It's been clear for a while that the long Republican primary fight is damaging the GOP in ways that won't be easily repaired before the fall election. Tuesday's results in Michigan suggest there's another issue to add to this collateral-damage list: the auto bailout.
Mitt Romney eked out a victory in the Michigan primary on Tuesday night, staving off a challenge from Rick Santorum to sidestep what would have been a stinging defeat in his native state. The former Massachusetts governor also coasted in Arizona’s winner-take-all contest, infusing his flagging campaign with a jolt of momentum as the Republican [...]
In baseball, a tie goes to the runner. But in presidential primaries, a tie goes against the front runner. In a matter of hours, America will discover if Mitt Romney can pull out a squeaker in his native state of Michigan. As of this morning, Nate Silver, the whiz-kid of poll-based projections, pegs the state [...]
After a long, long weekend in Michigan watching Romney and Santorum, I have no strong feelings about who is going to win–put a gun to my head and I’ll say Romney–but I do know that this Republican race has become a victorless crime, a mortal snooze. Those few Republicans who are not so dispirited by [...]
If you’re betting on Tuesday’s Republican primaries in Michigan and Arizona, the smart play is to short the pundits. For two months, each decree that a candidate possesses momentum has instead been a death knell.
There have been quite a few TV ads run by Democrats in Michigan this past week criticizing Mitt Romney for opposing the 2009 auto-bailout. (Probably to limited effect in the primary.) This one from public worker union giant AFSCME, backed by a $360,000 buy, is probably the most effective. It also happens to be an [...]
In endorsing Mitt Romney for President, the editorial board of the Detroit News argues that, at least for now, it does not: We disagree with Romney on a point vital to Michigan — his opposition to the bailout of the domestic automobile industry. Romney advocated for a more traditional bankruptcy process, while we believe the [...]
The current narrative of the presidential campaign revolves around Mitt Romney’s embarrassing weakness, and the question of what panicked GOP elders will do if Rick Santorum, whose electability they question, appears headed for the nomination. In a strange fashion that only makes sense in presidential politics, this has become a useful place for Romney to [...]
Rick Santorum’s victories on Feb. 7 kicked off a month-long trial period, which will be capped by Super Tuesday on March 6, to convince Republican voters that he is not only the best conservative alternative to Mitt Romney, but also a viable general-election candidate. Midway through Santorum’s moment, it’s tough to tell if he’s thriving [...]
All politics is local, said Tip O’ Neill, the former Democratic Speaker of the House from Massachusetts. For years the adage shaped the tactics of campaigns, nudging candidates to tailor their rhetoric and platforms to the specific concerns of the constituents they hoped to represent. But it’s no longer true,
