One of Mitt Romney’s challenges in running for President, both in 2008 and this cycle, is that he’s not exactly the most relatable guy. He’s fabulously wealthy, belongs to a religion that less than 2% of Americans share and is essentially selling himself as a technocratic captain of industry, not a share-your-beer-and-your-pain regular …
Interviews
Q&A: Bill Clinton’s Vision for ‘A Smart Government and a Strong Economy’
Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States, spoke with TIME’s Rick Stengel about his new book, Back to Work, and how to fix the economy. Excerpts from that conversation follow.
Q&A: Hillary Clinton on Libya, China, the Middle East and Barack Obama
TIME Managing Editor Richard Stengel accompanied Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on her recent trip to Libya, Oman, Afghanistan and Pakistan. On Oct. 19, in the course of reporting for TIME’s cover story, which is now …
Q&A: Education Secretary Arne Duncan Talks State Aid and No Child Left Behind
The Senate voted down a piece of President Obama’s jobs bill Thursday night that would have provided $35 billion in aid to states to prevent government layoffs and increase hiring. The Department of Education says the measure …
Q&A: Bob Vander Plaats, Iowa’s Social Conservative Kingmaker
Pleasant Hill, Iowa
Bob Vander Plaats is a 48-year-old former high-school principal, three-time failed candidate for Iowa’s governorship and the head of a Des Moines-area Christian conservative advocacy group called the FAMiLY …
Rick Perry Exclusive: The GOP’s Fiery Front-Runner
The hard-charging governor commands a Texas-sized lead in the polls. In an interview with TIME’s Richard Stengel and Mark Halperin, Perry defends his controversial résumé and explains why Americans aren't looking for …
Maxine Waters Wants Blacks Back In The Conversation
While Barack Obama toured rural parts of the Midwest this week, the Congressional Black Caucus drew thousands of people to job fairs in Detroit and Atlanta. Driving the turnout was a sobering fact: The unemployment rate among …
Q&A: Paul Ryan on the Debt Ceiling Debate and Medicare
On Tuesday, as congressional leaders and President Obama fought a public battle over cutting spending and increasing revenue, Rep. Paul Ryan was elsewhere, leading a discussion over an issue that just happens to be at the center …
Q&A: Mitch McConnell Explains How to Get a ‘Really Big Deal’ on the Debt Ceiling
One day after Congress rejected a $2.4 trillion increase of the federal borrowing limit without preconditional spending cuts, House Republicans are visiting the White House on Wednesday to negotiate directly with President Obama …
Q&A: The White House Economic Team’s Departing Lefty
Jared Bernstein, the most prominent Manhattan School of Music alumnus on the White House economic team, has left his job as Vice President Biden’s chief economist. He was the most liberal member of the team, so it’s no …
Q&A: Jon Huntsman
TIME talked to former ambassador to China and Republican presidential hopeful Jon Huntsman for a profile running in the May 23, 2011, issue of the magazine. Lightly edited excerpts from three separate interviews with Huntsman follow:
Q&A: Tea Partying Former CEO Herman Cain
Sitting in his Atlanta office over looking a golf course, Herman Cain contemplates what life could have been. “My plan was to be on cruise control at this particular point in my life,” the 65-year-old former Godfather’s Pizza CEO says. Cain retired from the corporate world 15 years ago. Since, he’s served on a few boards – …
Q&A: Americans for Tax Reform’s Grover Norquist
Since founding Americans for Tax Reform in the 1980s, Grover Norquist has become one of the conservative movement’s most influential figures. Each Wednesday, Norquist, 54, draws an eclectic mix of center-right activists to his …