The conventional wisdom on Obama’s recent surge is that it’s due largely to Mitt Romney’s 47% disaster, and there’s clearly something to this. … But it’s worth pointing out another dynamic that’s been overlooked here: The escalating disaster that is Paul Ryan. [cont.] Noam Scheiber, New Republic Read more »
Romney at risk of losing edge on deficit
… Two recent national polls show a narrow gap between Romney and Obama on the deficit. Romney seems to have lost his advantage after weeks of being pilloried by Democrats for his policies, which they claim would cut taxes on the rich, raise taxes on the middle class and cost […] Read more »
Challenged on Medicare, G.O.P. Loses Ground
… The latest New York Times/CBS News poll, conducted over the last week, found that Mr. Obama held an advantage over Mr. Romney on the question of who would do a better job of handling Medicare. That is consistent with other recent polls and is a shift from just last […] Read more »
The Power of Political Communion
… Allowing Republicans to claim the mantle of Catholicism might cost the Democrats the election. As commentators have noted, Catholics may be the nation’s most numerous swing voters. Over the past few decades, Democratic leaders have alienated voters in one of the party’s historically strong constituencies. [cont.] Molly Worthen, UNC […] Read more »
Obama gets a lift, Romney flatlines in post convention polling
President Obama has gotten a bounce in the national tracking polls taken in the aftermath of the Democratic national convention. I maintain that our ability to judge whether this bounce has changed the trajectory of the race cannot be known until 15 September. What we can tell now, though, is […] Read more »
The Ryan Sinkhole
Unlike the Republican platform, which has mostly been ignored outside of the abortion issue, the Paul Ryan budget is the core document of the 2012 campaign. … What people have not been talking about enough is that the Ryan budget contains an $897 billion sinkhole: massive but unexplained cuts in […] Read more »