August 2012
Aug 29, 2012
Romney clinches GOP nomination at convention; Ann Romney, Chris Christie speak
By Karen Tumulty and David A. Fahrenthold, The Washington PostThe Republican Party on Tuesday formally bestowed its presidential nomination on former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, launching its convention here with two goals: to make the GOP contender more appealing and to sharpen the case against giving President Obama a second term.
Read moreFor Mitt Romney, the election hinges on the middle class
By Doyle McManus, The Los Angeles TimesThe conventional wisdom is that this week's Republican National Convention needs to make Mitt Romney more "likable" — to replace his image as a frosty billionaire with the warmer (and, friends say, more accurate) picture of a family man, devout Mormon and private do-gooder.
Read moreRace-baiting hooks 2012 campaign
By John Harris and Maggie Haberman, PoliticoDuring three-plus years of Barack Obama’s presidency, neither he nor most top Republicans felt much desire to talk about race. Now, the three-plus days of the Republican National Convention in Tampa are being roiled by angry people in both parties eager to talk about race — and how the other side is trying exploit prejudice for political advantage.
Read moreGOP leaders are not sold on Ryan's trumpeted Medicare plan
By Susan Davis, USA TodayThe Republican Party has rallied around Paul Ryan's proposal to overhaul the Medicare system in its proposed budget, on the campaign trail and in the party's 2012 platform approved Tuesday, but top House and Senate leaders will not commit to enacting the proposal if the GOP takes control of Congress and the White House next year.
Read moreObama courts the votes of a less-engaged youth
By Jackie Calmes, The New York TimesAnnie Hartnett was not old enough to vote in 2008 when she volunteered for the Obama campaign at the University of Iowa, where an older sister was a student. Now 21 and a leader of the Iowa State University Democrats, she said she was as excited as she was four years ago to be working for President Obama — yet she struggled to describe something that is missing.
Read moreAug 28, 2012
GOP plays up congressional candidates
By Janet Hook, John D. McKinnon, and Corey Boles, Wall Street JournalRepublicans officially opened a storm-shortened convention Monday aimed at selling Mitt Romney to the American people, with GOP hopes for the event rising as the winds died.
Read moreDispatches From the Republican National Convention
By John Dickerson, SlateGreetings from the floor of the convention! I'm sitting under the sign for the New Mexico delegation. (Poor Vermont. They're seated so far away from the stage they might as well be in Vermont.) I've been here since Thursday when there was still exposed plywood, angry drills, and guys with lots of tattoos yelling at each other about forklifts. In the workspace there's a sign that says: "Watch Out for Forklifts." I never knew they were so stealthy. (Drought, debt, hurricanes, and now we have to worry about forklifts? Dark times.)
Read moreRomney and black voters: An uneasy relationship
By Beth Reinhard, National JournalA major storm bearing down on New Orleans can never come at an opportune time, but Isaac is arriving at a particularly difficult moment for Mitt Romney and for his party, which has yet to completely shake the perception that the GOP left African-Americans adrift in a drowned city seven years ago.
Read more from National JournalHappy now for tea party help, GOP faces challenges
By Charles Babington, Associated PressThe Republican Party that's showing its face to America this week is a restless institution that relies heavily on the uncompromising passions of tea partyers, anti-immigration activists and social conservatives. It's a potent but unruly coalition that supplies vital energy today but poses serious challenges for the future.
Read moreElection is a test of competing worldviews
By James Kitfield, National JournalWhen President Obama and Mitt Romney meet in Boca Raton, Fla., on Oct. 22 to debate foreign policy, they will face a challenge to differentiate their positions beyond the now-familiar narratives.
Read more from National JournalMitt Romney RNC: GOP still frets about candidate's image
By John Harris and Alexander Burns, PoliticoMitt Romney signaled in weekend interviews that he is brushing off advice that he attempt a public image makeover this week to make himself more likable and more connected to voters at the human level.
Read moreAug 27, 2012
Poll: Obama, Romney neck-and-neck ahead of party conventions
By Dan Balz and Jon Cohen, The Washington PostThe Republican National Convention opens this week with President Obama and presumptive nominee Mitt Romney running evenly, with voters more focused on Obama’s handling of the nation’s flagging economy than on some issues dominating the political debate in recent weeks.
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