Speechwriters spanning the Nixon era to the Clinton agree that presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney is not the guy you call if you want tears brought to your audience’s eyes. This is man, after all, who started a speech in Ohio this week with the line, “Now, as you can tell, we’re in a factory.” Barack Obama meanwhile has …
2012 Election
Scandal vs. Scandal: Obama Might Be Glad the Secret Service Is Overshadowing the GSA
For the past week or so, the news media have hyped two government scandals with very different implications. The first is the revelation that some workers at the General Services Administration (GSA) have found a way to turn …
Handicapping the Veepstakes: Could Romney Look to Mitch Daniels?
Part 3 in our ongoing series. Also see our analyses of Marco Rubio and Rob Portman.
The candidate: Mitch Daniels, Governor of Indiana
The bio: The wonky two-term governor has an impeccable pedigree, having served high-level …
Obama Campaign Cribs TIME’s ‘Yo Decido’ Cover
One of the latest offerings of the Obama Campaign’s swag store quotes, um, liberally from the cover line of my recent TIME story on the Latino vote. The shirt costs $30, and is part of a larger collection of newly released Latino– and Hispanic-themed merchandise. (You can get the original cover print from TIME for $19.95, which makes …
When Everyone’s an Expert: How Romney Might Deal with the Flood of Campaign Advice
Handicapping the Veepstakes: Is Rob Portman the Answer to Republicans’ Palin Problem?
Part 2 in our ongoing series. You can read about Marco Rubio’s prospects here.
The candidate: Rob Portman, U.S. Senator from Ohio
The bio: Portman’s resume is illustrious and lengthy: Dartmouth and Michigan Law, followed by …
Romney’s Radical Position on Afghanistan
In its story today about Mitt Romney’s rather opaque views about Afghanistan, the New York Times mentions, almost in passing, something important that has drawn strangely little attention: Romney opposes talking to the …
Handicapping the Veepstakes: The Case For (and Against) Marco Rubio
Having fended off his rivals to capture the Republican presidential nomination, Mitt Romney now faces one of the critical moments of his candidacy: the selection of a running mate. Once a bureaucratic backwater, the role of the …
ALEC Scraps Gun-Law, Voter-ID Task Force
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a Washington nonprofit that brings together conservative lawmakers and corporate representatives to craft state-level legislation, announced on Tuesday it is disbanding its Public …
Secret Service Scandal: When Bureaucrats Behave Badly, Politicians Sense an Opportunity
For President Obama, the allegations that Secret Service agents cavorted with Colombian prostitutes is a nuisance. For assignment editors, it is a golden goose: a salacious scandal involving an elite, clandestine organization, …
Old Photo of Mitt ‘Rainmaker’ Romney Used Pretty Much How You Figured It Would Be
The Obama-backing super PAC Priorities USA Action breaks out this picture from an old Bain Capital brochure to field test its general election munitions:
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Mitt Romney and the Culture of Campaign Caution
Almost exactly four years ago, Barack Obama made one of the worse gaffes of his political career. He told highfalutin donors at a San Francisco fundraiser that “bitter” voters in rural Pennsylvania “cling to guns or religion or …
Why Mitt Romney Should Get Out From Behind the Backyard Fence
Mitt Romney spent Sunday afternoon being spied on by his own press corps, and it was just about the best thing that could have happened to him. At a fundraiser in Palm Beach, Romney stood in a backyard with his wealthy …