Obama Battles Back, Takes Charge in Second Debate: VIDEOS

President Obama had a much better night tonight at the town hall at Hofstra University.

Highlights, AFTER THE JUMP...

Candy Crowley fact checks Romney on Obama's Libya statement. Obama blasts Romney on the 47%.

Romney talks about being presented with 'binders of women' who wanted jobs in his cabinet.

Obama and Romney have a heated moment over energy, and Obama takes down Romney on coal:

Obama says Romney has doesn't have a five-point plan, but a one-point plan for unemployment, and says Romney is more extreme than Bush in many ways:

Obama hits Romney on China. And pensions.

Towleroad Talking Points: Crazy People on the Loose

BY SAM GREISMAN

A look back at the top stories from a very busy day.

ELECTION 2012

We are just hours away from the second Presidential Debate and while the two candidates go through their final preparations, there is still some talk of last week's Vice Presidential Debate. Jon Stewart has taken the time to condense all of Fox News' ridiculous attempts to spin the debate in favor of Paul Ryan and summed them up nicely. Speaking of Ryan, he is taking heat for an unauthorized and completely fake photo-op at a soup kitchen. 

The Clinton family is in the news today. First Secretary of State Hillary Clinton takes the blame for the U.S. security failures prior to the attacks in Libya last month. Is she possibly trying to take the heat off of Obama? Also Bill Clinton campaigns hard for Obama, and appears in a new ad exposing Romney's tax plan problems. 

Two more pro-Obama ads are in also the news today. First Rosie Perez just totally destroys Romney's hypothetical remarks about being Latino. And check out this moving video of LGBT celebrities speaking out in support of Obama. 

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WINGNUTTERY

It seems like crazy people were just coming out of the woodwork today! Ann Coulter, who is a grade A whackjob, floated the idea/joke of a 'disown your son' for being gay day. Not to be outdone Victoria Jackson went on Howard Stern to say that she doesn't want to piss off God by allowing gays to marry. But the craziness doesn't end there. A CNN anchor hung up up on American Family Association's Bryan Fischer after he claimed that supporting an anti-bullying program is the same as poisoning children. Also check out  Angelina from Jersey Shore really living up to that "trashbags" nickname she got on the show by showing she is an anti-gay bigot. 

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ENTERTAINMENT

Everyone's favorite pint-sized beauty contestant Honey Boo Boo and Mama June appeared on Jimmy Kimmel last night and endorsed Obama for president!

ABC caught up with Rob Wilson, the first ever male model on The Price is Right, and they talked about how beautiful he is, basically. Also check out singer-songwriter Mika talking coming out on CNN. 

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VIDEO OF THE DAY

The remake of Carrie arrives next spring. Check out the first trailer here! 

John Boehner Has Spent Everything in the DOMA Defense Budget

How much more will American taxpayers have to pay to defend anti-gay discrimination?

The Washington Blade reports:

On Tuesday, Democrats on the Committee on House Administration made public a report stating the House Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group — which took up defense of DOMA after the Obama administration announced it would no longer defend the law in court — has reached expenses totaling out to $1,447,996.73 over the course of fiscal years 2011 and 2012.

That’s just shy of the $1.5 million cost cap that House Republicans set last year to pay private attorney Paul Clement, a former U.S. solicitor general under the Bush administration, to defend DOMA. Thus far, Clement has lost in five federal courts against lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of DOMA — most notably after U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals became the first appellate court to strike down the law.

Still, they lose case after case.

Timothy Kurek, the Christian Who Pretended to Be Gay for a Year, Appears on 'The View': VIDEO

Last week I posted about Timothy Kurek, the man who grew up a devout anti-gay Evangelical, and, after a friend confessed to him that her family had disowned her for being gay, felt such guilt that he decided to live as a gay man for a year to seek empathy.

Kurek appeared on The View today to talk about the book he wrote about his experience.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Chick-fil-A Says They Didn't Mean Gays When They Said 'Fruitcake'

Chick-fil-A comments on a sale coupon first posted on Towleroad last week.

"This is an advertisement that a locally owned and operated restaurant has been using for the past five years to promote Chick-fil-A's catering options during the holidays," Steve Robinson, the company's executive vice president and chief marketing officer said in a statement to The Advocate Tuesday afternoon. "It was simply a play on words referring to the traditional holiday food, and the restaurant had no intention of offending anyone whatsoever. We regret the flyer may haven been taken out of context."

New Disgusting NOM Ad Says Same-Sex Marriage 'Hurts' Society, Compares It to Incest and Pedophilia: VIDEO

A new ad from the National Organization for Marriage instructs viewers that same-sex marriage  is like incest, pedophilia, and drug use and should be prohibited, arguing that it harms society. Like most NOM videos, comments are disabled at YouTube and the clip has a majority of 'dislikes', a sentiment with which I'm sure you'll agree.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...