Search
Trusted. In-Depth. Independent. This is PBS.

Is Mitt Romney's background with a private-capital firm a positive or negative with voters?

The Bain Debate: Does it matter? Do voters care?

Mitt Romney's record at the private-equity firm Bain Capital remains in the campaign spotlight - and raises bigger questions. Is the debate fair? Do voters care? Should they? NewsHour looks at the issue in depth, and Judy Woodruff and Gwen Ifill analyze it in The Political Checklist.

RELATED: Who do you trust on the economy? Obama, Romney, tied in new poll

Tighten bank regulations?

Should banking regulations be tightened after  J.P. Morgan's trading losses? NewsHour analysts Mark Shields and David Brooks disagree. "Companies are allowed to be stupid," says Brooks; Shields counters that public insurance of big banks means they're playing with our money. Watch their discussion and decide for yourself.

RELATED: More on Morgan's losses

Chat with Gwen

Gwen Ifill hosts her monthly web chat with viewers on Thursday at 1 p.m. Eastern. This month, she'll be joined by TIME Washington Bureau Chief Michael Duffy, a longtime Washington Week panelist, to discuss the president, the campaign, and Duffy's new book, The Presidents Club. Can't make it then? Submit a question in advance, and read the transcript later.

Missouri voters may be asked in November whether payday loans should be banned.
 Payday loans on the line

Missouri voters this fall will decide whether interest rates should be capped on so-called "payday" loans. Some say the loans prey on the poor; the financial industry says they're often the only source of emergency credit for some borrowers. Need to Know looks at the issue.

RELATED: FRONTLINE's 2009 film "The Card Game" looks at consumer lending, including payday loans.

Should the debt ceiling come back to Congress for a vote before the election?
 Showdown on the debt?

Should the debt ceiling come back to Congress for a vote before the election? Or is breaking the previous deal over the debt nothing more than election-year politicking? Washington Week panelists add nuance to the discussion.

RELATED: House Speaker John Boehner says the debt ceiling should come up for a vote before the election; Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says the uncertaincy would make it "irresponsible."

President Johnson is sworn in hours after the JFK assassination. Gwen Ifill ponders whether politicians of the past were any better than today
 Does politics' past beat the present?

Washington Week host Gwen Ifill ponders whether today's politics really are small-minded - or if the sweep of history simply makes figures from the past appear grander. Read her thoughts in Gwen's Take.

Deb Fischer road a Sarah Palin endorsement and Tea Party support to an upset victory in the Nebraska Senate primary last week.
 Tea Party support helps Nebraska Senate candidate

State Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska won a surprising victory in the state's Republican primary for U.S. Senate on the coattails of Tea Party support and Sarah Palin's endorsement.Washington Weekpanelists discuss what it means in this week's Webcast Extra.
 

Public media election resources

NewsHour's Map Center

NewsHour's political calendar

NPR's politics section

Public media coverage of prior elections:

Vote 2008

Election 2004

Election 2000

 
 
    Providing Support for pbs.org Learn More
    NewsHour's Map Center shows live results and demographics
    PBS NewsHour and Amara are working to translate important election discussions
    PBS NewsHour "Morning Line" subscription logo
    Washington Week's Political Lanscape features local PBS stations assessing the election in their state
    Washington Week's Voice of the Voters features reports from university students about the young electorate
    PBS NewsHour logo
    FRONTLINE logo
    Need to Know logo
    Washington Week logo