“CANTON — Mitt Romney’s sworn testimony in a post-divorce lawsuit against Staples founder Tom Stemberg was unsealed on Thursday at Norfolk Probate and Family Court. The suit was filed in 1990 by Stemberg’s ex-wife, Maureen Sullivan Stemberg, who sought to amend the couple’s financial agreement after Staples went public in 1989 and began trading at 10 times the stock value she had received in the divorce a year earlier. Romney…testified during the lawsuit in June 1991; the nature of his testimony was not immediately clear …” [boston.com]

Our guest columnist is Douglas Brinkley, speaking to Rolling Stone.

We arrived at the Oval Office for our 45-minute interview… on the morning of October 11th.…

As we left the Oval Office, executive editor Eric Bates told Obama that he had asked his six-year-old if there was anything she wanted him to say to the president.… [S]he said, “Tell him: You can do it.”

Obama grinned.… “You know, kids have good instincts,” Obama offered. “They look at the other guy and say, ‘Well, that’s a bullshitter, I can tell.'”

Politico, reporting the Rolling Stone excerpt, also offers a helpful link to “PHOTOS: 21 potty-mouthed politicians”.

Obama says kids know Romney is dishonest [Politico]

“While the campaigns eagerly pursue female voters, there’s something that may raise the chances for both presidential candidates that’s totally out of their control: women’s ovulation cycles.” [CNN]

“The Republican nominee has made a habit of spray tanning before major speeches, debates, interviews, and other events that have a chance of getting wide TV coverage, the source said. He pays for the process out of pocket — sparing his campaign the expense, and the task of masking it on public campaign finance reports…” The Romney campaign denies. [BuzzFeed]

“I’ve struggled with it myself for a long time, but I came to realize that life is that gift from God. And even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen.” —Indiana GOP Senate nominee Richard Mourdock, making us devoutly wish that God intends something to happen to him. [TPM]

Radar:

Famed civil rights attorney Gloria Allred will be in a Boston area courtroom Wednesday in an attempt to unseal the sworn testimony given by Republican Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, in a prior court case…

The emergency hearing will take place at the Norfolk Probate & Family Court in Canton, Massachusetts, and Justice Jennifer Ulwick will oversee the proceedings which will begin at 9 a.m. EST.

Daily Mail:

Donald Trump is to claim that he has unearthed divorce papers of Michelle Obama and the President, according to a respected financial pundit with links to the tycoon.

It is alleged that the eccentric real estate mogul will claim that the documents show the First Lady and the President were at one point in their two decades of marriage seriously considering splitting up.

If you’ve been considering throwing your television out a tenth-floor window, this might be a good moment.

“Horses and bayonets both remain vital parts of the U.S. arsenal.” —Tucker Carlson’s Daily Caller, shoveling as fast as it can.