterated the statement: "Let's be clear: POTUS, a proud ChiSox fan, thanked Boston crowd for Youk. Some booed. Others, like me, cried "Yoooouk!" in sad memoriam."
