Democracy | News-Opinion
TOP NEWS: Democracy: August 23rd, 2012
- Poll: Obama Is Given Trust Over Medicare
- Poll: Obama leads Florida
- Time Interview: The Mind Of Mitt
- Defiant Todd Akin tests power of Republican hierarchy
- Book Will Describe Raid That Killed Bin Laden
Excerpts and More Top Stories
ELECTIONS 2012/MEDICARE: Poll: Obama Is Given Trust Over Medicare – NYT
MICHAEL COOPER and DALIA SUSSMAN: New polls show that Medicare ranks as the third most crucial issue to likely voters in Florida, Ohio and Wisconsin, and that more respondents trust President Obama to manage it than Mitt Romney.
ELECTION 2012/SWING STATES: Poll: Obama leads Florida – POLITICO
His lead in Ohio is stable, and the race has tightened in Wisconsin, surveys also find.
ELECTION 2012/ ROMNEY: The Mind Of Mitt - TIME
BARTON GELLMAN: Bain Capital taught Romney focus, restraint and the art of the deal. How would those skills work in the White House?
ELECTION 2012: Romney Returns to His Mainstay: The Economy – NYT
ASHLEY PARKER: During a campaign stop in Iowa on Wednesday, Mitt Romney said President Obama had failed to deal with deficits and unemployment.
ELECTIONS 2012/GOP: Mitt Romney’s Biggest Problem - NEW YORKER, OPINION
John Cassidy: It isn’t him—it’s the G.O.P.
ELECTIONS 2012/OBAMA TEAM: 6 hidden fault lines in Obama campaign – POLITICO
Glenn Thrush: Many of the president’s toughest challenges during the 2012 slog have turned out to be internal, the product of internecine political disagreements, personal rivalries among his high-octane political team and the inevitable difficulties of trying to rekindle the flickering flame of hope-and-change 2008.
AKIN/GOP: Defiant Todd Akin tests power of Republican hierarchy – WP
His refusal to quit the Senate race in Missouri is another example of the deterioration of party authority.
AKIN/GOP: Akin Remarks Push Gender Issues to Center Stage – NYT
MICHAEL D. SHEAR, JONATHAN WEISMAN: Todd Akin’s refusal to step aside in the Missouri Senate race has forced gender issues back into the political conversation, just as Mitt Romney was hoping to refocus it on his personal story and the nation’s struggling economy.
*MORE ON AKIN BELOW
BIN LADEN BOOK: Book Will Describe Raid That Killed Bin Laden – NYT
JULIE BOSMAN: The book, written under a pseudonym by a member of Seal Team Six, will be published on Sept. 11.
POLITICAL GRIDLOCK: GOP Obstruction Halts Obama’s Efforts - Rep. Nancy Pelosi, USA Today
This is one of the least productive Congresses in history, — even worse than the “do-nothing Congress” President Truman lambasted in 1948. It doesn’t have to work this way.
VOTER RIGHTS: Voter Suppression and the American People – Ben Jealous, Huffington Post
Unfortunately, the consequences felt by certain factions of the population in Pennsylvania are shared across the country. Suppressive tactics launched in the U.S. take advantage of the same racial, age, and economic disparities.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE: A super PAC-politician firewall? Not quite – POLITICO
Jake Sherman, John Bresnahan, Kenneth P. Vogel: The intermingling of outside groups and politicians has become routine.
PRIVACY: Giving In to the Surveillance State – NYT, OP-ED
SHANE HARRIS: The National Security Agency is mining our data like never before. It needs more oversight.
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION: Affirmative Action Is Still Necessary – BLOOMBERG, EDITORIAL
With an African-American president and an African-American attorney general, does America still need affirmative action? Can it honestly be said that blacks require a finger on the scale of the meritocracy?
HEALTHCARE: Diving Into Health Care Is Dangerous to My Health – BLOOMBERG, OPINION
Caroline Baum: Unless you are an actuary or have a fondness for, and facility with, budget math, you are probably left wondering what and whom to believe.
HEALTH: Worst Year for West Nile Is Expected, Officials Say – NYT
By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr.: The C.D.C. says that with 41 deaths and more than 1,100 reported cases, this year’s West Nile outbreak will be the worst since the virus was discovered here in 1999.
HEALTH: Father’s Age Is Linked to Risk of Autism and Schizophrenia - NYT
BENEDICT CAREY: Random genetic mutations in children that become more numerous with advancing paternal age may account for as many as 30 percent of autism cases, researchers reported.
HEALTH: Killer Bug Is Traced at NIH Hospital – WSJ
NIH researchers used gene sequencing to track the path of drug-resistant bacteria that left at least six patients dead.
MARS ROVER: After 352-Million-Mile Trip, Cheers for 23 Feet on Mars – NYT
The NASA rover Curiosity moved forward and back for a test spin, a milestone after two and a half weeks on Mars.
MARS ROVER: Mars mission makes successful test drive – FT
Car-sized rover’s pictures disclose firm soil, suggesting that Curiosity will be able to travel across nearby Gale Crater without sinking
SIKH SHOOTING: First lady to visit Sikh shooting victims’ families – AP
The chairman of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education, says her visit is a welcome gesture.
PENN STATE: Graham Spanier’s Story – New Yorker
Jeffrey Toobin: The former Penn State president speaks publicly about the Sandusky scandal for the first time.
* Jeffrey Toobin was a guest speaker at The Common Good in 2012. For more events: [link]
GAY RIGHTS: Gay man sues Library of Congress - WP
A former auditor in the Library of Congress’s inspector general’s office claims in a federal lawsuit that his boss, a fundamentalist Christian, created a hostile work environment and worked to have him fired after he was outed by a Facebook “like.”
MORE ELECTIONS 2012
RYAN/ABORTION: Ryan Pressed to Explain Position on Rape and Abortion - NYT
TRIP GABRIEL: The vice presidential candidate suggests that the policy of Mitt Romney is the policy of the ticket.
ABORTION: Any exceptions? - WP OPINION
A bit of cowardice from both sides on abortion.
ELECTION 2012/ROMNEY: Mitt’s Moment: TIME Interviews Romney Ahead of the GOP Convention - TIME
Transcript of Mitt Romney’s conversation with Time Magazine.
ROMNEY ENERGY PLAN: Romney energy plan promises ‘independence’ - POLITICO
Mitt Romney is unveiling an energy plan aimed at making the United States independent of overseas oil by 2020 — giving himself seven years to achieve a goal of energy self-sufficiency that has eluded every president since Richard Nixon.
ROMNEY FOREIGN POLICY: Is Mitt Romney a Realist or an Idealist? - TIME
JOE KLEIN: Analysis of Romney’s possible foreign policy positions and the US challenges ahead.
OBAMA ACCESS: Ties to Obama Aided in Access for Big Utility - NYT
ERIC LIPTON: The Illinois-based energy producer Exelon Corporation has sometimes benefited from close ties with the Obama administration.
EDUCATION: Obama Promotes His Education Credentials, Putting Down Romney’s - NYT
MARK LANDLER: At a rally at a Las Vegas high school, President Obama said: “I’ve got a question for Governor Romney: How many teachers’ jobs are worth another tax cut for millionaires and billionaires?”
SENATE RACE: Battle in Massachusetts - WP OPINION
Elizabeth Warren vs. Mr. Personality.
POLLING: Candidate Support Typically Up Five Points After Convention - GALLUP
Incumbents have typically seen a five-percentage-point increase as well
DEFENSE: GOP plan for foreign policy and defense platform is predictable - WP
Details in National Security section below.
RYAN: Paul Ryan Can Be a Catholic and Still Worship Ayn Rand – BLOOMBERG, OPINION
Will Wilkinson: U.S. Representative Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney’s running mate on the Republican presidential ticket, has said that Ayn Rand, the author of “The Fountainhead” and “Atlas Shrugged,” lit the inner fire that led him to public service.
RNC/STORM RNC: We have plan for Isaac - POLITICO
“There is no such thing as canceling,” says convention communications director Sean Spicer.
LIBERALS: Liberals Need to Start Holding Obama Responsible for His Policies - THE ATLANTIC
An interview with novelist Paul Auster shows how the left is incapable of attributing any blame for policies they dislike to the president.
CLINTON Clinton flies solo in Obama ad - POLITICO
MAGGIE HABERMAN: Former President Bill Clinton, who’s been featured in Mitt Romney’s wave of ads accusing President Obama of “gutting” welfare reform, does a to-the-camera spot tying his own presidency and a “strong middle class” to his successor.
MEDIA ATTRIBUTION: Political war of attribution - WP
Both the Obama and Romney campaigns cite the mainstream media to lend credibility to their ads and appeals to voters.
ANN ROMNEY: Limited Convention Coverage Will Leave Ann Romney Off Air - NYT
JEREMY W. PETERS: Believing that viewers are tired of politics, the networks will broadcast three hours of convention coverage, less than they showed in 2008.
RNC RULES: RNC rules committee votes for tougher calendar rule-breaking penalties - POLITICO
Trying to prevent Florida from again holding an early primary in 2016, the RNC Rules Committee voted yesterday to dramatically stiffen penalties for any state that schedules its primary up before the last Tuesday in February.
MEDIA COVERAGE: YouTube launches ‘elections hub’ - VentureBeat via RCP
It will feature coverage of conventions, debates and Google+ Hangouts with power brokers behind the scenes.
TECHNOLOGY: CNN and TIME launch ‘Convention Floor Pass’ app for 2012 conventions
“The app will feature 24/7 breaking news updates and alerts, daily analysis and commentary, exclusive early access to CNN-TIME polls, photos and video from CNN and TIME journalists on the ground at the Republican and Democratic National Conventions.
MORE TODD AKIN
RYAN/AKIN: Ryan’s ‘legitimate’ problem - WP OPINION
Dana Milbank: The Republicans’ soon-to-be nominee for vice president is supposed to be delivering a message about jobs and the economy, but He can’t escape Todd Akin’s words.
AKIN/RELIGION: Akin’s agenda wins loyalty of Christian groups - WP
If Todd Akin has made loyal allies among conservative legislators and Christian groups. Now, these are the friends he has left.
AKIN/LOCAL REPUBLICANS: Missouri Republicans Weigh In on Akin - NYT
Missouri residents active in the Republican Party were divided over Representative Todd Akin’s decision to continue his campaign for the United States Senate, even as a chorus of party leaders urged him to throw in the towel.
The Common Good publishes a U.S. domestic news digest every weekday, available here.
