Democracy | News-Opinion
TOP NEWS: Democracy: October 11th, 2012
Top Five News and Analysis Links (Excerpts Below)
- Voters Give Romney Better Grades for Leadership, Polls in 3 States Find
- Biden and Ryan to Take Center Stage
- Second Pharmacy Closes Amid Outbreak
- Justices Clash on Affirmative Action
- The Real Reason Romney’s Tax Math Doesn’t Add Up
More top news and analysis:
COUNTDOWN TO ELECTION: 25 DAYS
ELECTIONS 2012: Voters Give Romney Better Grades for Leadership, Polls in 3 States Find – NYT
Mitt Romney is seen by more voters as a strong leader after his debate performance last week, but positive economic news appears to have buffered President Obama.
ELECTIONS 2012: Romney has a Google problem – POLITICO
Once again his phrasing is “not elegantly stated,” at least in terms of Google results.
ELECTIONS 2012: Mitt Romney’s comeback: Back where we began – THE ECONOMIST
How did it come to this? That’s what Barack Obama’s supporters are asking in light of Monday’s Pew poll that shows Mitt Romney leading the president by four percentage points.
ELECTIONS 2012: Poll: Democrats Still Lead in Key Senate Races – WSJ
The presidential polls have tightened since last week’s debate between Obama and Romney, but in key Senate races in Ohio and Florida, the Democratic candidate still retains a strong lead.
ELECTIONS 2012: Obama Campaign Says Romney Is Misleading Voters on Abortion – NYT
President Obama’s campaign on Wednesday accused Mitt Romney of “cynically and dishonestly” trying to hide his real position on abortion and contraception.
*MORE ELECTIONS 2012 NEWS AND ANALYSIS BELOW
VP DEBATES: Biden and Ryan to Take Center Stage – WSJ
This year’s single vice-presidential debate has taken on an unusual level of importance as a new set of polls from swing states underscored how tight the race has become.
VP DEBATES: The No. 1 Rule When No. 2s Meet in Battle? Be Memorable. In a Good Way. – NYT
Gaffes and gotchas are what people remember best about vice-presidential debates.
VP DEBATES: Biden’s Debate Mission: Whip Up Democrats to Blunt Romney’s Gains - NYT
When Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. takes the debate stage on Thursday night, he will probably not be able to erase all of Mitt Romney’s gains after his debate performance in Denver last week.
VP DEBATES: Six Things to Watch For in Biden-Ryan Debate – NYT
The momentum shift from the presidential debate last week has raised the stakes for Thursday night’s vice-presidential debate.
VP DEBATES: 5 things to watch in VP debate – WP
The “Thrill in the ‘Ville” — aka the vice presidential debate between Joe Biden and Paul Ryan — gets underway this evening in Danville, Ky.
HEALTH/OUTBREAK: Second Pharmacy Closes Amid Outbreak - WSJ
A compounding pharmacy that ‘shares principal ownership’ with the company at the center of the deadly meningitis outbreak has voluntarily ceased operations, Massachusetts officials said, in response to heightened scrutiny of the little-regulated industry.
HEALTH/OUTBREAK: After a Meningitis Death, Family Members Ask Why – NYT
Diana Reed received a series of steroid injections to alleviate her neck pain. She later died, one of more than 130 people to have contracted meningitis in a national outbreak.
HEALTH/POLITICS: This Election, a Stark Choice in Health Care - NYT
When Americans go to the polls next month they will cast a vote not just for president but for one of two profoundly different visions for the future of the country’s health care system.
HEALTH/MEDICARE: Medicare Shift Fails to Cut Hospital Infections – WSJ
A high-profile Medicare policy that sought to reduce certain hospital-acquired infections by cutting payments tied to treating them turned out to have no impact, according to a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine.
HEALTH: Three Drugs to Be Tested to Stave Off Alzheimer’s - NYT
Three studies are starting early next year with the same goal: finding a way to head off the disease with early intervention.
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION: Justices Clash on Affirmative Action - WSJ
Supreme Court justices clashed over affirmative action in higher education, with liberals on the court suggesting they didn’t see problems with a race-conscious admissions program at the University of Texas.
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION: Blunt instruments - THE ECONOMIST
The last time the Supreme Court heard a case about affirmative action was in Grutter vs Bollinger in 2003. In that case the decision was that universities may consider race as a factor in their admissions decisions.
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION: Schools Brace for Decision on Affirmative Action - NYT
As the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case challenging race-conscious admission to public colleges, university officials watched for clues to where the court might go.
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION: Supreme Court Revisits Affirmative Action in College Admissions - NYT
The Supreme Court heard arguments on Wednesday about diversity in higher education and how much of a role, if any, the courts should have in determining how admissions officers consider race in their college acceptance decisions.
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION: Race-Conscious Admissions in Texas – NYT, EDITORIAL
Affirmative action provokes conflicting views about what equal protection means under the law.
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION: Justices Weigh Race as Factor at Universities – NYT
With the future of affirmative action in higher education hanging in the balance, the Supreme Court on Wednesday grappled with two basic questions…
ROMNEY TAX PLAN: The Real Reason Romney’s Tax Math Doesn’t Add Up – BLOOMBERG, JOSH BARRO
Mitt Romney’s tax plan has three key planks. He cuts personal income tax rates by 20 percent across the board; he eliminates deductions, exclusions and credits so that the deficit does not grow; and he doesn’t make the tax code any less progressive. Unfortunately, as the Tax Policy Center has shown, only two of these planks can co-exist.
ROMNEY TAX PLAN: Mitt Romney’s Campaign Responds to Josh Barro – BLOOMBERG, JOSH BARRO
The Mitt Romney campaign submitted this letter to the editor in response to my Ticker post today “The Real Reason Romney’s Tax Math Doesn’t Add Up.”
VOTING/LATINOS : Throwing votes away - THE ECONOMIST,
The most recent survey by Latino Decisions, a polling group, found 72% of Latino voters plumping for Mr Obama, next to a pitiful 20% for Mitt Romney (the fieldwork was conducted largely before Mr Romney’s post-debate bump).
VOTING: Court Blesses S.C. Voter ID Law But Halts Enforcement Until 2013 – WSJ
A panel of federal judges in Washington blocked enforcement of South Carolina’s new voter identification law for the 2012 elections but rejected claims by the Justice Department that it would disenfranchise black voters.
VOTING: Key to Victory? Who Has Best Ground Game – WSJ
Political campaigns contain many sexy components: multimillion-dollar ad buys, national debates, convention speeches. But this year’s election may well hinge on a decidedly unsexy factor: voter turnout machinery.
VOTING: Federal Court Blocks Voter ID Law in South Carolina, but Only for Now – NYT
The court ruled that there was not enough time to educate voters and officials about the law, but that it might go into effect in 2013.
POLLING: Shifting Party Allegiances Are Tricky for Pollsters – WSJ
In the last few weeks, Republican figures such as Karl Rove and Rush Limbaugh have questioned polls showing leads for President Barack Obama over Republican nominee Mitt Romney.
SENATE RACE: Wisconsin, a Republican Haven, Finds Itself Split - NYT
The Senate race in Wisconsin is a reminder that the state, like some others in the Midwest that moved toward the Republicans in 2010, may remain relatively evenly split along partisan lines.
SENATE RACE: A Feisty Debate Crystallizes Differences in Tight Massachusetts Race – NYT
Elizabeth Warren and Senator Scott P. Brown kept the pressure on each other throughout an hourlong debate Wednesday night in Springfield.
ISLAMOPHOBIA/’JIHAD’ ADS: ‘Jihad’ ads on Metro stir debate – POLITICO
A House Democrat has called for a boycott of the system during the four-week ad buy.
ANTI-MUSLIM FILM TRIAL: Man Tied to Anti-Islam Film Denies Probation Charges – NYT
Nakoula Basseley Nakoula denied using aliases or lying to the police about his role in the video “Innocence of Muslims.”
LIBYA ATTACK: Poll: Most troubled by Libya claim - POLITICO
And 46 percent of voters say they disapprove of the president’s handling of relations with the nation.
WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION: Obama issues whistleblower directive - WP
President Obama has done what Congress has not — extend whistleblower protections to national security and intelligence employees.
ENERGY: U.S. Electric Grid Gets Regulatory Jolt Into 21st Century – BLOOMBERG, EDITORIAL
This week, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will begin enforcing Order 1000. Understandably, most readers probably won’t want to inquire further.
ENERGY: Agreeing to agree on energy policy - POLITICO, C. MELANCON
Let’s not let politics undermine earnest attempts to develop energy proposals.
ENERGY/HYDRO-FRACKING: New EPA Findings Test Fracking Site – WSJ
New EPA tests of water surrounding natural-gas-drilling sites near Pavillion, Wyo., have turned up results that are “generally consistent” with earlier findings showing a link between contamination and hydraulic fracturing
ENERGY/BP OIL SPILL: Louisiana: Oil Sheen Linked to 2010 BP Spill – NYT
The United States Coast Guard reported late Wednesday that samples from an oil sheen spotted in the Gulf of Mexico last month have been matched to the oil that gushed from the Macondo 252 well, the source of the massive BP oil spill of 2010.
ENERGY/BP OIL SPILL: BP Close to Spill Settlement - WSJ
BP and the U.S. Justice Department are close to a broad deal that would resolve both the company’s civil and criminal liabilities arising from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster.
EDUCATION: Common Application Is Removing a Surprising Essay Topic – NYT
The new Common Application — a universal form that allows students to apply to multiple colleges and universities — is going Web-only next year, and is bringing with it some surprising changes to the essay rules,The Chronicle of Higher Education reports.
IMMIGRATION: Mississippi: State Joins Suit Against Migrant Reprieves - NYT
Gov. Phil Bryant has joined a lawsuit by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents against Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano…
POVERTY: Op-Ed: The Wrong Way to Help the Poor – NYT, G. E. MacDOUGAL
We spend nearly $1 trillion a year for the needy. It isn’t working.
POLITICS: Collins: Democrats at the Deep End – NYT, G. COLLINS
It’s a tough time to be a Democrat.
ONLINE MARKETING: Senator Opens Investigation of Data Brokers - NYT
Senator John D. Rockefeller, a Democrat from West Virginia, said he was concerned that personal information about people could be collected and sold to their potential detriment.
MORE ELECTION 2012 NEWS AND ANALYSIS:
ELECTIONS 2012: Romney Campaign Looks to Capitalize on Image Voters Saw in Debate – NYT
Campaign aides are mapping out adjustments toward a moderate approach that runs the risk of reopening a debate about the candidate’s authenticity.
ELECTIONS 2012: Race Tightens in Two States – WSJ
Mitt Romney is deadlocked with President Barack Obama in two key battlegrounds—Florida and Virginia—while still behind in Ohio, according to new polls.
ELECTIONS 2012: Is Romney Leading Right Now? - NYT
Polling since the debate in Denver last week has generally been very strong for Mitt Romney. But there have also been a couple of rays of hope for Democrats and President Obama.
ELECTIONS 2012: Romney’s Confusing Abortion Comment - NYT, EDITORIAL
Yesterday, Mitt Romney told the editorial board of the Des Moines Register: “There’s no legislation with regards to abortion that I’m familiar with that would become part of my agenda.”
ELECTIONS 2012/REGULATION: Big Banks Beware! – WSJ
The conventional wisdom among Wall Street bankers is that Barack Obama was tough on them and Mitt Romney, who emphasizes the harm of “excessive regulation” would be easier on them. But Romney sent up a flare in the recent debate…
ELECTIONS 2012: Rogers: The president thinks he was ‘too polite’? – WP, ED ROGERS
Interesting comment from President Obama today on the Tom Joyner Morning Show, hiding behind the idea that “I was just too polite” and therefore wasn’t effective in the debate. What a pretentious phony.
ELECTIONS 2012: Sherrod Brown’s lessons for Obama – WP, E. J. Dionne Jr.
[Paul] Ryan, Brown said, has “dressed up trickle-down economics and wrapped it in an Ayn Rand novel.” The vice president, Brown added, should highlight the Republicans’ desire to privatize both Medicare and Social Security…
ELECTIONS 2012: Premature Desperation - NYT, C. M. BLOW
Yes, the narrow swath of voters in the middle — many of whom may be low-information, low-engagement voters — responded to Romney’s forcefulness and were put off by the president’s passivity. Yes, Romney got a post-debate bump… But that doesn’t mean all is lost. It isn’t.
ELECTIONS 2012: Would a President Romney Be So Bad? - LAT via RCP, M. KINSLEY
Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not hoping for this or expecting it, but maybe it wouldn’t be the end of the world if Mitt Romney became president. Never in my life have I supported a Republican for president, and I don’t intend to start now.
ELECTIONS 2012: Why black voters reject Romney - CNN, S. A. IFILL
Mitt Romney’s strong debate performance and his apology for his callous remarks deriding 47% of the American public appear to be moving his poll numbers up in some states. But Romney’s reinvigorated campaign is unlikely to move black voters.
OBAMA CAMPAIGN: Obama: Bad night, race not changed – POLITICO
He says the “fundamentals” remain the same.
ROMNEY CAMPAIGN: Romney: ‘I’ll Be a Pro-Life President’ - WSJ
Mitt Romney tried to clarify his stance on abortion Wednesday, dubbing himself a “pro-life candidate,” as he watered down comments he made to an Iowa newspaper a day earlier.
ROMNEY CAMPAIGN: Romney shifts to more moderate stances on taxes, immigration, health care, education - WP
The final weeks of the presidential campaign are bringing Mitt Romney full circle, back to a question that has tugged at him for nearly two decades: What does he really believe?
ROMNEY CAMPAIGN: Romney’s Ad Buy Tops President’s - WSJ
For the first week of this election season, Mitt Romney is outspending President Barack Obama on television ads, with the Republican challenger dipping into a war chest amassed from an aggressive fundraising schedule.
VP DEBATES: The dark art of the VP debate – WP
The dark art of the vice presidential debate begins with a single rule: If everybody’s talking about you, you’re doing it wrong.
VP DEBATES: Ex-debate foes: Ryan a tough debater – POLITICO
To those who know best — his past debate foes — Paul Ryan is an agile debater.
VP DEBATES: What I learned from debating Ryan – WP, EZRA KLEIN
In February 2010, I sat down to talk health-care policy with Rep. Paul Ryan. Ryan wasn’t yet the lion of the right that he is today, but he had a reputation as an unusually wonkish legislator, and he didn’t disappoint.
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