The first and only debate between vice-presidential candidates Joe Biden and Paul Ryan takes place this Thursday, October 11. Biden is undoubtedly under pressure to salvage the Democratic ticket after last week’s less-than-stellar debate performance by President Obama. Pundits will certainly be watching to see if the pressure pushes Biden into making one of his […]
presidential election
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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 […]
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Try voting for a change
My parents, Fred and Phyllis Hare, never missed an election. In the 1950’s and 60’s, they were typical of their friends in the little village of Owego, New York, near the Pennsylvania border. They believed that citizens have a duty to vote and that those who couldn’t be bothered had a duty to keep their […]
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What I’m reading: Klein on Romney, the poor, and responsibility
The Washington Post’s Ezra Klein may have one of the smartest responses to Mitt Romney’s 47 percent remarks. In a blog post this morning, Klein seizes on Romney’s remarks that he’ll never win over a segment of the population that he says is dependent on the government. In Romney’s words, he’ll “never convince them that […]
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Romney cuts himself with his own axe
Mitt Romney may have at last made errors that he can’t overcome, even with the help of a highly financed ad campaign. The more he talks, the more he reveals that he is stunningly uninformed. Today he’s trying to deal with a video, obtained by Mother Jones Magazine, of a talk to wealthy Republican donors. […]
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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 […]
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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! […]
