Nicholas Kristof, New York Times
IN this year’s campaign furor over a supposed “war on women,” involving birth control and abortion, the assumption is that the audience worrying about these issues is just women. Nicholas D. Kristof Nicholas Kristof addresses reader feedback and posts short takes from his travels.
Give us a little credit. We men aren’t mercenaries caring only for Y chromosomes. We have wives and daughters, mothers and sisters, and we have a pretty intimate stake in contraception as well.
This isn’t like a tampon...
Michael Moore: Says during George W. Bush’s administration "we were losing millions of jobs per month," while under Barack Obama we have "three years of gaining hundreds of thousands of jobs per month."
On November - 2 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
The Truth-o-Meter says: False | Michael Moore said U.S. lost millions of jobs per month under Bush
On the day of the final release of jobs numbers before the presidential election, liberal filmmaker Michael Moore tweeted a comparison of how the job market has fared under President Barack Obama and his predecessor, President George W. Bush. "Under Bush we were LOSING MILLIONS of jobs per month; under Obama we have 3 yrs of gaining hundreds of thousands of jobs per mo," Moore tweeted to his 1.2 million followers. Were Moore’s figures correct? No -- in fact, Moore conceded so himself when he sent a corrected tweet about five ...
>> MoreRomney’s Victory Message
On November - 2 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Ken Khachigian, Politico
Mitt Romney’s path to victory rests on his ability to use these final hours to make the case that four years has been more than enough time for President Obama to succeed in repairing the nation’s economy. No other core message will resonate as effectively. Combined with passionately expressed pledges of real change and national renewal, Governor Romney can win.
Mitt Romney’s path to victory rests on his ability to use these final hours to make the case that four years has been more than enough time for President Obama to succeed in repairing the nation’s economy. No other core message will resonate as effectively. Combined with passionately expressed pledges of real change and national renewal, Governor Romney can win.
Mitt Romney’s Kamikaze Strategy
On November - 2 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Greg Sargent, Washington Post
There's been quite a bit of consternation among reporters lately about Mitt Romney’s refusal to answer their questions. And rightly so. But let’s be clear on why Romney is refusing to engage reporters. If he did, he’d face questions about the mounting instances of dishonesty his campaign has resorted to in the final stretch — potentially tripping him up and placing all the dissembling into even sharper relief.In the race’s final days, Romney has adopted what you might call a Kamikaze strategy. His campaign is cranking out a startling...
There's been quite a bit of consternation among reporters lately about Mitt Romney’s refusal to answer their questions. And rightly so. But let’s be clear on why Romney is refusing to engage reporters. If he did, he’d face questions about the mounting instances of dishonesty his campaign has resorted to in the final stretch — potentially tripping him up and placing all the dissembling into even sharper relief.In the race’s final days, Romney has adopted what you might call a Kamikaze strategy. His campaign is cranking out a startling...
Why Obama Must Be Re-elected
On November - 2 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
E.J. Dionne, Time
Waiting in line for two-and-a-half hours is rarely an exciting experience. But when my son and I voted early - he for the first time - at a community center in Rockville, Md., both of us were inspired by the hundreds of other people intent on exercising democracy’s most basic right.In our deep blue county, this was largely an Obama crowd, crossing the boundaries of race, class and age. It was white, African American and Latino, young, middle-aged and old. These citizens eager to lift their voices reminded us that in this campaign, one coalition includes almost every kind of...
Waiting in line for two-and-a-half hours is rarely an exciting experience. But when my son and I voted early - he for the first time - at a community center in Rockville, Md., both of us were inspired by the hundreds of other people intent on exercising democracy’s most basic right.In our deep blue county, this was largely an Obama crowd, crossing the boundaries of race, class and age. It was white, African American and Latino, young, middle-aged and old. These citizens eager to lift their voices reminded us that in this campaign, one coalition includes almost every kind of...
Mitt’s Pennsylvania Play: Strength or Weakness?
On November - 2 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Jeremy Peters, NYT
First there was quiet. Then came the “super PACs.” Now the candidate is on his way. In a striking last-minute shift, the Romney campaign has decided to invest its most precious resource — the candidate’s time — in a serious play to win Pennsylvania.Mr. Romney’s appearance here on Sunday could be a crafty political move to seriously undercut President Obama, or it could be a sign of desperation. Either way, his visit represents the biggest jolt yet in a state that was until recently largely ignored in the race for the White House.
First there was quiet. Then came the “super PACs.” Now the candidate is on his way. In a striking last-minute shift, the Romney campaign has decided to invest its most precious resource — the candidate’s time — in a serious play to win Pennsylvania.Mr. Romney’s appearance here on Sunday could be a crafty political move to seriously undercut President Obama, or it could be a sign of desperation. Either way, his visit represents the biggest jolt yet in a state that was until recently largely ignored in the race for the White House.
Axelrod, Messina Are (Still) Confident
On November - 1 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Mark Halperin, Time
Much like their Monday media call, Chicago’s top pair remained staunch in their belief the President will prevail on Election Day.Listen to their 27-minute call with Q&A here, including a breakdown of new battleground state polling, an explanation of their TV ad buys in Michigan, Minnesota and Pennsylvania, plus discussions of mustaches, Doug Flutie and more.
Much like their Monday media call, Chicago’s top pair remained staunch in their belief the President will prevail on Election Day.Listen to their 27-minute call with Q&A here, including a breakdown of new battleground state polling, an explanation of their TV ad buys in Michigan, Minnesota and Pennsylvania, plus discussions of mustaches, Doug Flutie and more.
The Turnout Game: Which Base Wants It More
On November - 1 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Josh Jordan, NRO
It’s the most overused cliché in election politics: It’ll all come down to turnout. A declaration made so often that it feels like it’s lost all meaning. I hate saying it. I hated typing it just now. The aphorism was true in 2008, too, but the difference this year is that at the moment Mitt Romney is in a much better position than John McCain four years ago.There are nine current national polls out — Romney leads in five of them, they are tied in one, and Obama leads in the other three. If you look at the following picture of...
It’s the most overused cliché in election politics: It’ll all come down to turnout. A declaration made so often that it feels like it’s lost all meaning. I hate saying it. I hated typing it just now. The aphorism was true in 2008, too, but the difference this year is that at the moment Mitt Romney is in a much better position than John McCain four years ago.There are nine current national polls out — Romney leads in five of them, they are tied in one, and Obama leads in the other three. If you look at the following picture of...
Romney’s Edge With Independents May Be Difference
On November - 1 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Hillary Chabot, BH
Mitt Romney’s campaign gurus insist they are cutting into President Obama’s swing-state advantage and carving a path to the 270 electoral college votes they’ll needed to win the White House by targeting independents — and they pointed to new polls yesterday showing gains in Ohio, Virginia and Florida as proof that their election plan is working.“The race is going to come down to independents, and that’s a group that Mitt has done well with,” said Romney pollster Neil Newhouse. “It’s simply cold, hard...
Mitt Romney’s campaign gurus insist they are cutting into President Obama’s swing-state advantage and carving a path to the 270 electoral college votes they’ll needed to win the White House by targeting independents — and they pointed to new polls yesterday showing gains in Ohio, Virginia and Florida as proof that their election plan is working.“The race is going to come down to independents, and that’s a group that Mitt has done well with,” said Romney pollster Neil Newhouse. “It’s simply cold, hard...
Barack Obama: Says "Mitt Romney’s plan rolls back regulations" on banks.
On October - 31 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
The Truth-o-Meter says: Mostly True | Barack Obama says Mitt Romney would roll back banking regulations
In the final days before the election, the Obama campaign has put up an ad that is a sort of Cliff Notes for voters before they walk into the voting booth. It lists many of the points Obama has used against Mitt Romney throughout this contest. It warns about the future of Medicare, support for education, tax breaks for the wealthiest, and banking regulation. On that last point, it says, "Mitt Romney’s plan rolls back regulations on the banks that crashed our economy." This fact-check examines that claim and tries to ...
>> MoreCBS/NYT/Quinnipiac Survey Narnia, Find Obama Up
On October - 31 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Keith Backer, BW
We’re six days out from the finish line so there’s not much time left for the press to get in their final push for their preferred candidate. Lucky for the Left there is the wonderfully incompetent trio of CBS/New York Times/Quinnipiac to rush into the fray and magically find polls with Obama winning just close enough that when it flips on election day they can shout “Margin of Error!” and head back into their cocoon.The economy remains the paramount issue in this election with ~50% saying it is the top priority and ~20% saying it is the #2 priority...
We’re six days out from the finish line so there’s not much time left for the press to get in their final push for their preferred candidate. Lucky for the Left there is the wonderfully incompetent trio of CBS/New York Times/Quinnipiac to rush into the fray and magically find polls with Obama winning just close enough that when it flips on election day they can shout “Margin of Error!” and head back into their cocoon.The economy remains the paramount issue in this election with ~50% saying it is the top priority and ~20% saying it is the #2 priority...
Swing State Polls Break for the President
On October - 31 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Joan Walsh, Salon
Weirdly, Mitt Romney was counting on a “wave” of anti-Obama voters to carry him to victory Nov. 6. But the waves have all gone President Obama’s way, and I’m not making a tasteless Sandy joke. With reliable polls in Ohio and Wisconsin Wednesday showing Obama with solid leads there, Romney has almost no path to victory on Tuesday. Polls today also showed him holding smaller leads in the swing states of Virginia, Florida and Nevada, and tied in North Carolina.It’s still theoretically possible that lingering post-Sandy problems – and...
Weirdly, Mitt Romney was counting on a “wave” of anti-Obama voters to carry him to victory Nov. 6. But the waves have all gone President Obama’s way, and I’m not making a tasteless Sandy joke. With reliable polls in Ohio and Wisconsin Wednesday showing Obama with solid leads there, Romney has almost no path to victory on Tuesday. Polls today also showed him holding smaller leads in the swing states of Virginia, Florida and Nevada, and tied in North Carolina.It’s still theoretically possible that lingering post-Sandy problems – and...
Democratic Desperation: Back to Bain-Baiting
On October - 31 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Ed Morrissey, Hot Air
To quote my esteemed co-blogger Allahpundit: It comes to this. With their electoral strategy in ruins, with everyone laughing at Barack Obama’s attempt to float a last-minute version of a second-term agenda, Democrats will reach back and makes the only pitch they know for the final closing argument.Did you know that Mitt Romney is riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiich?For the final days of the 2012 campaign, the Democratic groups pummeling Mitt Romney on television have returned to the weapon they started with last spring: Bain Capital.
To quote my esteemed co-blogger Allahpundit: It comes to this. With their electoral strategy in ruins, with everyone laughing at Barack Obama’s attempt to float a last-minute version of a second-term agenda, Democrats will reach back and makes the only pitch they know for the final closing argument.Did you know that Mitt Romney is riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiich?For the final days of the 2012 campaign, the Democratic groups pummeling Mitt Romney on television have returned to the weapon they started with last spring: Bain Capital.
McConnell & Boehner’s Strategy Worked
On October - 30 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Ezra Klein, Washington Post
Okay, that’s not quite how they put it. But it’s precisely what they show. In endorsement after endorsement, the basic argument is that President Obama hasn’t been able to persuade House or Senate Republicans to work with him. If Obama is reelected, it’s a safe bet that they’ll continue to refuse to work with him. So vote Romney!That’s not even a slight exaggeration. Take the Des Moines Register, Iowa’s largest and most influential paper. They endorsed Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996, Al Gore in 2000, John Kerry in 2004, and...
Okay, that’s not quite how they put it. But it’s precisely what they show. In endorsement after endorsement, the basic argument is that President Obama hasn’t been able to persuade House or Senate Republicans to work with him. If Obama is reelected, it’s a safe bet that they’ll continue to refuse to work with him. So vote Romney!That’s not even a slight exaggeration. Take the Des Moines Register, Iowa’s largest and most influential paper. They endorsed Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996, Al Gore in 2000, John Kerry in 2004, and...
Barack Obama: "There are millions of women all across the country who rely on Planned Parenthood for not just contraceptive care; they rely on it for mammograms."
On October - 30 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
The Truth-o-Meter says: Half-True | Barack Obama, critics clash on whether Planned Parenthood provides mammograms
In recent weeks, President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have sparred over Romney’s promise to eliminate federal funding for Planned Parenthood. Romney has made his pledge several times, most recently in speaking to reporters in Ohio in mid-October, when he said, "I think I’ve said time and again that I’m a pro-life candidate and I’ll be a pro-life president. The actions I’ll take immediately is to remove funding for Planned Parenthood. It will not be part of my budget." On several occasions, Obama has countered that doing so would hamper women’s health ...
>> MoreAnyone Who Claims to Know Winner is Blowing Smoke
On October - 30 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Joe Klein, Time
We’re a week away from the election. I’m in the doldrums, stuck in a Washington hotel while a storm called “Sandy” pummels Bruce Springsteen’s beloved Jersey Shore. I tried to spend a day out with the President and Bill Clinton, but my shirt got caught. We went to Florida last night and the storm kept us spinning right back to DC this morning. Over the past week, everyone’s been asking me who’s going to win. Beats me. I really don’t know. The polls seem stalled, hilariously inconclusive. The race is...
We’re a week away from the election. I’m in the doldrums, stuck in a Washington hotel while a storm called “Sandy” pummels Bruce Springsteen’s beloved Jersey Shore. I tried to spend a day out with the President and Bill Clinton, but my shirt got caught. We went to Florida last night and the storm kept us spinning right back to DC this morning. Over the past week, everyone’s been asking me who’s going to win. Beats me. I really don’t know. The polls seem stalled, hilariously inconclusive. The race is...
Barack Obama: Says Mitt Romney’s plan makes "catastrophic cuts to education."
On October - 30 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
The Truth-o-Meter says: Half-True | Obama ad says Romney will make ‘catastrophic cuts to education’
With Election Day approaching, a new ad from Barack Obama implores voters to remember, in the solitude of the voting booth, what Mitt Romney plans for the country. "In here, it’s just you," a narrators says against an image of a man voting. "No ads, no debates, just you. "So think about this: Mitt Romney’s plan rolls back regulations on the banks that crashed our economy. Medicare: voucherized. Catastrophic cuts to education. Millionaires will get one of the largest tax cuts ever, while middle class families pay more. "That’s ...
>> More"Moderate Mitt" and His Mendacity
On October - 30 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Ed Kilgore, Washington Monthly
Speaking of Moderate Mitt and his mendacity, a lot of folk are gazing in awe today at the latest David Brooks column, which, predictably, offers the American Beauty Rose of twisted rationales for electing Romney. Kevin Drum looks at it from the angle of rewarding conservative hostage-takers: Shorter David Brooks: congressional Republicans are such implacable assholes that they’ll flatly refuse to support big legislation that’s good for the country as long as Barack Obama is president. But congressional Democrats are more reasonable, so if Mitt...
Speaking of Moderate Mitt and his mendacity, a lot of folk are gazing in awe today at the latest David Brooks column, which, predictably, offers the American Beauty Rose of twisted rationales for electing Romney. Kevin Drum looks at it from the angle of rewarding conservative hostage-takers: Shorter David Brooks: congressional Republicans are such implacable assholes that they’ll flatly refuse to support big legislation that’s good for the country as long as Barack Obama is president. But congressional Democrats are more reasonable, so if Mitt...
Mitt Romney: Says Barack Obama "sold Chrysler to Italians who are going to build Jeeps in China" at the cost of American jobs.
On October - 30 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
The Truth-o-Meter says: Pants on Fire! | Mitt Romney says Obama's Chrysler deal undermined U.S. workers
With Ohio’s 18 electoral votes very much in play, the Mitt Romney campaign aims to blunt one of Barack Obama’s key advantages in that state -- his rescue of the auto industry. The carmakers account for about one out of eight jobs there, and many Ohio assembly line workers are backing Obama for a second term. The Romney campaign has produced a controversial ad that argues Romney would be better for the auto industry than Obama. In the ad, an announcer says, "Obama took GM and Chrysler into bankruptcy and sold Chrysler to Italians ...
>> MoreTeam Obama to Press: We’re Going to Win
On October - 29 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Reid Epstein, Politico
President Obama’s top aides told reporters in no uncertain terms Monday that they are winning the campaign and are tied or ahead in all the swing states."I don’t want to be ambiguous about this at all, We're winning this race,” senior adviser David Axelrod said on a conference call Monday morning. “I say that not on the basis of some mystical faith in a wave that’s going to come or some hidden vote. We base it on cold, hard data based on who has voted so far and on state by state polling. So we just, you’re going to get...
President Obama’s top aides told reporters in no uncertain terms Monday that they are winning the campaign and are tied or ahead in all the swing states."I don’t want to be ambiguous about this at all, We're winning this race,” senior adviser David Axelrod said on a conference call Monday morning. “I say that not on the basis of some mystical faith in a wave that’s going to come or some hidden vote. We base it on cold, hard data based on who has voted so far and on state by state polling. So we just, you’re going to get...
The Obama Ground Game Myth
On October - 29 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Jonathan Tobin, Commentary
In the last week, there have been two consistent themes being sounded by the Democrats. One is the assertion that Mitt Romney’s momentum has been halted and even reversed. The other is that their ground game is so good that the president is bound to win the election no matter what the polls say. These two talking points are closely related, since the polls that liberal analysts cite in order to assert that the president is edging back into the lead are based on assumptions about the composition of the electorate that are only possible if the Democrats match or even exceed the...
In the last week, there have been two consistent themes being sounded by the Democrats. One is the assertion that Mitt Romney’s momentum has been halted and even reversed. The other is that their ground game is so good that the president is bound to win the election no matter what the polls say. These two talking points are closely related, since the polls that liberal analysts cite in order to assert that the president is edging back into the lead are based on assumptions about the composition of the electorate that are only possible if the Democrats match or even exceed the...
Obama Has a Problem With Independents
On October - 29 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Chris Cillizza, Washington Post
President Obama has a problem with independents. And it’s not a small problem. In the last three releases of the tracking poll conducted by The Washington Post and ABC News, Obama has trailed former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney among independent voters by between 16 and 20 percentage points. That’s a striking reversal from 2008, when Obama won independent voters, who made up 29 percent of the electorate, by eight points over Sen. John McCain of Arizona.
President Obama has a problem with independents. And it’s not a small problem. In the last three releases of the tracking poll conducted by The Washington Post and ABC News, Obama has trailed former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney among independent voters by between 16 and 20 percentage points. That’s a striking reversal from 2008, when Obama won independent voters, who made up 29 percent of the electorate, by eight points over Sen. John McCain of Arizona.
Obama’s Endgame: The Great Grind
On October - 28 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Jason Horowitz, Washington Post
“This race is ours to — land,” David Plouffe, the president’s electoral mastermind, said on the spin room floor of Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla.Plouffe’s hesitation before landing on “land” served as a reminder that the word “lose” does not exist in the Obama vocabulary, or, for that matter, in the lexicon of any self-respecting campaign. Likewise, the campaign promoted it’s frenzied No!-Sleep!-till-Cleveland! sweep last week as a swing-state romp FORWARD! to a brighter Obama future and...
“This race is ours to — land,” David Plouffe, the president’s electoral mastermind, said on the spin room floor of Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla.Plouffe’s hesitation before landing on “land” served as a reminder that the word “lose” does not exist in the Obama vocabulary, or, for that matter, in the lexicon of any self-respecting campaign. Likewise, the campaign promoted it’s frenzied No!-Sleep!-till-Cleveland! sweep last week as a swing-state romp FORWARD! to a brighter Obama future and...
President Obama Has Earned a Second Term
On October - 27 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
New York Times
The economy is slowly recovering from the 2008 meltdown, and the country could suffer another recession if the wrong policies take hold. The United States is embroiled in unstable regions that could easily explode into full-blown disaster. An ideological assault from the right has started to undermine the vital health reform law passed in 2010. Those forces are eroding women’s access to health care, and their right to control their lives. Nearly 50 years after passage of the Civil Rights Act, all Americans’ rights are cheapened by the right wing’s determination...
The economy is slowly recovering from the 2008 meltdown, and the country could suffer another recession if the wrong policies take hold. The United States is embroiled in unstable regions that could easily explode into full-blown disaster. An ideological assault from the right has started to undermine the vital health reform law passed in 2010. Those forces are eroding women’s access to health care, and their right to control their lives. Nearly 50 years after passage of the Civil Rights Act, all Americans’ rights are cheapened by the right wing’s determination...
