Steven Rattner, New York Times
President Obama started his general election campaign by taking aim at Mitt Romney’s job creation record at Bain, setting off a lively debate over the fairness of the attacks.I am among those who have been drawn into the argument — there was even a snippet of me defending private equity in a Romney campaign ad.As a former Obama administration official, I was uncomfortable about being used in a Romney ad in support of his position.
The Emerging Democratic Divide
On May - 23 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Josh Kraushaar, National Journal
Mayor Cory Booker’s off-message criticism of the Obama campaign’s attacks on Mitt Romney’s background at Bain Capital gave the campaign an untimely, unwanted headache this week. But more significantly, it exposed a tension that’s developing between the Democratic Party’s centrist wing and its more-outspoken liberal base—one that threatens to fester more openly if President Obama fails to win a second term.
Mayor Cory Booker’s off-message criticism of the Obama campaign’s attacks on Mitt Romney’s background at Bain Capital gave the campaign an untimely, unwanted headache this week. But more significantly, it exposed a tension that’s developing between the Democratic Party’s centrist wing and its more-outspoken liberal base—one that threatens to fester more openly if President Obama fails to win a second term.
Why Obama’s Doubling Down on Bain Capital
On May - 22 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
John Cassidy, New Yorker
Press conferences following NATO summits aren’t usually associated with significant moments in Presidential campaigns, but the comments that President Obama made in Chicago on Monday afternoon about Mitt Romney and Bain Capital may well prove to be an exception. After weeks of jabbing between the campaigns about cultural issues that will probably play a marginal, if still significant, role in determining the election—gay marriage, abortion, and so on—the President squared up to his rival on what he hopes to make a defining issue in the fall: Romney’s...
Press conferences following NATO summits aren’t usually associated with significant moments in Presidential campaigns, but the comments that President Obama made in Chicago on Monday afternoon about Mitt Romney and Bain Capital may well prove to be an exception. After weeks of jabbing between the campaigns about cultural issues that will probably play a marginal, if still significant, role in determining the election—gay marriage, abortion, and so on—the President squared up to his rival on what he hopes to make a defining issue in the fall: Romney’s...
Obama’s Roots Explain Left-Wing Presidency
On May - 21 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Paul Mirengoff, Power Line
The Washington Post has obsessed over an incident in which Mitt Romney allegedly cut the hair of a fellow high school student. The mainstream media paid plenty of attention to George W. Bush’s “irresponsible youth,” and speculated about whether he had used cocaine. Yet, the MSM has essentially ignored Barack Obama’s admission in his autobiography of cocaine use, of attending Socialist seminars while in college, and of being drawn as a young man to Marxists and Communists.
The Washington Post has obsessed over an incident in which Mitt Romney allegedly cut the hair of a fellow high school student. The mainstream media paid plenty of attention to George W. Bush’s “irresponsible youth,” and speculated about whether he had used cocaine. Yet, the MSM has essentially ignored Barack Obama’s admission in his autobiography of cocaine use, of attending Socialist seminars while in college, and of being drawn as a young man to Marxists and Communists.
Romney Puts Women’s Lives at Risk
On May - 20 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Cecile Richards, The Daily Beast
If you want to see what women’s health care in America will be like if Mitt Romney becomes president, just look at Texas and Arizona.Both states are in the news these past few weeks for trying to prevent women from getting health care at Planned Parenthood. It’s wrong, and it will have devastating consequences for women for years to come—and Mitt Romney wants to do it in all 50 states.
If you want to see what women’s health care in America will be like if Mitt Romney becomes president, just look at Texas and Arizona.Both states are in the news these past few weeks for trying to prevent women from getting health care at Planned Parenthood. It’s wrong, and it will have devastating consequences for women for years to come—and Mitt Romney wants to do it in all 50 states.
Obama’s Oprah Problem
On May - 20 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Lee Habeeb, National Review
She didn’t see it coming. One day, Oprah Winfrey turned around, and her nationally syndicated show was sliding in the ratings, and her audience was fleeing en masse. And it happened soon after a day she thought was one of the best in her life.Isn’t that how all the giants fall? When they least expect it?It was the day Oprah announced she was backing the African-American candidate, then-senator Barack Obama, over the highly qualified and experienced woman candidate, then-senator Hillary Clinton.
She didn’t see it coming. One day, Oprah Winfrey turned around, and her nationally syndicated show was sliding in the ratings, and her audience was fleeing en masse. And it happened soon after a day she thought was one of the best in her life.Isn’t that how all the giants fall? When they least expect it?It was the day Oprah announced she was backing the African-American candidate, then-senator Barack Obama, over the highly qualified and experienced woman candidate, then-senator Hillary Clinton.
Greece and California Face Cruel Reckonings
On May - 20 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Kyle Smith, New York Post
This island off the course of northwest Europe is turning out to be an excellent viewing platform for three blockbuster shows this summer: Queen Elizabeth’s 60th anniversary Jubilee, the London Olympics and the implosion of Europe.The group of countries using the euro as a joint currency is “a burning building with no exits,” says Britain’s foreign minister William Hague. The Europeans with flames lapping around their ankles are the Greeks, but the whole continent is about to feel the burn.
This island off the course of northwest Europe is turning out to be an excellent viewing platform for three blockbuster shows this summer: Queen Elizabeth’s 60th anniversary Jubilee, the London Olympics and the implosion of Europe.The group of countries using the euro as a joint currency is “a burning building with no exits,” says Britain’s foreign minister William Hague. The Europeans with flames lapping around their ankles are the Greeks, but the whole continent is about to feel the burn.
Was Obama’s Bio a "Fact-Checking" Error?
On May - 19 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Jim Treacher, The Daily Caller
Unless you’re a credulous rube, it sure does look like Obama told his literary agency that he was born in Kenya for some reason. And the false information wasn’t corrected until April 2007, a couple of months after he launched his presidential campaign. “But wait,” you protest. “How do you know Obama wrote that? How do you know he ever even saw it? Shut up!” Well, we all know that Obama is the exception to every rule, so maybe he’s the exception to this one too. Author and television producer Steve Boman writes at...
Unless you’re a credulous rube, it sure does look like Obama told his literary agency that he was born in Kenya for some reason. And the false information wasn’t corrected until April 2007, a couple of months after he launched his presidential campaign. “But wait,” you protest. “How do you know Obama wrote that? How do you know he ever even saw it? Shut up!” Well, we all know that Obama is the exception to every rule, so maybe he’s the exception to this one too. Author and television producer Steve Boman writes at...
Rahm Emanuel: In Your Face
On May - 19 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Cate Plys, Northwestern Magazine
No wonder you can date pictures of Rahm Emanuel by the darkening circles around his eyes, the way botanists count tree rings. Most people settle for half-circles under their eyes. The famously competitive Emanuel goes the full 360 degrees. Chicago’s new mayor never stops, and sleep is seemingly optional.A look at Emanuel’s daily schedule, courtesy of a Chicago Reader investigation, shows why the mayor is in a hurry. The down-to-the-minute itineraries typically track him from breakfast meetings through dinner receptions. In three months the phrase “lunch with a...
No wonder you can date pictures of Rahm Emanuel by the darkening circles around his eyes, the way botanists count tree rings. Most people settle for half-circles under their eyes. The famously competitive Emanuel goes the full 360 degrees. Chicago’s new mayor never stops, and sleep is seemingly optional.A look at Emanuel’s daily schedule, courtesy of a Chicago Reader investigation, shows why the mayor is in a hurry. The down-to-the-minute itineraries typically track him from breakfast meetings through dinner receptions. In three months the phrase “lunch with a...
Is Obama Paving the Way to Dump Biden?
On May - 19 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Bill Kristol, Weekly Standard
For our part, we’d like to see a decisive triumph for Romney and his running mate over two formidable representatives of contemporary liberalism, rather than a discounted victory over a flawed ticket with only one strong candidate. So we sincerely suggest to President Obama: Dump Joe Biden. We’re sure the thought has occurred to the president. He knows his undisciplined vice president did him no service by popping off about same-sex marriage on Meet the Press, thereby forcing Obama to engage the issue prematurely. Instead of making his announcement of his...
For our part, we’d like to see a decisive triumph for Romney and his running mate over two formidable representatives of contemporary liberalism, rather than a discounted victory over a flawed ticket with only one strong candidate. So we sincerely suggest to President Obama: Dump Joe Biden. We’re sure the thought has occurred to the president. He knows his undisciplined vice president did him no service by popping off about same-sex marriage on Meet the Press, thereby forcing Obama to engage the issue prematurely. Instead of making his announcement of his...
Mitt Romney, Servant of the Right
On May - 19 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Jamelle Bouie, American Prospect
The defining feature of the Republican presidential primaries was the constant Sturm und Drang over Mitt Romney’s ability to win Republican voters. Pundits claimed that Romney had a “ceiling” with conservatives in the party, and opponents like former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum routinely assailed the front-runner as a candidate whose commitment to conservatism was short-lived and inauthentic—a human “Etch A Sketch,” in the words of Romney’s own campaign spokesperson. But when Romney locked up the nomination...
The defining feature of the Republican presidential primaries was the constant Sturm und Drang over Mitt Romney’s ability to win Republican voters. Pundits claimed that Romney had a “ceiling” with conservatives in the party, and opponents like former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum routinely assailed the front-runner as a candidate whose commitment to conservatism was short-lived and inauthentic—a human “Etch A Sketch,” in the words of Romney’s own campaign spokesperson. But when Romney locked up the nomination...
The Breitbart Scoop: How Did Media Miss This?
On May - 18 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Tim Stanley, Telegraph
Whatever you think of Breitbart.com’s punishing vetting process, it has exposed just how little work the mainstream media did in investigating candidate Obama back in 2008. Not all of Team Breitbart’s revelations have been election-deciders, but they have often been stuff that a simple Google would have uncovered. If they revealed tomorrow that he’d had his own cross-dressing-themed sitcom on primetime TV in the 1980s, I wouldn’t be surprised.The latest find is a fascinating inversion of the birther conspiracy. Breitbart.com has...
Whatever you think of Breitbart.com’s punishing vetting process, it has exposed just how little work the mainstream media did in investigating candidate Obama back in 2008. Not all of Team Breitbart’s revelations have been election-deciders, but they have often been stuff that a simple Google would have uncovered. If they revealed tomorrow that he’d had his own cross-dressing-themed sitcom on primetime TV in the 1980s, I wouldn’t be surprised.The latest find is a fascinating inversion of the birther conspiracy. Breitbart.com has...
Mitt Romney: On President Barack Obama’s stimulus
On May - 18 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
The Truth-o-Meter says: Half Flip | Did Mitt Romney flip-flop on the economic stimulus?
During his 2012 presidential campaign, Mitt Romney has been no fan of the stimulus Democrats passed in 2009. On the third anniversary of its passage, Romney issued a news release titled, "Three Years Later, Obama's Stimulus is Still Failing." Democrats contend Romney has flip-flopped on it. On Nov. 28, 2011, the Democratic National Committee released two videos -- a 30-second version and a four-minute version -- that claimed he had flipped on several issues, including the stimulus: On-screen text: "Opposed the stimulus." Video clip ...
>> MoreTeam Obama Putting Romney In a World of Bain
On May - 18 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Bill Schneider, Politico
‘More to come.” That’s what a source close to the Obama campaign told POLITICO about the ad attacking Mitt Romney’s record as chief executive officer of Bain Capital. This is not a one-week story. It’s going to be the central narrative of the Obama campaign.Why are Democrats so confident they can win on the anti-Bain issue? Because it hits Romney on the defining theme of his campaign: Romney’s claim that he’s a turnaround artist.
‘More to come.” That’s what a source close to the Obama campaign told POLITICO about the ad attacking Mitt Romney’s record as chief executive officer of Bain Capital. This is not a one-week story. It’s going to be the central narrative of the Obama campaign.Why are Democrats so confident they can win on the anti-Bain issue? Because it hits Romney on the defining theme of his campaign: Romney’s claim that he’s a turnaround artist.
Drop Murder Charge Against Zimmerman
On May - 18 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Alan Dershowitz, NYDN
A medical report by George Zimmerman’s doctor has disclosed that Zimmerman had a fractured nose, two black eyes, two lacerations on the back of his head and a back injury on the day after the fatal shooting. If this evidence turns out to be valid, the prosecutor will have no choice but to drop the second-degree murder charge against Zimmerman — if she wants to act ethically, lawfully and professionally.
A medical report by George Zimmerman’s doctor has disclosed that Zimmerman had a fractured nose, two black eyes, two lacerations on the back of his head and a back injury on the day after the fatal shooting. If this evidence turns out to be valid, the prosecutor will have no choice but to drop the second-degree murder charge against Zimmerman — if she wants to act ethically, lawfully and professionally.
Obama’s Gay Marriage Contradiction
On May - 17 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Charles Krauthammer, Wash Post
There are two ways to defend gay marriage. Argument A is empathy: One is influenced by gay friends in committed relationships yearning for the fulfillment and acceptance that marriage conveys upon heterosexuals. That’s essentially the case President Obama made when he first announced his change of views.No talk about rights, just human fellow feeling. Such an argument is attractive because it can be compelling without being compulsory. Many people, feeling the weight of this longing among their gay friends, are willing to redefine marriage for the sake of simple human sympathy.
There are two ways to defend gay marriage. Argument A is empathy: One is influenced by gay friends in committed relationships yearning for the fulfillment and acceptance that marriage conveys upon heterosexuals. That’s essentially the case President Obama made when he first announced his change of views.No talk about rights, just human fellow feeling. Such an argument is attractive because it can be compelling without being compulsory. Many people, feeling the weight of this longing among their gay friends, are willing to redefine marriage for the sake of simple human sympathy.
Grassroots Fighting Walker’s Millions in Recall
On May - 17 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
John Nichols, The Nation
Voters across Europe are rejecting politicians who have placed the mania for deficit cutting above all other needs, and the mainstream media are beginning to echo the mood, with even The Economist arguing that austerity is “strangling the eurozone’s chances of recovery.” As deeply flawed as the European experiment with austerity has been, however, at least it is commonly understood as a policy response to serious fiscal challenges. It’s different in the United States, where there has been little honest debate about the reasons for or the failures of...
Voters across Europe are rejecting politicians who have placed the mania for deficit cutting above all other needs, and the mainstream media are beginning to echo the mood, with even The Economist arguing that austerity is “strangling the eurozone’s chances of recovery.” As deeply flawed as the European experiment with austerity has been, however, at least it is commonly understood as a policy response to serious fiscal challenges. It’s different in the United States, where there has been little honest debate about the reasons for or the failures of...
Mitt Romney: On support for Ronald Reagan's policies
On May - 17 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
The Truth-o-Meter says: Full Flop | Mitt Romney once distanced himself from Ronald Reagan, but no longer
Ronald Reagan is the ultimate icon for Republicans. But has Mitt Romney flip-flopped on his support for the Gipper? The flip-flop charge was raised by the Democratic National Committee in an video advertisement. Separately, one of Romney’s Republican primary opponents, Newt Gingrich, charged that Romney has demonstrated insufficient warmth for the late president. In this item, we’ll ask whether Romney has flip-flopped on his degree of support for Reagan. We’ll start by noting that the Flip-O-Meter rates politicians' consistency on particular topics from No Flip to Full Flop. ...
>> MoreMitt Romney: On signing a no-tax pledge
On May - 17 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
The Truth-o-Meter says: Full Flop | Mitt Romney rejected state tax pledge before signing national one
These days, it’s hard for candidates to claim they truly oppose taxes if they haven’t put it in writing. As a presidential candidate in 2012, Mitt Romney signed a pledge to forswear tax increases. In fact, in his official tax proposal, Romney has advocated across-the-board tax cuts. But has he been consistent over the years about putting his commitment not to raise taxes in the form of a pledge? The question about Romney and the tax pledge was raised in late 2007, when the Democratic National Committee released a ...
>> MoreObama’s Career-Long Electoral Strategy
On May - 17 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Jim Geraghty, National Review
I would underline that Obama is using a familiar strategy because it’s not really clear that he’s ever had to use any other one. Once he won the Democratic primary for his State Senate seat in 1996, he had the seat for life, representing Hyde Park, an ultra-liberal neighborhood. He lost a House bid in 2000 against Democrat Bobby Rush, and then his next genuinely difficult fight was the 2004 Senate primary… when revelations from sealed divorce records doomed his best-funded opponent. Many of you are thinking, ‘wait, Jim, no, you’re thinking of...
I would underline that Obama is using a familiar strategy because it’s not really clear that he’s ever had to use any other one. Once he won the Democratic primary for his State Senate seat in 1996, he had the seat for life, representing Hyde Park, an ultra-liberal neighborhood. He lost a House bid in 2000 against Democrat Bobby Rush, and then his next genuinely difficult fight was the 2004 Senate primary… when revelations from sealed divorce records doomed his best-funded opponent. Many of you are thinking, ‘wait, Jim, no, you’re thinking of...
Z-Gate & the Sanctity of the Grand Jury
On May - 17 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Geoff Shepard, RealClearPolitics
Jeff Himmelman’s revelation in his April 29th New York Magazine article ("Red Flag in the Flowerpot") -- that Carl Bernstein really had interviewed a Watergate grand juror -- is breath-taking in its implications. It’s not just that Woodward and Bernstein have lied about this for 40 years, it's that interference with a grand jury threatens the integrity of our judicial system.Himmelman was researching Ben Bradlee’s papers for his authorized biography of the flamboyant Washington Post editor ("Yours in Truth, a Personal Portrait of Ben...
Jeff Himmelman’s revelation in his April 29th New York Magazine article ("Red Flag in the Flowerpot") -- that Carl Bernstein really had interviewed a Watergate grand juror -- is breath-taking in its implications. It’s not just that Woodward and Bernstein have lied about this for 40 years, it's that interference with a grand jury threatens the integrity of our judicial system.Himmelman was researching Ben Bradlee’s papers for his authorized biography of the flamboyant Washington Post editor ("Yours in Truth, a Personal Portrait of Ben...
Narrower Lead, but Big Changes Probably Aren’t Cause
On May - 16 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Nate Silver, NYT
We are beginning to see more national surveys now, including this week’s New York Times/CBS News poll, that show Mitt Romney with a slight lead over President Obama in the general election matchup. There are also a number of polls that put Mr. Obama slightly ahead. But Mr. Obama’s lead does seem to have narrowed — from about three or four points in an average of national polls a month or two ago to more like a point or so in surveys today.
We are beginning to see more national surveys now, including this week’s New York Times/CBS News poll, that show Mitt Romney with a slight lead over President Obama in the general election matchup. There are also a number of polls that put Mr. Obama slightly ahead. But Mr. Obama’s lead does seem to have narrowed — from about three or four points in an average of national polls a month or two ago to more like a point or so in surveys today.
Barack Obama: After they bought GST Steel, "Mitt Romney and his partners loaded it with debt, closed the Kansas City plant and walked away with a healthy profit, leaving hundreds of employees out of work with their pensions in jeopardy."
On May - 16 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
The Truth-o-Meter says: Mostly True | Obama ad claims Romney, Bain left misery in wake of GST Steel takeover
Mitt Romney’s business record is the central narrative of his presidential campaign -- and the main line of attack by his rivals. Is he a savvy businessman who understands the factors that make economies thrive? Or a corporate raider who makes rich profits for himself while often leaving working people as collateral damage? You can guess which storyline President Barack Obama’s campaign is weaving. A new ad from Team Obama tells the story of GST Steel, a company taken over by Bain Capital, the private equity firm Romney led for years before his entrance into ...
>> MoreMitt Romney: There are "49 different federal job training programs that report to eight agencies."
On May - 16 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
The Truth-o-Meter says: Mostly True | Mitt Romney said there are "49 different federal job training programs that report to eight agencies"
During a campaign stop in St. Petersburg on May 16, 2012, Mitt Romney said he intended to make government work better and save money in the process. As an example, he cited the federal government’s efforts to provide job training. "Do you know how many federal job training programs there are? 49 different federal job training programs that report to eight agencies," he said. Romney said he would look to consolidate programs and send them to the states. "I want to take those dollars, put them together ...
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