Democracy | News-Opinion
TOP NEWS: Democracy: October 17th, 2012
COUNTDOWN TO ELECTION: 19 DAYS
Top Five News and Analysis Links (Excerpts Below)
- Rivals Bring Bare Fists to Rematch
- Women to the Fore in Race for White House
- Justices Clear the Way For Early Voting in Ohio
- GOP Super PACs Defend House
- Bin Laden Driver’s Conviction Is Reversed
More top news and analysis: (Updates coming shortly)
DEBATE: Rivals Bring Bare Fists to Rematch - NYT
In a charged and clenched debate, President Obama portrayed Mitt Romney as a former corporate raider, while Mr. Romney kept bringing the discussion back to Mr. Obama’s record.
DEBATE: How to Score the Debate - NYT, THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
It’s not about who had the best zinger. It’s about who gave a full and honest explanation of the best way forward.
DEBATE: Romney’s Rose Garden Moment - NYT, ANDREW ROSENTHAL
Candy Crowley had to fact-check the Republican candidate during the debate.
DEBATE: Obama Gets His Mojo Back – BLOOMBERG, EDITORIAL
Disregard what you may have read on the Internet or heard on cable TV: Apparently Barack Obama does want to be re-elected as president.
DEBATE: Moderator Crowley is active presence – WP
True to her predictions, moderator Candy Crowley was an active, aggressive and prominent presence in the presidential debate.
*MORE DEBATE NEWS & ANALYSIS BELOW ON OUR WEBSITE [HERE]
ELECTIONS 2012/WOMEN: Debate Moves Women to Fore in Race for the White House – NYT
President Obama argued that Mitt Romney would oppose equal pay for women and block access to birth control, but Mr. Romney sought to defend his policies as better for women.
ELECTIONS 2012/COAL: What the Frack?! – FP, DAVID ROBERTS
How the 2012 election could come down to one thing: coal.
ELECTIONS 2012/IMMIGRATION: Rubio: Obama Has ’Poisoned the Well’ on Immigration – BLOOMBERG, MARGARET CARLSON
He wasn’t named Mitt Romney’s running mate, but that hasn’t slowed down Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida. He’s turned into one of Romney’s leading surrogates — sitting for interviews, holding rallies and recording advertisements.
ELECTIONS 2012: A Closer Look at Some of the More Hotly Disputed Assertions – NYT
Energy policy, trade disputes with China and relations with Israel were among the subjects where the facts were more nuanced than assertions made during the debate.
*MORE DEBATE NEWS & ANALYSIS BELOW ON OUR WEBSITE [HERE]
SUPREME COURT/ EARLY VOTING: Justices Clear the Way For Early Voting in Ohio - NYT
The Supreme Court turned down a request from officials in Ohio to block an appeals court ruling concerning early voting there. The decision was a victory for the Obama campaign.
SUPREME COURT: Time, Pen and Paper, and Now the Ear of the Supreme Court - NYT
Kim Millbrook is the kind of litigious prisoner that judges call a frequent filer. But he may have stumbled on a real legal issue and the Supreme Court is hearing his case.
SUPREME COURT: Does the Constitution Echo Republican Views? – BLOOMBERG, CASS R. SUNSTEIN
In the context of affirmative action, some of the nation’s most important and distinguished conservative legal thinkers, including Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, appear to have abandoned their own deepest beliefs about how to interpret the Constitution.
SUPREME COURT: Politics and the Courts – NYT, EDITORIAL
The next president will have many judgeships to fill and a broken confirmation process to fix.
LOCAL RACES: GOP Super PACs Defend House - WSJ
The goal is to make Democrats’ hopes of retaking the House, always something of an uphill climb, even more of a challenge.
LOCAL RACES: California Ballot Initiatives, Born in Populism, Now Come From Billionaires - NYT
California’s ballot propositions include several from billionaires, a sign that the wealthy are using “super PACs” to influence politics in the nation’s most populous state.
LOCAL RACES: As Two Iowa Incumbents Compete, the White House Race Reverberates - NYT
Representatives Tom Latham, a Republican, and Leonard L. Boswell, a Democrat, are finding their campaign inextricably tied to the presidential contest.
BIN LADEN DRIVER: In Setback for Military Tribunals, Bin Laden Driver’s Conviction Is Reversed - NYT
CHARLIE SAVAGE : The defendants had challenged the prison’s commander over a decision that would prohibit them from wearing camouflage in court.
BID LADEN DIVER: Appeals Court Overturns Terrorism Conviction of Bin Laden’s Driver - NYT
Salim Ahmed Hamdan’s conviction for providing material support for terrorism could not stand because, at the time of his actions, there was no such defined war crime, the court found.
SWING STATES: Can Romney Expand the Map? - RCP, DICK MORRIS
Originally, the Romney and Obama campaigns chose the swing states on which they should focus by comparing election results from previous years and figuring out which were most likely or least likely to vote for each candidate. The result was a consensus that North Carolina, Florida, Virginia, Ohio, New Hampshire, Nevada and Colorado were the most likely to swing one way or the other.
CIVIL RIGHTS: The Exclusive Eight – NYT, EDITORIAL
A complaint from civil rights groups over a single test used to screen applicants to New York City’s elite public schools was overdue.
PRIVACY: Will Privacy Go to the Dogs? – NYT, JEFFREY A. MEYER
The Supreme Court should rule against the warrantless use of sniffing police dogs.
PLANET DISCOVERY: Astronomers Find Earthlike Planet - WSJ
European astronomers say that just outside our solar system they’ve found a planet that is the closest you can get to Earth in location and size.
PLANET DISCOVERY: ‘Lava planet’ orbits nearby star - WP
The Alpha Centauri system hosts a hot little planet.
HEALTH: Pharmacy in Outbreak Is Raided – WSJ
Federal criminal investigators searched the New England Compounding Center, which supplied drugs tied to the deadly meningitis outbreak.
HEALTH: Call the FDA – WP, EDITORIAL
Compounding pharmacies need more oversight.
HEALTH: Investigators Visit Company Tied to Meningitis Cases - NYT
Agents from the F.D.A.’s Office of Criminal Investigations visited the New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Mass., for the first time, acting on a sealed warrant.
IMMIGRATION: IDs for Illegal Immigrants Take a Step in Los Angeles – NYT
A City Council committee approved a plan to solicit proposals to develop and operate a city ID card system, which would allow illegal immigrants to use banks and other services.
DRUG WAR: U.S. Detains Woman Believed to Be Mexican Drug Lord’s Daughter – WSJ
U.S. authorities are detaining a woman who is believed to be a daughter of the head of Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel after she was arrested last week allegedly trying to cross the border near San Diego, according to court records.
USPS: Postal Service Hits Borrowing Limit - WSJ
The U.S. Postal Service hit its $15 billion borrowing limit for the first time in its history, leaving the agency with only the revenue it takes in from selling stamps, shipping and other services to cover its enormous operating costs.
ARMSTRONG: Nike Drops Lance Armstrong - WSJ
Nike terminated its contract with cycling champion Lance Armstrong over doping allegations.
ARMSTRONG: Lance Armstrong’s World Unravels in Wake of Scandal – AP, JIM VERTUNO
Lance Armstrong stepped down as chairman of his Livestrong cancer-fighting charity and Nike severed ties with him as fallout from the doping scandal swirling around the famed cyclist escalated Wednesday.
EARTHQUAKE: No Damage Is Reported From a Quake in Maine – NYT, ASSOCIATED PRESS
An earthquake hit southern Maine on Tuesday evening, rattling New England as far as Boston and Connecticut.
MORE DEBATE NEWS & ANALYSIS
DEBATE: Debating Points: Obama vs. Romney, Round Two - NYT, EDITORIAL
Campaign Stops contributors weigh in with their early reactions to the second presidential debate.
DEBATE: A scrappy second debate - WP, EDITORIAL
Tuesday’s clash delivered more sparks, and even some light
DEBATE: Candidates Tangle in Tense Debate - WSJ
Obama, seeking to regain momentum in his campaign, sparred with Romney during a tense and highly anticipated rematch marked by repeated confrontations.
DEBATE/OBAMA: For the President, Punch, Punch, Another Punch - NYT
President Obama emerged from the second debate with Mitt Romney having settled nerves within his party and claimed a new chance to frame the presidential race with just three weeks until Election Day.
DEBATE/OBAMA: Not the Game Changer Obama Needed - WEEKLY STANDARD
Too bad for President Obama that he saved his aggressive performance for his second debate with Mitt Romney. If he had done as well in the first debate, the presidential race might look different today
DEBATE/OBAMA: Obama’s Best Debate – Ever - SALON
But will it be enough to reverse the startling gains Mitt Romney has made in the past two weeks?
DEBATE/OBAMA: Mr. Obama Comes Back - NYT, EDITORIAL
The president offers a strong case for his policies, and puts Mitt Romney on the defensive.
DEBATE/OBAMA: Obama’s Narrow Victory - NYT, ROSS DOUTHAT
The president did what he had to, but it was Romney who revealed his own weak spots.
DEBATE/OBAMA: Obama Bares His Teeth - NYT, FRANK BRUNI
For this debate, the president honed a whole new ferocity.
DEBATE/OBAMA: Obama goes on offensive, turns debate with Romney into argument - WP, K. TUMULTY & P. RUCKER
Sharp exchanges mark town hall-style event as Obama tries to erase lackluster performance of first debate.
DEBATE/LIBYA: Obama Takes Responsibility for Deaths in Libya - WSJ
Obama said that he ultimately was responsible for the deaths of four Americans in Libya, but denounced Republican charges that the White House initially resisted labeling the incident a terrorist attack.
DEBATE/LIBYA: Attack on U.S. Mission in Benghazi Becomes Subject of Strongest Words - NYT
Mitt Romney tried to use the White House’s handling of the attack on the American mission in Libya as a broad indictment of President Obama as commander in chief, while Mr. Obama accused Mr. Romney of politicizing a tragedy.
DEBATE/ROMNEY: In Debate’s Dance, Romney Has More Missteps - NYT
At their town-hall-style debate, President Obama and Mitt Romney circled around each other like tomcats in an alley as they vied for dominance in an effort to reach voters.
DEBATE/POLLS: Instant Reaction Polls Show Narrow Obama Advantage in Second Debate - NYT
Scientific polls conducted after the Tuesday night’s presidential debate in New York give a modest edge to President Obama.
THIRD DEBATE: Campaign Stops: Obama vs. Romney Round Three - NYT
The editors of Campaign Stops asked contributors John Sides, Lynn Vavreck, Kevin Noble Maillard, Gary Gutting and Stanley Fish to weigh in with their reactions to the second presidential debate.
MORE ELECTION 2012 NEWS & ANALYSIS
ELECTIONS 2012: Which Changed First, the Polls or the Markets? - NYT
The change in Mitt Romney’s fortune in the last two weeks has led to more talk among market strategists about the influence the election is exerting on the markets.
ELECTIONS 2012: Hillary: The Missed Opportunity - NYT, BILL KELLER
Back in January I proposed that President Obama do a switcheroo, sending Joe Biden to the State Department and making Hillary Clinton his running mate. I acknowledged the reasons that this was probably a fantasy, but contended the arguments in favor were as simple as one-two-three:…
ELECTIONS 2012/TAX PLAN: Martin Feldstein Isn’t Sure Romney’s Tax Plan is Workable - BLOOMBERG, JOSH BARRO
President Barack Obama’s campaign overreached last week, saying: “In fact, Harvard economist Martin Feldstein and Princeton economist Harvey Rosen both concede that paying for Romney’s tax cuts would require large tax increases on families making between $100,000 and $200,000.”
ELECTIONS 2012: Party of Independents Analyzes and Criticizes - NYT
In Florida, a group of independent voters were active participants in their own secondary debate, providing as many questions as the on-air audience and as many answers as the candidates.
ELECTIONS 2012: Conservatives get practical - WP, DANA MILIBANK
Romney’s tack to the center draws no objection from the doctrinaire.
The Common Good publishes a U.S. domestic news digest every weekday, available here.
