Democracy | News-Opinion
TOP NEWS: Democracy: August 17th, 2012
- The Lowest Common Denominator in 2012 Race
- RNC Takes In $37.7 Million in July
- Romney: I Paid at Least 13% in Income Taxes
- Illegal Immigrants Flock to Youth Program
- Voter ID: Less Than Meets the Eye
Excerpts and More Top Stories
ELECTION 2012/ CIVIL DIALOGUE: The Lowest Common Denominator in 2012 Race for President NYT
JIM RUTENBERG - The elevated tone that some had anticipated from Representative Paul D. Ryan’s entrance in the race has not come to pass. Instead, strategists are pondering who benefits most from the campaigns’ vitriol.
ELECTIONS 2012: Campaigns Seek Positives in Negative tone WSJ
The presidential race’s unusually early negative character has shaped the course of the campaign, raising significant risks but also opportunities for both sides.
ELECTIONS 2012/FUNDRAISING: Republican National Committee Takes In $37.7 Million in July NYT
ELECTIONS 2012/ROMNEY TAXES: Romney Says He Paid at Least 13% in Income Taxes NYT
MICHAEL D. SHEAR - Calling interest in his taxes “small-minded,” Mitt Romney said he had looked at 10 years of returns, a response to Democrats who suggested he might have paid nothing in some years.
ELECTIONS 2012: Aug. 16: Why I’m Not Buying the Romney Rally NYT
NATE SILVER - The FiveThirtyEight forecast says Mitt Romney’s chance of winning the election has improved since last week, but most other candidates have gotten larger bounces after naming their running mates.
ELECTIONS 2012: Strassel: Why Republicans Can Win WSJ
KIMBERLEY A. STRASSEL, OPINION – The only candidate gutting Medicare today is Obama. The only candidate who intends to preserve Medicare for future generations is Romney.
ELECTIONS 2012/PAUL RYAN: From the House to the White House NYT
LEWIS L. GOULD – The history of vice-presidential candidates drawn from the House, like Paul Ryan, is entertaining and revealing.
*MORE ELECTIONS 2012 BELOW
IMMIGRATION: Illegal Immigrants Flock to Youth Program WSJ
VOTER ID: Voter ID: Less Than Meets the Eye Lou Cannon, RealClearPolitics
MEDICARE: The Real Medicare Question Washington Post – Eugene Robinson, OPINION
MEDICARE ObamaCare vs. Medicare: The Bottom Line - Grace-Marie Turner, NRO OPINION
MEDIA: Bill Clinton and the Journalists Who Love-Hated Him BLOOMBERG
ADAM KIRSCH, OPINION – “Tension has always existed between those who govern and those who report on government . . . But today’s climate, in which large swaths of the public see the media as a corrosive influence on political life, really started to emerge in the 1990s”.
MEDIA: How Drudge Report’s Lewinsky Scoop Changed Journalism CNN
DC SHOOTING: Family Research Council Shooting Possibly Driven by Politics NYT
A man accused of shooting a guard at the office of a prominent conservative group “has strong opinions with respect to those he believes do not treat homosexuals in a fair manner,” an affidavit said.
COLORADO SHOOTING: The Night the E.R. Staff Can Never Forget NYT
Workers at one of the Colorado emergency rooms where many victims of a mass shooting arrived look back with pride at their performance and horror at the event.
SCIENCE: Future of Data: Encoded in DNA WSJ
In the latest attempt to corral growing quantities of digital data, Harvard researchers encoded an entire book into the genetic molecules of DNA.
More on Elections 2012
OBAMA: Obama’s Betrayal Michael Gerson, Washington Post, OPINION
GOP IDEOLOGY: GOP’s Triumph of Ideology Over Reality Jonathan Schell, The Nation, OPINION
ROMNEY/GOP: Romney Shapes GOP Future Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post OPINION
ROMNEY/OHIO: Romney Targets Anti-ObamaCare Dems in Ohio David Drucker, Roll Call
PAUL RYAN: Ryan Mixes Sunny Stories and Barbs WSJ
The job of a vice-presidential candidate traditionally includes attacking the opposition. Paul Ryan has slipped easily into the role, but he often weaves sunny tales about his family and friends around the tough talk.
PAUL RYAN: Noonan: It’s the Circumstances, Stupid WSJ
PEGGY NOONAN, OPINION – How the Republican ticket can suit the moment and use Clark Kent—er, Paul Ryan.
ROMNEY TRANSITION TEAM: Campaigning Aside, Team Plans a Romney Presidency NYT
ASHLEY PARKER – Mitt Romney’s transition team has been working since June, offering a glimpse into what his approach to governing might be.
BIDEN/CIVIL DIALOGUE: Biden’s Even More Unsettling Comment Washington Post, EDITORIAL
SENATE/CT: GOP’s McMahon Softens Image in Senate Rerun WSJ
Connecticut Republican Senate candidate, wrestling-league founder Linda McMahon, has softened her image since her defeat in a race two years ago. But she still needs to win over a surprising demographic, women.
The Common Good publishes a U.S. domestic news digest every weekday, available here.
