Generally speaking, it takes a political junkie to get excited about a vice-presidential debate. Sure, showdowns between candidates can be interesting, and occasionally they become truly significant after the fact if some …
Mitt Romney delivered a “major” speech on foreign policy on Monday, although that designation of import comes from Romney’s own campaign, and hardly seems warranted. Romney added little to his previous positions–most of them …
When Barack Obama met John McCain in their first debate, on Sept. 26, 2008, Obama promised to free the U.S. from dependence on Middle East oil within a decade. He said he would “deal with” Pakistan to force more action against …
There’s been ample talk this month about how Mitt Romney might “shake up” or “turn around” his campaign. A lot of it involves things like bringing in new strategists, tweaking the campaign’s message or maybe “unleashing” Paul …
As Mitt Romney‘s campaign tries to regain control of its message and allay growing conservative doubts about whether he can beat Barack Obama, Republican super PACs are watching carefully and gauging how they can best steer their …
A few days ago, Mitt Romney’s advisers promised to kick off a new phase of their campaign. This one would be built around policy specifics, supposedly evidenced by a new ad campaign that includes rather non-specific pledges to …
For a good long while, Mitt Romney was the luckiest man in politics. He joined the 2012 race as the default Republican front runner after more-formidable challengers chose not to run. His declared rivals were at turns ineffectual …
It’s hard to know, amid the chaos and confusion, just what is driving the anti-American demonstrations around the Arab world. Perhaps a ridiculous and amateurish movie about the Prophet Muhammad really is to blame; the White House …
Until now, the Arab Spring has felt like a wash in domestic political terms. Conservatives have charged Obama with “losing” Egypt to the Islamists after mishandling the region’s politics. Just last month, Mitt Romney complained …
Here comes the flood. The Obama and Romney campaigns, and their allied super PACs, are on course to spend more than $1 billion on television advertising in 2012. But only about half that money has already been spent. In my new magazine story, now available online to subscribers, I look at the campaign ad wars filling this three-week …
Looking back at the conventions, it’s hard to avoid a fairly damning truth: they were dishonest. I’m not talking about those “pants on fire” fact checkers everyone’s arguing about. I’m talking about the grand narratives the …
Buried amid Bill Clinton’s rhetorical smorgasbord on Wednesday night was a short but fascinating passage about Medicaid, the federal entitlement program for the poor and disabled. Here’s what Clinton said:
Now, folks, this is
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With two nights of the Democratic National Convention down, it’s safe to draw a clear comparison between Charlotte and Tampa. At last week’s Republican affair, you had the sense of fingers crossed in the hope that the big …
