The Washington Post has a poll out today that shows Mitt Romney trailing Barack Obama by significant numbers in the overall electorate, and especially among women. Such polls mean little at this stage of the race. (Bill Clinton was running 3rd, behind Ross Perot, in the spring of 1992–and given his lounge-singer proclivities, was also …
2012 Election
The ‘Buffett Rule’ Returns: Why President Obama Wants to Talk to You About Your Taxes
There’s someone who urgently needs to talk to you about your taxes this week, and it’s not your panicked procrastinating CPA. President Obama wants you to know what your tax rate is. He wants you to know what the tax rates are …
America’s Partisan Dystopias
As Adam notes below, Steve Law, the head of American Crossroads–the political action committee preparing to blast Barack Obama with tens of millions in attack ads this year–warns that the Obama campaign is peddling a “dystopian vision” of the future, namely that ordinary Americans should feel “the rules of the game are stacked against …
Is Obama Really Winning the Economic Blame Game?
In the Monday, April 9, New York Times piece on American Crossroads’ plans to provide heavy air support for Mitt Romney while he resupplies for the general election, the super PAC’s president, Steven J. Law, makes an unusual statement:
Mr. Law said Crossroads research suggests that Mr. Obama’s campaign has started to gain traction
…
Why Romney Thinks He Can Win an ‘Out of Touch’ Fight with Obama
As he turned his sights toward Barack Obama last week, Mitt Romney attempted that most audacious form of political jujitsu: attacking your opponent over an issue on which you yourself are weak. For months, Romney has been …
Obama Presses His Edge with Women
“Women are not an interest group. You should not be treated that way,” Barack Obama said on Friday morning. It was an admirable sentiment, but the statement was disingenuous on its face. Women are an interest group, and will be …
Why Romney Won and How He’s Navigating the Center
A couple of writers objected to the same sentence in my review of Mike Allen and Evan Thomas’ e-book “Inside the Circus.” The book, I argued, “captures the zeitgeist of what has been, for Republicans, a horribly depressing …
Why Marco Rubio’s Vice-Presidential Stock Is Overvalued
Now that Mitt Romney has, in an important psychological sense, clinched the Republican nomination, the conversation is turning to the question of his running mate. And everyone seems to agree that Florida Senator Marco Rubio is a …
Santorum Ponders the Path Forward
Mark Halperin scoops that Rick Santorum is meeting today in northern Virginia with conservative leaders to discuss the road ahead. Halperin quotes a Santorum source pushing back against mounting speculation, driven partly by the …
Latest Column
My print column this week is about the wounds Mitt Romney has suffered in the course of winning the Republican nomination and guess what? You don’t have to be a TIME subscriber to read it anymore. But there’s all sorts of good stuff in the magazine that remains behind the paywall. Those who want to be particularly well-informed will …
Three-State Sweep Yet Another Sign of a Romney Rally
As expected, Mitt Romney pulled off a three-state sweep on Tuesday night. As expected, pundits straining to inflate the evening’s drama cast the trifecta as a turning point in the Republican primary race. This is a bit like …
The Psychology of Obama’s Income Distribution Appeal
Today, President Obama gave a speech bashing Republicans’ Paul Ryan budget, which would balance the federal books over 20 years by deeply cutting discretionary spending and rejiggering federal entitlements to shift rising health …
Inside the Circus: Politico E-Book Plumbs the Depths of Primary Backstabbing
For the 2012 election, the journalists Mike Allen and Evan Thomas are attempting the neat trick of chronicling the history of the campaign as a real-time serial. Their second installment on the Republican race, “Inside the Circus,” is a dishy account that tries to enliven the campaign’s well-worn themes — Mitt Romney is rich, his rivals …