Democracy | News-Opinion
TOP NEWS: Democracy: October 12th, 2012
Top Five News and Analysis Links (Excerpts Below)
- Biden and Ryan Quarrel, Offering Contrasts
- Surge Earns Romney Room on the Right
- Feisty Debate Crystallizes Differences in Tight MA Race
- RCP POLL: General Election: Romney 47.3 vs. Obama 46.3
- How Likely Is an Electoral Vote/Popular Vote Split?
More top news and analysis:
COUNTDOWN TO ELECTION: 24 DAYS
VP DEBATE: Biden and Ryan Quarrel Aggressively, Offering Contrasts - NYT
JEFF ZELENY, JIM RUTENBERG: Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Representative Paul D. Ryan engaged in a fluent and combative exchange over the Obama administration’s handling of foreign affairs and the nation’s economic recovery.
VP DEBATE: Sharp Jabs Dominate Debate – WSJ
Vice President Joe Biden and Paul Ryan clashed over foreign policy and the U.S. economy, with both candidates unleashing sharp one-liners.
VP DEBATE: A Debate With Clarity and Fervor – NYT, EDITORIAL
The vice-presidential candidates engaged on the issues that matter most, a change for voters starved for substance.
DEBATE FACTS: Vice presidential debate fact check – POLITICO
Joe Biden’s 36 years poring over legislation in the Senate and Rep. Paul Ryan’s wonky affinity for budget details made for a fact-intensive vice presidential debate Thursday night as the two men faced off in Kentucky.
VP DEBATE: The Generation War – NYT, DAVID BROOKS
The vice-presidential debate provided a look at two different eras in American family life. It was “The Honeymooners” versus “Family Ties.”
DEBATE SUMMARY: The debate in two minutes (Video) - WP, Harold Myerson
Miss the event? Get caught up and watch the key moments here.
*MORE VP DEBATE NEWS AND ANALYSIS BELOW
ELECTIONS 2012: Surge Earns Romney Room on the Right - WSJ
Many social conservatives, evangelicals and tea-party members say their focus is on winning, not on parsing the Republican nominee’s statements for signs of moderation.
CAMPAIGN TRUTH: The Truth About Facts - BLOOMBERG, by Stephen L. Carter
What is true, in the sense of being verifiable and well-founded, seems less important than what is helpful to the campaign.
CAMPAIGN TRUTH: Legends of the Fall: The Myths of Politics – RCP, Lou Cannon
“If you tell the same story five times, it’s true,” White House Press Secretary Larry Speakes said in 1983, using a Southern adage to defend an apocryphal story told by President Ronald Reagan. Some skeptics regarded Speakes’ comment as more a confession than a defense, but he was certainly on to something.
GROUND CAMPAIGN: Obama campaign: We’re winning in the field – POLITICO
The Obama campaign is touting the state of their field operation amid concerns by supporters and party rank-and-file that Mitt Romney is moving into the lead in many national polls.
HISPANIC VOTERS: Throwing votes away – ECONOMIST
Barack Obama looks likely to perform as strongly among Latinos as he did in 2008. Republicans should blame themselves.
*MORE ELECTIONS 2012 NEWS AND ANALYSIS BELOW
LOCAL RACES: 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.
LOCAL RACES: GOP Mobilizes as Arizona Senate Race Tightens – WSJ
A self-described “apolitical” former U.S. surgeon general is giving the Democratic Party a fighting chance to win a U.S. Senate race in Arizona for the first time since 1988.
POLLING: RCP POLL: General Election: Romney 47.3 vs. Obama 46.3
DEBATE POLL: In Polls, Biden Gets a Hold - NYT, NATE SILVER
The debate performance of Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. could be characterized as a bit shy of either a win or a save.
CAMPAIGN POLLS: Campaign trail by the numbers – FT
How have major events affected polls?
ELECTORAL COLLEGE: How Likely Is an Electoral Vote/Popular Vote Split? – RCP, Sean Trende
The possibility that Mitt Romney could win the popular vote while Barack Obama wins the vote in the Electoral College has been discussed throughout this campaign. In recent days, we’ve seen pieces fromNate Silver, Nate Cohn, Harry Enten and RCP’s Scott Conroy exploring the issue. Obama Campaign Manager Jim Messina has even referenced the potential discrepancy, urging reporters to look at the state polls rather than the national surveys.
VOTING: Early-Voting Dividends - WSJ, Kimberley A. Strassel
Republicans decide not to cede the early-voting period this year, and the strategy may be paying off.
VOTER RIGHTS: Voter ID Vindication – WSJ, By Jason L. Riley
A federal court upholds South Carolina’s state voter-identification law.
WOMEN/ABORTION: The Abortion Debate. – NEW YORKER, by Amy Davidson
Biden’s faith and Ryan’s extremism.
WOMEN/ABORTION: Abortion rights and wrongs – WP, Sally Quinn
A question on religion reveals a lot about Biden, Ryan and their tickets.
PUBLIC TELEVISION: Romney’s Pledge Puts Focus on Public TV - NYT
Political jousting between Mitt Romney and President Obama has brought new attention to the public financing of television and radio and has turned it into an election issue.
PUBLIC TELEVISION: The Big Bird Debate - PRO PUBLICA, Suevon Lee
How Much Does Federal Funding Matter to Public Broadcasting?
POLICY/MEDICARE: Bipartisan Spin on Medicare Plan - NYT
Times reporters take a closer look at Medicare, as well as other foreign and domestic policy questions that came up during Thursday night’s vice-presidential debate.
SUPREME COURT: THE END OF AFFIRMATIVE ACTION? - NEW YORKER, JEFFREY TOOBIN*
Plus: Romney’s Not-Obama doctrine of foreign policy.
*Jeffrey Toobin was a guest speaker at The Common Good in 2012 (Event Link)
EDUCATION: Make Colleges Tell Us More About Graduates’ Fate - BLOOMBERG, Richard Vedder
U.S. President Barack Obama says federal college-aid programs should be expanded, and in return the schools need to be held accountable for their costs and results. Republican candidate Mitt Romney thinks students should shop around for the best deal and get help from their parents.
GAY RIGHTS: Gay Rights May Get Its Brown v. Board of Education – NYT, MICHAEL J. KLARMAN
This term, the Supreme Court justices will consider the volatile issue of gay marriage, and the big question is how they will rule.
CLASS DIVISIONS: Class war of the future? – WP, Harold Myerson
Without growth, the 99% may confront the rich.
FOOD SAFETY: Your Food Shouldn’t Hospitalize You - BLOOMBERG, EDITORIAL
Contaminated food sickens 48 million Americans, resulting in more than 3,000 deaths and more than 100,000 hospitalizations each year. That’s right: 3,000 deaths.
MENINGITIS OUTBREAK: Meningitis cases increase; very rare fungus identified – WP
The number of cases linked to spinal injections of a contaminated drug is up to 169, federal officials said.
MENINGITIS OUTBREAK: Before a Wave of Meningitis, Shots Were Tied to Risks – NYT
Injections of steroids near the spine have been linked to other rare but devastating complications, including nerve damage, paralysis and strokes.
MENINGITIS OUTBREAK: Meningitis Deaths Increase - WSJ
Federal health officials called for greater authority to regulate compounding pharmacies like the one tied to the continuing meningitis outbreak and said a wider population of patients may be at risk from contaminated shots. The death toll rose to 14.
MENINGITIS OUTBREAK: Outbreak fuels FDA pharmacy concerns - FT
Death toll from fungal meningitis continues to climb.
HEALTH/INJURY: Injury Rate in Young Kids Increased Again Last Year - WSJ
Injuries to young children increased for the fourth straight year in 2011, continuing a reversal of a longer-term downward trend that some say may be linked to distracted parents in an age of smartphones.
HEALTH/CANCER FIGHT: Mother Nature, Version 2.0 - WSJ, Scott Gottlieb
Welcome to the world of synthetic biology, where micro-organisms can be programmed to invade and destroy cancer cells.
HEALTH: More HIV-Positive Patients Receive Organ Transplants - WSJ
Hospitals are increasingly willing to transplant vital and scarce organs into people who have HIV, a once-unthinkable step made possible now that drug regimens are helping such patients live longer.
SCIENCE/NOBEL PRIZE: Hitting the G-spot – ECONOMIST
The Nobel prize for chemistry goes to Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka for the study of G-protein-coupled receptors, crucial to the pharmaceutical industry
MEDICAL PRACTICE: Doctor in Repeat-Surgery Probe Gives Up License - WSJ
A Portland, Ore., neurosurgeon who performed an unusual number of repeat spinal operations on patients has surrendered his medical license, ending an 18-month investigation by the state’s medical board.
IMMIGRATION: One Is Dead After Clash at Border - AP/NYT
An American Border Patrol agent opened fire on a group of people throwing rocks from across the Mexican border, and the authorities said one person was hit.
MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION: Lawmen Against the Law - NYT, TIMOTHY EGAN
In three states, police and prosecutors are now backing legalization of marijuana.
MEDICAL MARIJUANA: Oakland Sues U.S. to Prevent Closing of Marijuana Dispensary – NYT
The city is trying to prevent the Department of Justice from seizing property leased to Harborside Health Center, the largest medical marijuana dispensary in the country.
MEDICAL MARIJUANA: City Fights for Marijuana Dispensary - WSJ
The Northern California city is suing to keep open its biggest medical-marijuana dispensary, which has been targeted in a multi-state crackdown by the federal government.
OCEAN ENVIRONMENT: Marine Mammals and the Navy’s 5-Year Plan - NYT, EDITORIAL
The Navy’s sonar and training exercises in the Atlantic and the Pacific would cause damage to millions of marine mammals, including some endangered species.
LANCE ARMSTRONG: A Drug to Quicken the Blood - NYT, By KATHLEEN SHARP
The Lance Armstrong report didn’t explain the seductive power of the blood booster he used or how health care providers and our culture pushed its irresponsible use.
LANCE ARMSTRONG: IT’S NOT ABOUT THE BIKE - NEW YORKER, MICHAEL SPECTER
Regarding Lance Armstrong, I went from gullible fanboy to surprised reader to angry man. Now, I am simply amazed…
MORE VICE PRESIDENT’S DEBATE NEWS AND ANALYSIS:
Biden goes after Ryan in VP debate – POLITICO, ALEXANDER BURNS
Repeatedly interrupts and laughs at the Republican. Joe Biden’s 5 best lines, Paul Ryan’s 5 best lines
VP DEBATE: Biden and Ryan spar on taxes, foreign policy – WP
Dan Balz and Philip Rucker: They differ on how to create jobs, whose taxes should be cut and how best to ensure the solvency of Medicare.
Biden vs. Ryan: No Shy People Onstage – NYT, JONATHAN WEISMAN
Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Representative Paul D. Ryan held their positions tenaciously and delineated battle lines that had been blurred when President Obama and Mitt Romney met a week ago.
Understudies Offer a First-Rate Performance – WSJ
If Americans wanted to know what a real debate sounds like, they got one, courtesy of the two men who are supposed to be taking second billing in the race, writes Gerald Seib.
DEBATE INTERACTIVE: The Vice-Presidential Debate - NYT
Follow along with this interactive replay of the presidential debate, using fact checks and graphics to take a closer look at Mr. Biden and Mr. Ryan’s assertions and attacks.
The No. 1 Rule When No. 2s Meet in Battle? Be Memorable. In a Good Way. – NYT, JOHN HARWOOD
Gaffes and gotchas are what people remember best about vice-presidential debates.
Biden and Ryan Draw; Raddatz Loses – BLOOMBERG, by Josh Barro
Somehow, Vice President Joe Biden got through an entire debate in 2008 without laughing at Sarah Palin. Yet, at least in the first 15 minutes of tonight’s debate, it seemed that Joe Biden could not contain his laughter at Paul Ryan’s comments.
Private Biden, Reporting for Duty – BROOKINGS, John Hudak
Commenting on the October 11 vice presidential debate, John Hudak writes that Joe Biden’s grit won out over Paul Ryan in the battle to win over undecided voters.
MORE ELECTION 2012 NEWS AND ANALYSIS:
TRAJECTORY: The Big Bird counterattack – WP, Charles Krauthammer
No mystery about the trajectory of this race. It was static for months as President Obama held a marginal lead. Then came the conventions. The Republicans squandered Tampa; the Democrats got a 3- to 4-point bounce out of Charlotte.
HEALTHCARE POLICY: Romney clarifies stance on health insurance – FT
Republican points to hospitals for uninsured patients.
FOREIGN POLICY: On Foreign Policy, Differing in Style but Often Similar in Substance - NYT
Representative Paul D. Ryan asserted that the Obama administration’s foreign policy was “unraveling,” while Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. repeatedly demanded that Mr. Ryan explain what a Romney administration would do differently.
FOREIGN POLICY: Romney Criticizes Obama’s Handling of Libya Terrorist Attacks – NYT
Mitt Romney delivered his most pointed criticism to date of President Obama’s handling of the lethal attack in Benghazi, Libya.
DEBATE PREPARATION: After Fiery Florida Rally, Obama Focuses on Debate Work – NYT
HELENE COOPER, TRIP GABRIEL: The president’s campaign has decided time on debate preparation is time well spent, even at the cost of voter rallies.
The Common Good publishes a U.S. domestic news digest every weekday, available here.
