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 […]
Mitt Romney
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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 […]
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Convention realities: an America divided
Over the weekend, I reread Ryan Lizza’s terrific New Yorker piece, “The Obama Memos: The Making of a Post-Post-Partisan Presidency.” It’s an insightful look at President Obama’s struggles during his first term — his mistakes, his compromises, his actions that made Republicans feel betrayed, the obstruction by Republicans…. And one of the most fascinating sections […]
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Romney, unveiled
The Republicans have wrapped up their convention in Tampa, and if I were the people in the Obama campaign, I’d be worried. Particularly after Mitt Romney’s speech. I could certainly find plenty to criticize, as I did throughout this attack-dog week. Speaker after speaker simply threw facts to the wind. And the hyper-patriotism and “USA! […]
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Facts aren’t Ryan’s forte
For weeks, political pundits and journalists — a lot not known for niceties — have treated Paul Ryan’s comments like they were delicate little finger sandwiches. Dan Amira wrote an excellent article for New York Magazine saying that Ryan’s campaign strategy is to ignore the facts and just attack. He’s relying on the public’s ignorance, […]
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Ann Romney’s flawed speech: What’s love got to do with it?
Praise flowed for Ann Romney even before she delivered her speech at the Republican National Convention last night. Hours earlier, Republicans nominated Mitt Romney for president. But Romney, polls indicate, is having trouble with women and minority voters. And it was on Ann Romney’s shoulders to help recast his image in an effort to endear […]
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Massachusetts’ low uninsured rate has political implications
Massachusetts has the lowest rate of residents without health insurance of any state in the US. That’s a simple fact, released this morning by the Census Bureau. But it has massive political overtones: Massachusetts has a health insurance system that is the basis of Obamacare. And that system — including an individual mandate — was […]
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NEWS BLOG: O’Brien’s interviews are one of the few worth watching
A frustration with watching news interviews on television is the sorry lack of tough follow-up questions. Mainstream anchors instead seem to rely more on giving equal time to both sides of a political issue. It’s easier, it’s less risky, and they can almost count on what type of response they’ll get. So-and-so gets the last […]
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NEWS BLOG: Romney, Ryan, Medicare, and risk
I dunno; maybe some political reporters are sensing something I’m not. I keep reading stories and blogs hinting that Mitt Romney has taken a risky – possibly fatal – step in choosing Paul Ryan as his running mate. The reason: Ryan’s hope to partially privatize Medicare. In their Politico post this morning, for instance, Alexander […]
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NEWS BLOG: Romney, release your darn tax records
Mitt Romney and his Republican backers are trying to pass his tax-records shell games off as transparency. This is the same party whose members have been passing legislation requiring multiple forms of photo identification to vote, but don’t want us to know the financial history of their candidate. Romney has not broken any laws by […]
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NEWS BLOG: Taxes, smaxes- paying for health care
I’ve loved watching Mitt Romney wrestle with the issue of taxes and the Affordable Care Act. First his campaign staff said Romney doesn’t consider the ACA’s penalty a tax; then yesterday, Romney himself said he does. That means, of course, that he was perfectly happy to raise taxes in Massachusetts for something he thinks his […]
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NEWS BLOG: Romney’s Obamacare scare
Even before the Republican primary season was underway, Mitt Romney was promising to slay the Obamacare beast on his first day in office. Earlier this week, while campaigning in Florida, Romney talked about the reforms he would put in place after repealing the Affordable Care Act. As the Nation’s Ben Adler writes, “Romney gave a […]
