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Category Archives: Columns
October Surprise: Shadowy Conservative Groups Dominate Outside Spending – The Daily Beast
The Super-PAC October Surprise is here with unprecedented negative spending – and an overwhelming advantage for conservative shadow money groups flooding the airwaves against Democratic candidates. Total non-party outside spending is now estimated by the Center for Responsive Politics to … Continue reading
Deficit-Hawk CEOs Bend Toward Obama – CNN.com
The deficit and debt are major concerns for swing voters — and President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have very different visions of how to deal with it. That’s why it was significant to see 80 CEOs of major American … Continue reading
Posted in Columns
Tagged 2012 Elections, CNN, Elections, Fiscal Responsibility, President Obama
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GOP’s Surprising Edge on diversity – CNN.com
Everybody knows the Republican Party is basically an all-white bastion, right? After all, even Colin Powell condemned the “dark vein of intolerance” that has flowed through his party since the post-civil rights era political realignment. Now with President Barack Obama … Continue reading
Obama’s Risky Demographic Gamble – The Daily Beast
Demographics are destiny, but Team Obama may be taking that a bit too literally. Play-to-the-base campaigns are particularly risky for Democrats given that only 21 percent of Americans identify as liberal, but the Obama campaign has staked its reelection on … Continue reading
Mourdock’s Rape Remark and Extremism – CNN.com
Indiana Republican Senate candidate Richard Mourdock believes that rapes resulting in pregnancy are “something that God intends to happen.” Do you? It’s a relevant question as we enter the last two weeks of this election, because Mourdock’s comments are not … Continue reading
Democrat Jim Graves Has a Chance to Unseat Michele Bachmann – The Daily Beast
Meet the man who could defeat Michele Bachmann. Jim Graves is a 58-year-old self-made Minnesota businessman and grandfather of seven, still married to his high-school sweetheart, running against a symbol of unhinged hyperpartisanship in the halls of Congress. Bachmann’s bizarre … Continue reading
Ground Game: Obama Campaign Opens Up a Big Lead in Field Offices – The Daily Beast
Beyond the presidential debates, one final factor matters more than all the rest in a close race: ground game. It’s the ability to get your voters to the polls—a way of moving soft support into actual votes. Field operatives have … Continue reading
Posted in Columns
Tagged 2012 Elections, Elections, President Obama, The Daily Beast
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Will an Energy Boom Swing Ohio? – The Daily Beast
I spent the weekend in Ohio, and filed this report for CNN on how a natural gas energy boom in the bellwether northeastern region of the state is the final factor for many swing voters in the area. Their votes … Continue reading
Posted in Columns
Tagged 2012 Elections, Elections, President Obama, The Daily Beast
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The Sound of Chugging Kool-Aid – The Daily Beast
This is the sound of chugging Kool-Aid: “This debate goes to Romney. It seals his momentum and will lead to a big win,” Dick Morris writes at Fox. “Game, set, match … one of the best debate performances ever by … Continue reading
Hall Monitor Mitt’s Missed Chance – The Daily Beast – CNN.com
President Obama needed to step up and dig in at Tuesday night’s second presidential debate, and that’s exactly what he did, I write over at CNN. Insistent jockeying for time, his fumble of the Benghazi question, and furious Etch-a-Sketch moments … Continue reading
Will Energy Boom Swing the Election? – CNN.com
No Republican has won the White House without Ohio. In these final weeks, the Buckeye State is an intense campaign battleground and northeastern Ohio is the bellwether of this key swing state. For decades, the economic news here has been … Continue reading
The Human Rights Abuses in Sudan Continue – The Daily Beast
The human rights abuses in Sudan continue—and a harrowing new video captures the attack on a Nuba Mountain village in real time. The Satellite Sentinel Project, working with the Sudanese journalist group Nuba Reports, brought the video to an international … Continue reading
Moderate Mitt’s Rise and Conservatives’ Cognitive Dissonance – The Daily Beast
It’s a conundrum for conservatives—Mitt Romney couldn’t get traction while he was playing to the base with his vice-presidential selection or his convention speech. But once he broke out the big Etch A Sketch in his first debate against President … Continue reading
Foreign Policy Should Take Center Stage – The Daily Beast
It is time for the presidential candidates to say what they see as America’s place in the world. Few aspects of the president’s job have as large an impact on as many people as his role as commander-in-chief, and while … Continue reading
Posted in Columns
Tagged 2012 Elections, Elections, National Security, President Obama, The Daily Beast
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The Gaffe Master Beats the Policy Wonk – The Daily Beast – CNN.com
Joe Biden didn’t just meet expectations Thursday night, he completely surpassed them. Before the vice presidential debate, I’d thought that Paul Ryan would have the upper hand — a young, smart policy wonk and great communicator paired off against an … Continue reading
Final Factor: Loudoun County – Virginia’s Bellwether Battleground – The Daily Beast
This election will be decided by swing voters in swing districts of swing states. The second installment of OutFront’s election series The Final Factors took me to the key swing district of Virgina – Loudoun County. This is the heart … Continue reading
Mitt Romney’s Military Budget Hypocrisy – The Daily Beast
In the wake of Mitt Romney’s deft first debate there’s been a lot of belated questions about whether his promises make sense in terms of, you know, math. After all, a core claim of the Romney campaign is this: “Getting … Continue reading
In Virginia’s Crucial County, Military Cuts Worry Swing Voters – CNN.com
Take it from President Barack Obama — Virginia’s Loudoun County is a must-win swing district in a must-win swing state. “We won last time in Loudoun County, and if we win again, we win Virginia,” Obama declared at a rally … Continue reading
Posted in Columns
Tagged 2012 Elections, CNN, Elections, National Security, President Obama
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As Presidential Contest Tightens, State Races Could Prove Crucial – The Daily Beast
As you nervously pour over swing-state presidential polls, don’t forget to factor in one crucial variable—the rest of the statewide ticket. Call it down-ticket coattails. Because President Obama and Mitt Romney are not running in a vacuum. They are going … Continue reading
In 2012 Election, Centrists Move Left As Independents Stay Split – The Daily Beast
Mitt Romney’s debate debut of his new, centrist political persona may be no deeper than an Etch-a-Sketch drawing, but it might prove effective. After all, elections in America are won by the candidate who connects best with centrists and independents, … Continue reading