2012 is shaping up to be a fiercely competitive election year.
Mitt Romney overcame formidable challengers in Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum to become the presumptive Republican Party nominee to challenge President Obama. Congressional redistricting and voter frustration with the debt ceiling stand-off have created a number of hotly contested House and Senate seats. And, the results of Wisconsin’s gubernatorial recall election will perhaps affect the strategies of both major parties in the fall contests.
Explore conversations from the show, a breakdown of the presidential election, as well as our cheat sheet on top Senate, House and gubernatorial contests to watch.
Share your thoughts on who might get your vote on November 6 and what issues matter to you most.
Inside This Feature
Pulitzer Prize winner Paul Ingrassia examines the synonym of Detroit and the auto industry, as detailed in Engines of Change, and weighs in on whether the U.S. is doomed for a double-dip recession.
Washington Post associate editor Rajiv Chandrasekaran weighs in on the war in Afghanistan—which he writes about in his new text, Little America, and whether the U.S. should continue to fund it.
Georgetown law professor and longtime anti-poverty advocate Peter Edelman discusses his text, So Rich, So Poor, and examines the high poverty rates in the U.S.
Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz assesses the current state of the U.S. economy, inequality and poverty in the country, as detailed in his text, The Price of Inequality.
Retired Army general Colin Powell shares why he has yet to endorse anyone in the 2012 presidential race, explains his views on domestic policy and unemployment and details his book, It Worked for Me.
The New York Times columnist and best-selling author Gail Collins discusses her text, As Texas Goes…, and shares her thoughts on events surrounding this year’s presidential election.
Bill Bradley, best-selling author and former senator, discusses his text We Can All Do Better, in which he assesses the state of the U.S., the toll placed on its people and what role each American can play to help the nation reach its full potential.
Best-selling author Robert Draper explains the inspiration behind the title of his new book, Do Not Ask What Good We Do, comments on whether the media has an impact on Congress and shares his thoughts on this year’s “freshman class” on Capitol Hill.
George Pataki, former three-term New York governor explains why he decided not to run in the 2012 presidential election, comments on Mitt Romney’s success on Wall Street in the wake of poverty and offers his views on the NY primary.
Noam Scheiber, senior editor of The New Republic, reflects on President Obama’s first term, assesses whether the present administration has learned lessons about the economy and discusses his book, The Escape Artist.
Trita Parsi, the founder-president of the National Iranian American Council—the largest Iranian American organization in the U.S.—describes his expectations for the upcoming U.S.-Iranian talks.
Rep. Xavier Becerra, California Congressman and member of the Budget and Ways and Means committees, offers his thoughts on how the deficit discussion will play out on the 2012 campaign trail.
Former senator Russ Feingold explains why he feels the U.S. has “gone to sleep on international issues” and offers his prediction on the outcome of the presidential campaign.
Morning Joe host and former GOP congressman from Florida Joe Scarborough weighs in on campaign finance reform, whether there’s room in the GOP for moderates and why the Washington of the 1990s is so different from Washington today.
Democratic strategist Debbie Dingell discusses the GOP presidential primary season and the impact of money on politics.
POLITICO’s senior political reporter Jonathan Martin shares his thoughts on the “topsy-turvy” GOP presidential primary season.
The National Journal Group’s editorial director Ron Brownstein, who was in Florida ahead of the state’s GOP presidential face-off, explains why this primary season has been the most unsettled for either party in the modern era.
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It was a far more interesting interview than I was prepared for. 
