President Obama is facing one of his roughest stretches in office after questions about the government’s response to the attacks in Benghazi, Libya, the admission by the Internal Revenue Service that it inappropriately targeted conservative groups which sought tax-exempt status, and the revelation that the Justice Department subpoenaed communications by […] Read more »
The GOP’s Hispanic problem
… After nearly a year of breathless reports about how Latinos were going to trip over themselves to get to the polls and vote against Mitt Romney’s hard-line immigration stance — remember Time magazine’s Spanish-language cover “Yo Decido”? — the reality is less dramatic. … According to the Census Bureau, the […] Read more »
Conspiracy trumps facts in scandals
It’s no coincidence that word leaked out about a poll revealing that 59 percent of Americans see a conspiracy in the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy, just as discussion of the Benghazi and IRS scandals are heating up. Actually, it is nothing more than pure coincidence, but our […] Read more »
Alan Abramowitz: It’s ridiculous to call these scandals ‘game changers’
It seems possible. I reported Monday on political science research suggesting this is a particularly fertile moment for scandals to take hold of the media. … Alan Abramowitz, a political scientist at Emory University, is skeptical. He e-mails: “Here’s why this is very unlikely to be a ‘game changer.’ The […] Read more »
While Republicans Rant About Benghazi and IRS, Public Mostly Yawns
President Obama and his administration now find themselves in the middle of not one but two tough situations: the tragic killing of four Americans at a U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, and the Internal Revenue Service’s scrutiny of tea-party and other conservative groups. … Perhaps the best way to determine […] Read more »
As Foreign Tensions Escalate, Obama Sees a Drop
During the 2012 election, one of the perceived advantages President Obama held over Mitt Romney was the president’s seemingly firm grasp of foreign policy issues. During the summer months of the campaign, fully 47% of voters felt President Obama was better equipped to handle foreign affairs issues compared to 32% […] Read more »