Category: Obama

How well will Romney fare in New Hampshire?

Posted by dcrim – January 9, 2012

Less than 36 hours separate Mitt Romney from what is supposed to be his campaign coup de grace: the New Hampshire primary. But Josh Lederman of The HIll writes that with pitfalls presenting themselves in seemingly every direction, the pressure on the front-runner is rapidly intensifying. Click here for the story.

Dan Balz of the Washington Post points out that there has been one consistent reservation many Republican voters — and others — have expressed about Romney. They question his authenticity. They don’t know if they can trust him. They wonder who he really is. Click here for the story.

Writing on op-ed piece for the New York Times, Bill Keller lays out the scenario he believes gives President Obama the best chance to win a second term. Click here for the story.

 

Obama takes aim at Romney in just-released web ad

Posted by dcrim – November 3, 2011

The Washington Post reports the Obama SuperPAC has just released a web ad that should receive an R rating for violence. Watch it below if you want a sneak preview of the Obama campaign. Read about it here.

Some of the most dubious things presidential candidates say

Posted by dcrim – October 11, 2011

The Washington Post and Bloomberg News are sponsoring an economics-focused debate among the 2012 Republican presidential candidates tonight at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. In preparation for that debate, the news organizations produced three videos that examine some of the most common sound bites used during previous debates — and what’s factually wrong with them. The videos cover three distinct areas. Click here to view.

The legacy of Steve Jobs: He changed the world

Posted by dcrim – October 6, 2011

Steve Jobs, right, the visionary co-founder of Apple who helped usher in the era of personal computers and then led a cultural transformation in the way music, movies and mobile communications were experienced in the digital age, died Wednesday at age 56. The New York Times takes a look at Jobs’ life, and The Wall Street Journal describes how Jobs changed the world. The Los Angeles Times offers this photo gallery of one of the world’s greatest innovators.

On the political front, columnist Roger Simon opines that while polls churn out dismal numbers every day for Barack Obama, the president has one huge plus going for him: The Republican field.

Meanwhile, Politico answers five questions about Sarah Palin, who announced Wednesday what virtually everyone already knew — that she will not run for president in 2012.

Lewis Black: ‘My belief is drunks make better leaders’

Posted by dcrim – September 20, 2011

Comedian Lewis Black sums up the presidential nominating process:

“No other country does what we do. The process is so disturbingly long for no reason. It’s not like they define themselves. It’s not like they get better. … By the time they nominate someone, you already hate them because they’ve been in your face way too long.”

Click here to see Black’s take on President Obama, the GOP field and Rick Perry.

Clinton or Biden as VP? Romney or Perry as nominee?

Posted by dcrim – August 16, 2011

If by early next year President Obama’s re-election chances are looking as dicey as they do now, there is likely to be a growing clamor inside Democratic circles to drop Joe Biden from the ticket and replace him with Hillary Clinton. Click here to see why.

How does a GOP primary race between Rick Perry and Mitt Romney stack up? Click here for the analysis.

Time for U.S. to get serious about fixing economy

Posted by dcrim – August 5, 2011

The Labor Department reported this morning that employers added 117,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate dipped to 9.1 percent. The mild improvement may ease investors’ concerns after the Dow Jones industrial average plummeted fell nearly 513 points Thursday, its biggest decline since December 2008.

Bloomberg reports that more than $4.4 trillion has been wiped out from equity market values worldwide since July 26, and all of 2011 stock gains have been erased. The bleak news prompted many analysts to warn that there’s a 50-50 chance the United States will slip into another recession this year.

Nate Silver points out that America has hit a wall. Its long-term growth trend faltered at the end of the last century and has flatlined and then collapsed in this one.  It is not as bad as the Great Depression, but it is the next worst thing.

New York Times columnist Paul Krugman suggests that to turn this disaster around, a lot of people are going to have to admit, to themselves at least, that they’ve been wrong and need to change their priorities, right away.

The point is that it’s now time — long past time — to get serious about the real crisis the economy faces. The Fed needs to stop making excuses, while the president needs to come up with real job-creation proposals. And if Republicans block those proposals, he needs to make a Harry Truman-style campaign against the do-nothing G.O.P.

Read the full analysis here.

Assessing the winners and losers of debt deal

Posted by dcrim – August 3, 2011

Now that Congress has signed off on the debt deal, Daniel Stone looks at the political fallout—from President Barack Obama’s reelection prospects to the Tea Party’s power in the U.S. House.

Profiles in sleaze and courage: The Los Angeles Times opines on the differences between Arizona Democrat Gabrielle Giffords, who staged a triumphant return this week, and Oregon Democrat David Wu, who slunk away for home after yet another sex scandal.

Art of compromise lost during cantankerous debt limit debate

Posted by dcrim – August 2, 2011

The Senate is expected to approve emergency bipartisan legislation later today to allow the government to borrow more. Speechwriter and author Michael Cohen, writing for Politico, laments that the months-long debate for raising the debt ceiling — once a formality — provides a glimpse of the death of effective politics.

What we have seen over the past few weeks is the continuing erosion of the notion that political compromise, the linchpin of our democratic system, is the key to effective legislating and policymaking. Hostage-taking has replaced deal making in Washington with potentially devastating consequences for the political system.

Click here for the entire analysis.

Six issues that could pose problems for Obama in 2012

Posted by dcrim – May 10, 2011

Lisa Feldman of the Christian Science Monitor outlines gas prices and five other liabilities President Barack Obama could face in 2012.

Matt Bai of the New York Times writes that a sense of history is propelling Newt Gingrich to seek the Republican presidential nomination. Meanwhile, Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post wonders if Gingrich is a serious candidate or a sideshow?