Way back in April 2010, Obama nominated three economists to fill out empty seats on the Federal Reserve’s board of governors. Two sailed through, but one, Peter Diamond, was snared in the net of the Senate, where Republican Richard Shelby was unconvinced of the Nobel-winner’s monetary bona fides. After a long back-and-forth, Diamond withdrew in [...]
Ben Nelson, the conservative two-term Nebraska Democrat, won’t seek re-election to the Senate next year, according to Politico. Nelson is 70–not exactly an adolescent, but hardly outside the norm for a Senate whose average member is 62. He had $3 million in the bank for what was expected to be a uphill re-election battle, with [...]
Via Ben Smith, a Newtmas video message from Newt Hampshire:
Go to any Ron Paul event and the audience is part of the tale. They’re younger, rowdier, more socially diverse than Republican rally regulars. Any one of them might have driven across the state to see Paul speak or be able to riff at length about Austrian economic theory. Any one of them also might [...]
$10 million in political TV advertising has been broadcast in Iowa this month; Perry, Romney and their respective PACs account for 80% of it. Romney’s campaign says he has the nomination all locked up. There are scenarios where he could lose, but not so many. The rise of absentee voting in Florida could decide its [...]
A week before Iowa’s January 3 caucuses, the outcome of the Republican contest is hard to predict: Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney all stand a chance at winning. But something else already seems clear: Iowa has blown its special claim as the first state to vote in presidential contests.
Nothing much happening today. Just a tiny shiver in the zeitgeist…could it be Rick Santorum, after all? He hasn’t had his surge yet. He’s been the tortoise, campaigning slowly, patiently, throughout the state. He’s been extreme on some issues–homosexuality, Iran–but he hasn’t made a fool of himself. He’s been solid in the debates. He hits [...]
Not much happening today, of course. A very wise Santa left me some warm Iowa-wear, sweaters and gloves, for the coming week. But we do have my old pal David Yepsen’s evaluation of the campaign so far, from his new perch at the Paul Simon Institute at Southern Illinois University, alma mater of Walt “Clyde” [...]
After a week rummaging about through eastern Iowa, chasing the candidates, I’ve noticed a few interesting policy trends this year. Here are two:
TIME’s photo editors bring you the best pictures of the past week from the Beltway and beyond.
