Early in Tuesday’s presidential debate, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney got off on a tangent that wanted to be a discussion of energy policy. Instead, it was a mess. Arguments were mangled and facts were pushed over into a corner somewhere. As they tried to out-coal and out-natural gas one another, neither candidate was particularly […]
Barack Obama
Posted inNews & Opinion
Debate #2, part 2: Romney’s affirmative-action fib
Well, well, well…. Remember the debate segment last night where Romney bragged about seeking out qualified women to serve in his administration when he became governor? Not true, says our sister alt-weekly, the Boston Phoenix. When Romney was asked last night what he would do to help women achieve pay equity, Romney adopted a tactic […]
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Debate #2: Just how smart is the average voter?
Three-quarters of the way through last night’s presidential debate, I figured the debate was over — and that Mitt Romney was headed for the White House. I feel a little better about the event this morning; most of the media analysis I’ve read this morning is calling President Obama a clear winner in the debate. […]
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Clean coal is still just a dream
Just a reminder: there’s no such thing as clean coal. During last night’s presidential debate, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney each reiterated their energy policies. And they both included clean coal as an aspect of their plans. But there’s a catch: clean coal is more theoretical than it is practical. The term clean coal can […]
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Jill Stein and the politics of courage
Despite the public’s frequent frustration with the quality of candidates for elected office, third parties have historically had trouble gaining traction. They lack the money and other resources necessary to be competitive.
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Week ahead: campaign finance filings; Brooks-Slaughter and Romney-Obama debates
Congressional candidates have until midnight tonight to turn in their quarterly reports, which will tell us how much money they’ve raised who they’ve raised it from. The reports can also give us some idea of who supports a candidate, and how that candidate may vote if put into office. In the 25th Congressional District race, […]
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Debate 1: Obama’s awful night
Holy cow! What on earth was wrong with Barack Obama last night? He seemed distracted, distant, and unprepared. As a thousand commentators have noted, Mitt Romney gave Obama plenty of openings for an aggressive stance, but he ignored them all. And instead of going on the offensive, he stayed on defense too much, lunging for […]
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Week ahead: a College Town update and the big debate
Upper Mt. Hope neighbors will get an update on the College Town project from Cleveland-based developer Fairmount Properties on Tuesday. The project, initiated by the University of Rochester, is a 16-acre mixed-used development targeting the west side of Mount Hope between Elmwood Avenue and Crittenden Boulevard. Plans include a Barnes and Noble bookstore, hotel and […]
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I’m not finding comfort in the polls
The presidential polls are all over the lot right now; every time it looks as if a trend is developing, something else happens. This morning, Real Clear Politics is giving President Obama a poll average of plus 4 percent. But Rasmussen, which tracks likely voters, continues to show a much closer race – a tie, […]
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Feedback 9/26
Send comments to themail@rochester-citynews.com, or post them on our website, rochestercitynewspaper.com, our Facebook page, or our Twitter feed, @roccitynews. We edit selections for publication in print, and we don’t publish comments sent to other media. The left has moved right Mary Anna Towler’s column “One Nation Indivisible?” (Urban Journal) cites a New Yorker article saying […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
One nation indivisible?
For diehard Republicans and Democrats, the political conventions probably provided a lot of excitement. But I’m left with a real sense of unease, and not just about the economy or the outcome of the November election. I’m really, really worried about where we’re headed for the foreseeable future – and whether we can manage to […]
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Obama’s plan: stay the course
Some of the folks in our newsroom disagree with me, but I didn’t think last night’s wrap-up of the Democrats’ convention was as strong as it could have been. President Obama’s address, while good, wasn’t one of his best. And Joe Biden went on far, far, far too long. That said, there were plenty of […]
