“I am so ready for the Colbert Bump,” Jon Huntsman said Monday night, at the end of his awkward appearance on Comedy Central, which had involved several jokes comparing the nation of China to local Chinese takeout. “You may …
2012 Election
Is Romney Poised to Make a Multi-Million Dollar Gamble on Iowa?
Last week, on his first visit to Iowa since August, Mitt Romney vowed to make up for lost time. “I’ll be here again and again,” he promised, alluding to the final sprint to the state’s pivotal caucuses. “I’d love to win in Iowa. …
In Perry’s Flat Tax Debut, No Indictment of D.C.’s Lobbying Culture
Most flat tax proposals have a lot of fiscal and political problems, but as Fareed Zarakia argues in our new issue, they do have certain theoretical virtues. One of them is the elimination of tax loopholes, whose creation and …
Rick Perry’s Flat Tax Curveball
Texas Governor Rick Perry’s tax plan curves hard to the right, but will GOP front runner-Mitt Romney swing at the pitch?
Perry’s plan, introduced Tuesday in a Wall Street Journal op-ed and followed by a speech in South …
The Cain Campaign: Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhm-22Q0PuM]
Wait for it. And then read James Poniewozik’s take on what’s going on.
Rick Perry Reshuffles Staff, but the Heart of His Campaign Remains the Same
Texas Governor Rick Perry’s troubled campaign announced on Monday that it would be adding staff, including veteran national GOP strategists Nelson Warfield, Curt Anderson and Tony Fabrizio. But Perry’s campaign in Austin was …
Newton’s Laws: The Phantom Gingrich Comeback
I realize that it seems every candidate in the Republican 2012 field gets an Andy Warhol-esque fifteen minutes of glory. But color me skeptical about the notion of a Newt Gingrich surge. This National Review story, pegged to some slight fundraising and poll progress by the former House Speaker, leaves me thoroughly unconvinced that Newt …
Battle of the Book Tours
In what’s surely one of the greatest victories struck for American democracy since Cornwallis surrendered to Washington, Newt Gingrich and Herman Cain will (finally) debate one-on-one:
“We initially wanted a forum with all of the candidates,” O’Sullivan says. “But when we heard Gingrich say he wanted a more serious debate, like
…
Romney’s Inner Circle Builds a Leaner, Meaner Campaign
When Mitt Romney jousted with Rick Perry at last week’s Republican debate, the skirmish was striking not just for its apparent acrimony, but because it was one of the few moments during his second campaign for President that …
The Mystery of the Missing Presidential Campaign: Cain Operation MIA in Key States
In early October, as Herman Cain caught fire in national polls and began to climb into the first tier of the Republican presidential race, the ex-CEO turned insurgent candidate puzzled political observers by diverting his …
In Jumping to Rubio’s Defense, Romney Exacerbates the Origin Story Uproar
Yesterday I posted a commentary in this space on what I believe was liberal hypocrisy in the wake of last Thursday’s Washington Post article on conservative U.S. Senator Marco Rubio. But today, in fairness, I think former Massachusetts Governor and leading Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney should be called to question for …
Birtherism Redux: The Right and the Left Overreach On Marco Rubio’s Origins
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio got it from both sides this past week. First it was the birthers, who it turns out are equal opportunity delusionals. The nativist activists, who’ve misspent every waking hour since November 2008 …
New Hampshire Staff Exodus Augurs End Times for Bachmann Campaign
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 …