Politico has an interesting story today about the pitfalls for Mitt Romney as a candidate in the months ahead. Chief among them is Romney himself, a man whom even his admirers would not call a naturally gifted politician. The eternal question for the non-gifted pol is what to do about it: stick relentlessly to a script and some across …
Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney’s Ads: Still Wrong on the Stimulus
I’ve been on leave writing a book about the stimulus, so I’ve let others judge the Pants-on-Fire ads and Four-Pinocchio attacks and Solyndra-related nonsense that Republicans have been peddling about the stimulus. It’s …
A Tale of Two Economies: Mitt Romney vs. Republican Governors
The great recession has left the state of Ohio battered and bruised–and Mitt Romney would have you believe it’s Barack Obama’s fault. Writing in the Cleveland Plain-Dealer on May 4, Romney advised Ohioans that the President has …
On Education, Romney Seeks Distance from Obama — and Bush
In a speech at the Latino Coalition’s annual economic summit in Washington on Wednesday, May 23, Mitt Romney called the U.S. education system a failure. Every child deserves a quality education, he said, particularly minority …
Romney Defends Bain Record, Hits Obama on Economy: ‘He Just Doesn’t Have a Clue’
Mitt Romney lashed President Obama’s economic stewardship in an interview with TIME’s Mark Halperin on Wednesday, deflecting attacks on his years as a private equity executive and laying out how he hopes to take control of the …
Mother of Mitt: How Lenore Romney’s Failed Campaign Shaped the Presumptive Republican Nominee
This week’s TIME cover story, “The Mother of the Mitt Campaign,” tells the tale of how Lenore Romney’s 1970 run for U.S. Senate may have made a bigger impression on the Republican presidential candidate than his years …
Romney vs. the GOP’s Cultural Warfare Wing
Fox News is slightly less predictable than its reputation–there’s Shep Smith, and Bill O’Reilly can surprise–but nothing on television resembles authoritarian state-run media quite like Hannity. Nothing about Sean Hannity’s …
Why Romney Is Dodging the Press
Joe, the Romney campaign’s control-freakery makes for bad democracy, but I suspect it’s a smart strategy. Consider the way Mitt’s personal approval rating has bounced back over the past several weeks. As the GOP primaries wrapped …
Romneyland Springs Leaks on Foreign Policy
I’ve seen some recent praise for the discipline of the Romney campaign, which has generally proven effective at hewing to its core message and preventing internal strife from leaking to the media. David Sanger’s fascinating …
In Defense of Mitt Romney, High School Bully
Jason Horowitz’s story in the Washington Post on Mitt Romney’s teenage years is a first-rate piece of reportage. The portrait of a high school class in 1965 is laced with anecdotes about the posh prep school’s social dynamics and …
Does Mitt Romney Deserve Credit for Saving Detroit? Not Quite
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s claim that he deserves “a lot of credit” for saving the auto industry prompted an immediate reaction from critics — and they have a point. While Romney is right that the vehicle for Detroit’s ultimate rebound was a “managed bankruptcy” of the car companies — which he called …
Can Romney Close the Gap with Latinos? His Campaign Is Trying
For months, Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, the influential head of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, complained that the Republican primary was alienating conservative Latino voters. “They don’t want us,” he told me …
Rewinding Romney on Counterterrorism: ‘Dr. Strangelove’ and ‘Attacks on America’
By now everyone knows that Mitt Romney doubted back in 2007 whether killing Osama bin Laden was really worth the trouble. The Romney camp has dredged up a more bloodthirsty quote that muddies the issue, but if we’re going to rewind the tape, a couple of other interesting quotes turn up. Like the way that, in August 2007, Romney responded …
