Frank James

Obama Riles His Own Party With Social Security Offer

Frank James — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 22:17:01 +0000

Few things indicate a president no longer needs to worry about re-election more than his willingness to ignite an intraparty firestorm.

President Obama's decision to include in the budget proposal he's scheduled to unveil Wednesday a less generous way to calculate Social Security cost-o

Pew poll: For many who've changed same-sex marriage views, it's personal

Frank James — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 20:22:31 +0000

Sen. Rob Portman, an Ohio conservative Republican who recently said he now supports same-sex marriage because he has a gay son, evidently has plenty of company.

A new poll from the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press suggests that many Americans have changed their minds — going from opposing to supporting same-sex marriage — because they personally know someone who is gay.

Overall, 28 percent of gay-marriage supporters say they used to be opponents.

4 things to expect in Obama's State of the Union address

Frank James — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 17:50:34 +0000

President Obama's second inaugural address was widely perceived as a throwing down of the gauntlet in how it framed his progressive faith in government and challenged his Republican political opponents in any number of ways.

Given that, expect to see more glove-throwing Tuesday as the president delivers the first State of the Union speech of his second term.

With no more presidential elections to face, Obama seems to be taking advantage of that newfound freedom to sp

Heavy Turnout, Confusion Over Voter ID Causes Some Issues

Frank James — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 03:04:53 +0000

Ever since the surreal presidential election of 2000, voter access on Election Day has come under increased scrutiny.

On Election Eve, Obama And Romney Try Blazing A Path To 270

Frank James — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 23:00:51 +0000

(Revised at 5:46 pm ET)

On the final day of the 2012 campaign for the White House, President Obama and Mitt Romney are making the last push for votes in states each believes critical to achieving the 270 Electoral College votes needed for victory.

Obama was scheduled to campaign in three swing states, while Romney had events planned in four.

Obama And Romney Enter Crunch Time

Frank James — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 01:17:03 +0000

With the arrival of the last weekend before Election Day, it's crunchtime for President Obama and Mitt Romney.

Heading into the last 72 hours of their fight for the White House, it's the moment in the campaign when the president and his challenger make their closing arguments, fine tuned to excite their committed supporters but not so partisan as to drive off the diminishing sliver of wavering voters still left to be won over.

This is when the battleground states truly live up to their names as the campaigns and their outside-group supporters engage in the final carpet-bombing of voters wi

'I was just too polite,' says Obama, vowing to hit harder

Frank James — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 22:52:25 +0000

No more Mr. Nice Guy. That was essentially what President Obama told Tom Joyner, the black-radio megahost, to expect at upcoming presidential debates.

On Wednesday, the president explained that his main mistake at last week's debate with Republican challenger Mitt Romney was an excess of gentility.

Obama's self-critique, such as it was, came in response to a Joyner question:

JOYNER: "I only have two questions for you. One, what happened at the debate? Everybody wants to know.

Romney shows his soft side; president tightens his pitch

Frank James — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 00:23:27 +0000

With 27 days until the general election, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney was on an Iowa farm Tuesday where he did what he's done for months: criticized President Obama's economic policies, though his critique understandably had an agricultural slant.

But the Republican presidential nominee also did something he hasn't done much of before now: He told the kind of personal anecdotes meant to reveal his softer side to help voters connect with him more easily.

talked about slavery, the other of freedom.

And the speeches President Obama and Mitt Romney gave at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York on Tuesday were as different as the men themselves.

Obama's topic was the tragedy of human trafficking and efforts by his administration to address a problem affecting the developing and developed wor

Romney thwacks Obama for calling Libya and other hot spots 'bumps'

Frank James — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 14:31:30 +0000

It's taken as a given that American voters in 2012 aren't as concerned about foreign policy as they are the domestic economy.

It's also accepted as true that on matters of foreign policy, President Obama has an advantage over his Republican challenger, former Massachusetts Gov.

Harry Reid Worries About '17 Angry Old White Men' Buying The Nation

Frank James — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:56:03 +0000

Add another line to the list of memorable quotes from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

On Monday, the Nevada Democrat was on the Senate floor defending Democratic-backed campaign-finance legislation known as the DISCLOSE Act when he uttered the following thought (the relevant passage starts at the 8:00 mark in this C-SPAN video):

"Perhaps Republicans want to shield a handful of billionaires willing to contribute nine figures to sway a close