Modern presidential primary debates tend to be silly, shallow, gimmicky and ultimately not very useful in judging how the candidates would perform in the oval office. But they can also change the course of the campaign. The …
2012 Election
In Newly Unveiled Economic Agenda, the Romney Brand Distilled
Mitt Romney’s second presidential run has largely focused on a single theme: Barack Obama has bungled the economy, and I’m the guy who can fix it. Romney points to his business and management expertise, honed in the boardrooms of …
Ron Paul Goes After Rick Perry
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In a new ad released on Tuesday, Ron Paul hammers fellow Texan and Republican presidential rival Rick Perry, calling Perry’s conservative credentials into doubt by juxtaposing the candidates’ past political allegiances.
Diversity in the U.S.: Americans Getting Along, but Divisions Remain
In a report called “What It Means To Be American,” two think tanks surveyed Americans on their attitudes toward their fellow citizens. While the results suggest that people embrace the idea of diversity, they also show a country that is sensitive to religious and ethnic divisions—particularly when beliefs are broken down along party lines.
Barack Obama’s Polling Keeps Getting Worse
Things keep getting worse. Not just for the country, which has endured unrelenting cycles of bad news for a decade now, but for President Obama, whose entire presidency has been defined by negative forces, most of which are beyond his control. A look at the new polls that greet Obama Tuesday morning, and this is the only conclusion to …
Rick Santorum vs. the APA
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Speaking to a group of Penn State students, including members of the College Republicans, on Wednesday, the night before his interview with CNN’s Piers Morgan aired, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum boiled with outrage over Morgan’s assertion that his attitude on …
For GOP Hopefuls, Labor Day Weekend Marks Start of 2012 Sprint
After a spring of embarrassing ephemera (remember Donald Trump’s painful presidential flirtation/publicity tour?) and a summer of high-octane campaign kickoffs (Michele Bachmann, Jon Huntsman) that haven’t sustained much …
In His Administration’s Own Economic Outlook, Signs of Obama’s Grim Re-Election Prospects
Michael Scherer’s story in our new issue offers a great window into the Obama White House’s plans for taking back the initiative this fall after a fairly dismal summer. Michael shared part of his reporting online with this item on the solace the Obama team is taking from the historical examples of Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, …
A Tea Party Champion Faces Political Reality in New Hampshire
Back in January, Tea Partying businessman Jack Kimball sprang an upset in New Hampshire, toppling an establishment-backed Republican to become the chair of the Granite State’s GOP. Kimball, 64, had a paper-thin political resume headlined by a losing bid for governor. But his purist politics won him fans within the state’s burgeoning Tea …
Romney’s Best Hope for Wounding Perry
The punditocracy has achieved consensus: given the latest crop of national horse-race polls, Mitt Romney can no longer hope to claim the Republican presidential nomination by default; he has no choice but to knock off Rick Perry. There’s just no real consensus on how exactly he should do it.
A few of the current ideas and their …
Romney=Kerry; Perry=Dean?
In my print column this week, hidden behind the magic wonderwall, I indulge in a little presidential campaign history: Four years ago, in September 2007, John McCain–the eventual Republican nominee–was dead in the water, having raised and wasted a ton of money and fired most of his staff. Eight years ago, John Kerry–the eventual …
Can Jon Huntsman’s Jobs Plan Resurrect His Campaign?
Jon Huntsman is mired in the cellar of presidential primary polls and battling the perception that his brand of conservatism may be better suited for a bygone era. His campaign needs a jolt of energy, and he’s hoping that the economic agenda he outlined during a Wednesday speech at a Hudson, N.H., manufacturing company will provide …
Why Social Conservatives Met With Rick Perry Last Weekend
Back in May and before Rick Perry was considering a presidential run, a group of social conservative leaders approached the Lone Star governor. “One of our people wanted to take a look at him,” says Rapid City, S.D., furniture-store owner and conservative organizer Bob Fischer. “Perry became anxious to meet with us, the conservatives …