Democracy | News-Opinion
TOP NEWS: Democracy: September 24th, 2012
- 60 Minutes: Obama vs. Romney
- Under Pressure, Romney Offers More Tax Data
- US election battleground moves to Ohio
- Liking It or Not, States Prepare for Health Law
- Sheldon Adelson: Inside the mind of the mega-donor
More top news and analysis excerpts below:
ELECTIONS 2012/DEBATES: 60 Minutes: Obama vs. Romney – CBS 60 MINUTES
In separate interviews, President Barack Obama and his challenger, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, discuss the election year’s hot-button issues.
DEBATES: Obama and Romney Offer a Possible Preview of Their First Debate – NYTIMES
In separate interviews for the CBS News program “60 Minutes,” the candidates criticized each other over foreign and domestic policies.
ELECTIONS 2012/ROMNEY TAXES: Under Pressure, Romney Offers More Tax Data – NYT
Mitt Romney responded to months of political pressure on Friday by making public his most recent tax return and limited information from previous years.
ELECTIONS 2012: Romney tries to end taxing attacks - FT
Returns reflect calculated decision on deductions.
ELECTIONS 2012: Romney: Campaign Doesn’t Need a Turnaround - WSJ
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said his campaign doesn’t need a turnaround despite a tough week and new polls showing President Barack Obama’s lead widening.
ROMNEY ECONOMIC PLAN: Krugman: The Optimism Cure - NYT
Mitt Romney reveals that his real economic plan relies on magic.
WEST WING: Sorkin’s Democracy - NEW YORKER
Ian Crouch: What “The West Wing” can still teach us about government.
*More Elections 2012 News and Analysis Below
SWING STATES: US election battleground moves to Ohio – FT
Campaign schedule is becoming increasingly frantic with less than two months to the November 6 poll, and only 10 days before first of three debates.
SWING STATES: How to Solve the Swing-State Puzzle - NYT
NATE SILVER: Handicapping the 2012 election, in the “tipping-point” states.
HEALTHCARE: Liking It or Not, States Prepare for Health Law - NY TIMES
ABBY GOODNOUGH: A handful of states whose Republican governors oppose President Obama’s health care overhaul are quietly working to have an insurance exchange ready before the deadline next month to create one.
HEALTHCARE: How to Stop Hospitals From Killing Us - WSJ
Medical errors kill enough people to fill four jumbo jets a week. Surgeon Marty Makary on five simple ways the health-care system can be made safer.
HEALTHCARE: Study Divides Breast Cancer Into Four Distinct Types - NY TIMES
New findings are reshaping the understanding of breast cancer, pointing to the use of drugs approved for other cancers. “This is the road map for how we might cure breast cancer in the future,” a researcher said.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE: Sheldon Adelson: Inside the mind of the mega-donor - POLITICO
MIKE ALLEN: Like never before, big dollars are having a big impact on politics and governance. This series examines how the new wide-open fundraising landscape will affect the 2012 campaigns.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE: Mitt: Fundraising focus Obama’s fault - POLITICO
He says the decision to not take federal cash is forcing them to spend more time raising money.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE: Low on Cash, Romney Tries to Rally Donors for Final Phase - NYT
NICHOLAS CONFESSORE, JO CRAVEN McGINTY and DEREK WILLIS: Campaign filings, and disclosures by major “super PACs” supporting both candidates, challenge the appearance of financial strength that Mitt Romney enjoyed over the summer.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE: Super PAC Influence Falls Short Of Aims – WSJ
Big outside political groups armed with an unprecedented river of money had appeared poised to be pivotal players in the 2012 elections. But so far, these super PACs are looking less than super.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE: Interactive: Portrait of Money in Politics - WSJ
CAMPAIGN FINANCE: GOP Cites Romneys’ Charity - WSJ
Republicans highlighted the significant charitable giving disclosed in Mitt Romney’s 2011 tax return, seeking to change the focus from the candidate’s wealth and relatively low tax rate. Romney’s 2011 Return.
CONGRESS: Obama Dings Congress for Leaving Town – WSJ
In dueling radio addresses, President Obama accused Congress of skipping town without passing a host of economy-boosting measures, while a top Republican criticized Senate Democrats for not passing a budget.
CONGRESS: Congress Heads for Home With Rancor Still Evident - NYT
The Senate gave final passage early Saturday morning to a stopgap spending measure that will ensure the government’s lights stay on through March.
CONGRESS: Lawmaker Didn’t Break Ethics Rules in Bank Case, Investigator Finds - NYT
The findings represent some of the final steps in what has been a three-year investigation into Representative Maxine Waters’s actions during the financial crisis.
CONGRESS/ FISCAL CLIFF: Lawmakers eying sequester II? - POLITICO
There’s an idea kicking around Congress to avoid the year-end “fiscal cliff.”
LOCAL RACES: Running as Outsiders, With a Catch: They’re In - NY TIMES
JENNIFER STEINHAUER: They are doctors and cowboys and anything else, while their opponents are Washington insiders. It’s an election season sign of the esteem in which Congress is held.
LOCAL RACES/SENATE: The Senate Slide - WSJ
STEPHEN MOORE: Republicans have been worried for weeks that Mitt Romney’s slippage in national polls would hurt GOP candidates down ticket. That is exactly what’s happening.
JUDICIAL CAMPAIGNS: Politics, Principle and an Attack on the Courts – NYT, EDITORIAL
A right-wing campaign to oust an able judge in Iowa raises worrisome questions.
MEDIA/STEVENS DIARY: Family Protests CNN Use of Slain Envoy’s Journal - WSJ
CNN obtained a personal journal that belonged to the slain American ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, and broadcast reports based on its contents against the wishes of the Stevens family.
AMERICAN DREAM: America the Anxious - NYT, OPINION
RUTH WHIPPMAN: The British may be dour, but across the pond, the obsessive American pursuit of happiness is creating a nation of nervous wrecks.
AMERICAN DREAM: The American Dream’s False Promise – RCP
It’s time to retire the American Dream – or at least give it a long vacation
VOTERS: The new focus: Early voting - POLITICO
Today is Election Day. And so is tomorrow. And the day after that.
VOTERS: Thomas B. Edsall: What’s Wrong With Pennsylvania? - NYT
This was supposed to be a swing state, with the Republican presidential candidate threatening to win for the first time since 1988. It hasn’t worked out that way.
BOOMER VOTERS: More and More, in Obama’s Corner - NYT
MICHAEL WINERIP: Barack Obama split the baby boomer vote in 2008, but recent polls show him leading Mitt Romney in that age group.
EVANGELICAL VOTERS: An Evangelical Is Back From Exile, Lifting Romney - NYT
Ralph Reed, who turned the Christian Coalition into a powerful political force, is planning a get-out-the-vote operation for Mitt Romney.
EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION: Freedom and Restraint - NYT,OPINION
JOHN FABIAN WITT: In the crucible of emancipation, Lincoln created the rules that now govern soldiers around the world.
IMMIGRATION: Immigration Debate: The Problem with the Word Illegal -TIME
JOSE ANTONIO VARGAS: It’s inflammatory, imprecise and, most of all, inaccurate. So why does everyone — from Chuck Schumer to Mitt Romney — use it?
CLIMATE CHANGE: Climate change will alter marine habitat - WP
Climate change will alter Pacific Ocean predators’ habitat by as much as 35 percent by 2100.
CLIMATE CHANGE: Now you don’t – ECONOMIST
Summer ice in the Arctic Ocean is vanishing rapidly.
CLIMATE CHANGE: How to Make Air Conditioners Less Guzzling and More Green - BLOOMBERG, EDITORIAL
When the electricity went out in northern India this past summer, alarm bells went off among global energy experts. They’re still ringing as one hemisphere eases out of the hot season and the other warms up.
MILITARY: Robert Morgenthau: The Death of Peter Wielunski - WSJ, OPINION
For every soldier killed in combat, 25 veterans are dying by suicide. It’s time to broaden efforts against PTSD.
MILITARY: Marine’s Death Unites His Dad and His Battlefield Buddy - WSJ
More than 6,500 Americans have died in Afghanistan and Iraq, leaving gaping holes in families across the nation. Out of duty or kindness, guilt or need, the troops who survived often step forward to fill those voids.
FREE SPEECH: The White House Goes Mum on Free Speech - WSJ, OPINION
GORDON CROVTIZ: While France stands up for a basic right, the Obama administration sits on its hands.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE: Guilty Pleas in Federal Cases Soar - WSJ
A growing number of federal defendants plead guilty, often to avoid the lengthy prison sentences that can come with losing at trial.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE: Academic Study Shows Innocent Plead Guilty at High Rate – WSJ
Two university professors last year did an experiment to explore one of the more controversial questions of criminal law: How often do innocent defendants plead guilty to crimes to avoid the risk of greater punishment if they fight and lose?
CRIMINAL JUSTICE: Costly Phone Calls for Inmates – NYT, EDITORIAL
The time is long past for the F.C.C. to give state prisoners access to reasonably priced interstate telephone service.
ENVIRONMENT/OVERFISHING: The Shocking News About Cod – NYT, EDITORIAL
No species can rebound when it has been stripped of its most fertile members as the cod has been.
TECHNOLOGY/LEGISLATION: Obama’s Cyber Attack - WSJ
The White House’s looming power grab to regulate the Internet.
TECHNOLOGY/CONSUMER PRIVACY: Facebook raises fears with ad tracking – FT
Social media group attempts to prove power of advertising reach via tracking online marketing targeted at users and actual purchases
MARIJUANA LAW: Voters Weigh Eased Pot Laws - WSJ
Advocates of legalizing marijuana are promoting measures on the ballot this fall in Colorado, Oregon and Washington state, and polls suggest at least a couple have realistic chances of passing.
EDUCATION: Finding their place in the world - WP
DANIELLE ALLEN: Education should combine liberal arts, vocational elements.
EDUCATION: Princeton Head Will Leave Post - WSJ
Princeton University President Shirley M. Tilghman, the first woman to lead the school, will step down from her post at the end of the academic year.
EDUCATION: What Do Teachers Deserve? In Idaho, Referendum May Offer Answer - NYTIMES
KIRK JOHNSON: Chicago’s fight may be over, but in Idaho, the debate over schools has morphed into a harsh discussion about whom the voters should trust.
SEXUALITY: INTERACTIVE FEATURE: Coming Out – NYT
Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender teenagers talk about their lives in this weeklong series.
SCIENCE & POLITICS: The Beaker and the Ballot - WSJ, OPINION
ARI SCHULMAN: Those on both left and right who invoke ‘science’ as a cover for political positions actually undermine public trust in science.
MORE ELECTION 2012 STORIES:
ELECTIONS 2012: In Ryan Country, Obama Keeps Up Attack Over ‘47 Percent’ Remarks - NYT
MARK LANDLER: In Wisconsin on Saturday, President Obama said Mitt Romney’s vision for the country had no room for the middle class, the elderly, students or veterans.
ELECTIONS 2012: Can this election settle anything? - WP
E.J. Dionne Jr., When the dust settles, will the next president be able to govern?
ELECTIONS 2012: Romney’s real problem is a detachment from reality - FT
Businessmen who dabble in politics lack the skills of those who build their lives around it.
ELECTIONS 2012: Obama’s tax witticisms fail to amuse Romney - FT
President makes fun of his opponent’s support for tax cuts
ELECTIONS 2012: GOP Aims to Refocus on Economy - WSJ
Top Republicans looked to move past last week’s political setbacks and refocus the November election on the sputtering economy.
POLLS: US election battleground moves to Ohio - FT
Obama buoyed by strong poll figures.
POLLS: Obama pulls ahead of Romney - POLITICO
The president opens up a national lead in a tight race that’s been static for much of the year.
POLLS: GOP analysis: Mitt winning in middle - POLITICO
He holds 14-point advantage with the middle class.
POLLS: More trust Obama on Medicare - POLITICO
Fifty percent of registered voters in 12 swing states say they’d put their faith in the president.
ROMNEY TAXES: Mitt Romney Won’t Lower Americans’ Taxes - BLOOMBERG, OPINION
BETSEY STEVENSON & JUSTIN WOLFERS: Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has one potential response to working Americans angered by the 14.1 percent federal income tax rate he paid in 2011: If elected, he would lower taxes for everybody.
ROMNEY TAXES: Mitt Is Overpaying His Taxes – For Now - BLOOMBERG
JOSH BARRO: The Romney campaign released a summary of Mitt Romney’s tax returns since 1990 and his 2011 tax return. The most striking part of the announcement is that Romney chose to forego $1.75 million in charitable deductions available to him in 2011 in order to ensure that his tax rate would be at least 13 percent, the estimated level he announced in January.
ROMNEY CAMPAIGN: Ryan: Right pundits always complain - POLITICO
He swats back at the pundit class and its intensifying criticism of the Romney campaign.
ROMNEY CAMPAIGN: Why is Romney a Loser? - NEW YORKER
John Cassidy: Seven theories addressing what’s gone wrong with the Republican candidate’s campaign.
ROMNEY CAMPAIGN: Is Romney Doomed? Not Yet -TIME
JON MEACHAM: It’s been a disastrous month, but the underlying numbers still suggest that this will be a close race to the end.
GOP/ROMNEY: GOP to Romney: You’re no Reagan - POLITICO
2012 is not 1980, when Jimmy Carter lost to Ronald Reagan in a landslide.
OBAMA/ECONOMY: The Mess He Inherited - WSJ, OPINION
JAMES FREEMAN: The president has convinced many voters that the abysmal economy is really the fault of his predecessor. But what about Sen. Obama’s role?
OBAMA CAMPAIGN: Does Obama need a slogan swap? - POLITICO
Can he continue to offer a message of “change” for a second term? Experts don’t think so.
BILL CLINTON/GOP: GOP Rite: Speak at Clinton Event - WSJ
It is becoming an awkward rite of passage during the presidential election year. The Republican candidate, this time former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, travels just weeks before the election to an event hosted by former President Bill Clinton, a Democrat.
ENERGY POLICY: Campaigns Spar Over Coal’s Future - WSJ
A handful of utility companies are determined to buck the trend toward natural gas and break ground on what could be the last new conventional coal-fired power plants in the U.S.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE: With Rich Donors, a More Candid Romney Emerges - NYT
MICHAEL BARBARO, ASHLEY PARKER: Mitt Romney’s remarks at fund-raisers highlight the differences, both subtle and significant, in how he talks to voters and donors, his two key constituencies.
BIDEN: For Vice President, a Heartbeat Away From the Public Isn’t Close Enough - NYT
TRIP GABRIEL: Politicians have always pressed the flesh, but few relish doing so as heartily as Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.
FOREIGN POLICY: Obama rejects foreign policy barbs - FT
Mitt Romney is seeking to recover from his own missteps on the Middle East and cast a cloud over one of the president’s most tangible successes
PAUL RYAN/MEDICARE: Ryan at the AARP - WSJ, EDITORIAL
The real story is that he didn’t trim his ideas and still won applause.
PAUL RYAN: Conservatives Want to ‘Let Ryan Be Ryan’ on Campaign Trail – NYT
TRIP GABRIEL, JONATHAN WEISMAN: Representative Paul D. Ryan’s slow fade into the afterthought role usually played by running mates has given Republicans a new outlet for frustration over the state of the race.
ECONOMIC POLICY: We Would Be Better Off Had Romney Been President - BLOOMBERG
LUIGI ZINGALES: The U.S. economy has improved under President Barack Obama. But by all the measures Democrats use, Americans would be better off today if Mitt Romney had led the country for the past four years.
LOCAL RACES: Virginia Republican Adopts Cuts in Defense as His Issue - NYT
JONATHAN WEISMAN: George Allen, Virginia’s Republican nominee for Senate, has made opposition to automatic reductions in military spending his campaign’s centerpiece.
RICK PERRY: How Perry Lost His Edge in Bid to Be President - NYT
JAY ROOT: Despite the support that Texas governor Rick Perry received when he joined the presidential race last year, a series of faux pas and debate inexperience came with political costs.
GOP: G.O.P. Ticket Is Picture of Health, Doctors Say - NYT
LAWRENCE K. ALTMAN and DENISE GRADY: Mitt Romney and Representative Paul D. Ryan are healthy and fit, according to medical summaries released on Friday by the Romney campaign.
VOTERS: Watching a Hit Sitcom, and Seeing Undecided Voters - NYT
ALESSANDRA STANLEY: For the Obamas and the Romneys, saying they like “Modern Family,” ABC’s hit sitcom, is an easy way to signal that they identify with white middle-class suburbia.
The Common Good publishes a U.S. domestic news digest every weekday, available here.
