Jon Huntsman bowed out of the Republican presidential race on Monday morning and endorsed Mitt Romney, winnowing the GOP field and giving Romney a boost just five days before South Carolina’s pivotal Jan. 21 primary.
2012 Election
After Two Days of Debate, Evangelical Leaders Unite Behind Santorum
A group of 125 evangelical leaders met in Texas this weekend and after eight hours of conversation and a final ballot taken on 3 x 5 cards named Rick Santorum as their preferred GOP candidate. “I will have to admit that what I …
Barbour ‘At Peace’ with Pardons, but Scandal Rages On
Jackson, Mississippi
Former Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour on Friday defended more than 200 pardons he issued during his final days in office, 41 of which he gave to convicted murderers, sex offenders and child molesters.
“Mississippians are mostly Christians,” Barbour said in a lengthy statement, which he read at a Jackson …
Department Consolidation: Obama’s Latest Hopeless Good-Government Project
Somewhere in the bowels of the White House there is an aide whose sole job is to make a list of popular measures President Obama can propose that Congress is guaranteed not to pass this year. To judge by the number of Going-Nowhere Good-Governance suggestions Obama has made recently (remember the Jobs Act?) maybe there’s a whole room …
Stephen Colbert vs. the Supreme Court: Testing the Limits of Super-PAC Coordination
Stephen Colbert is laughing at the U.S. Supreme Court. He started Thursday night on his show, when he transferred control of his super PAC to his mentor, business partner and friend Jon Stewart. Here is the clip:
[vodpod …
The Great Bain Diversion
The great debate about whether Mitt Romney was a vulture capitalist or venture capitalist at Bain Capital is useful and interesting, but not for the reasons many people pretend it is. The country benefits from a frank discussion about the wages of capitalism and what limits, if any, we should place on free markets. But the specifics of …
Why Ron Paul Is Gambling on Nevada
Ron Paul will soon move to Nevada.
Okay, we mean that figuratively. Instead of chasing the other Republican contenders to Florida following the South Carolina primary on Jan. 21, Paul is going west, gambling on a strong showing in the Silver State. His campaign manager, Jesse Benton, says they don’t have the estimated $9 million …
Haley Barbour’s Pardons: Why No One in Mississippi Is in a Forgiving Mood
Jackson, Mississippi
The red, white and blue bunting is still up, whipping in the winter winds on the temporary platform in front of Mississippi’s state capitol. Two days ago, a new governor was sworn in here. But the …
What Ad Spending Says About Each GOP Candidate–and Their Success
Restore Our Future, the super PAC backing Mitt Romney, has spent $8.9 million on the 2012 Republican presidential primary, more money than any other group. Throughout the fall it held its fire, even as Ron Paul pumped money into …
Mormon Perspective and 2012
With Mitt Romney leading the GOP presidential race and traditional Evangelical influence appearing to wane, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is playing an increasingly significant role in the American political …
Weak Tea and Dirty Tricks in South Carolina
Greenville, South Carolina
A few minutes after Rick Santorum had finished addressing a packed wings joint here on Sunday, Bill Gautsch felt that he’d seen the man who can stop Mitt Romney. “He’s the closest thing to Jim DeMint that I’ve seen,” Gautsch said, referring to the state’s junior Republican senator, a hero of the …
Mitt’s Bain
I have a new print column out, which TIME subscribers can find here, about the triumphs and tragedies of Mitt Romney. The triumphs are obvious: he’s won twice now. The tragedies, also obvious: he’s a prohibitively awkward candidate for President. A good part of the awkwardness stems from the core elements of his resume, all of which he …
Romney’s Killer Instinct: How Mitt Is Winning and Why Obama Should Take Note
Mitt Romney has been running his presidential campaign based on a primal instinct: kill or be killed. And so after Rick Santorum fought Romney to a virtual tie in Iowa and arrived in New Hampshire trailed by media hordes, …