TIME’s photo editors bring you the best pictures of the past week from the Beltway and beyond.
In my print column this week, I made the argument that Barack Obama hasn’t been a very convincing populist, given the fact that he turned over his economic policy to Financophiles Tim Geithner and Larry Summers. In fact, he blew the opportunity to restructure a diseased financial system that emphasizes financial deal-making over productive investment [...]
Michele Bachmann’s campaign staff in New Hampshire has quit en masse, frustrated by the Minnesota Congressman’s inattention to the state. The exodus, first reported by WMUR’s James Pindell, marks the nadir of Bachmann’s free-fall since capturing the Iowa straw poll in August. While an embarrassing development, the defections may also have been inevitable. Bachmann has [...]
As the dates for the first presidential campaign contests settle down, the state that traditionally goes first worries that others may usurp that spot
Did Marco Rubio embellish the story of his parents’ exile from Cuba? There’s less to the story than meets the eye. Cain claims he misunderstood questions on abortion. Senate Republicans block aid to states. But the nation can rest easy knowing it once again has a Commerce Secretary.
The Senate voted down a piece of President Obama’s jobs bill Thursday night that would have provided $35 billion in aid to states to prevent government layoffs and increase hiring. The Department of Education says the measure could save or create nearly 400,000 teaching jobs, but so far it has failed to advance in the [...]
Since 2000, more than two-thirds of Americans have told Pew pollsters that they want the President to be a person of faith, which effectively imposes a test of religious belief for candidates. And some voters go even further—often explicitly encouraged by their religious leaders—by reserving their support for candidates who openly profess theological beliefs similar to their own.
–Mitt Romney on the trail in Iowa.
I have to spend some time unpacking Herman Cain’s description of his position on abortion because it’s a good illustration of why straight-talkin’, complicated-problem-solvin’ politicians succeed only in movies. In real life, it turns out that candidates who think they have a simple position that appeals to everyone don’t actually understand what they’re talking about. Exhibit A [...]
Moammar Gaddafi’s death makes for an interesting punctuation mark in the ever-evolving U.S. approach to war. The key issue: is it an exclamation point (“We got him! And not a single American died!) or a question mark (“Did we just get lucky? Is this a template for how the U.S. should wage future wars?”). We [...]
