Posts Tagged ‘election’
Can Ann Romney Cover for Mitt’s Agenda?
Last night as expected, Ann Romney’s speech covered her husband’s image in warm fuzzy love.
The New York Times suggested that Ann Romney’s speech, which highlighted the hard work she put in to raise five boys and battle two serious illnesses, may have zapped some of the energy away from her husband.
How and why any woman can drink the Kool-aid Ann Romney served up is a topic for another day. But no amount of Ann’s love and charming demeanor can obscure the realities of Mitt Romney’s intent if elected.
Politico Arena asked me whether Ann Romney’s speech at the Republican National Convention would persuade voters, including women, that her husband is someone we can trust.
Indeed, Americans can trust Mitt. There was never any doubt, and it didn’t take a speech by his wife to tell us the many ways we can trust him:
Read MoreRomney’s Ryan Pick: Evil Brilliance, Obama’s Opportunity
Ryan assures an even larger gender gap in November. And most likely a new age gap. So here’s a new prediction: Young women afraid of losing their access to birth control and seniors fearing loss of Medicare may well form the biggest new voting bloc in history. Let the games begin.
Read MoreShould the U.S. press corps ‘shove it’?
Mitt Romney’s traveling press secretary lost his cool with reporters covering the candidate’s overseas trip.
Aide Rick Gorka told reporters to “kiss my ass” and “shove it” after they shouted questions at Romney during his visit to Pilsudski Square, near the Polish Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
“Kiss my ass; this is a holy site for the Polish people,” said Gorka to reporters. “Show some respect.” Gorka then told a reporter to “shove it.” The aide later called members of the press to apologize, calling his actions “inappropriate.” Romney has not held a media availability for his traveling press corps since taking three questions outside 10 Downing Street in London last Thursday.
The Politico Arena question for today was: Was this an instance of aggressive reporters overstepping their bounds? Or do presidential candidates need to be more accessible to media outlets?
Read MoreWould Condi Rice for VP Nominee Balance Romney?
Seems like the the Republicans always want to bring in a woman when there’s a mess to clean up, and Romney certainly has a mess on his hands with his multiple stories — some call them “lies” — about his time at Bain. No wonder Condoleeza Rice’s name is being floated again as a vice presidential candidate.
True, as Sarah Palin almost acknowledged, in the experience realm, Rice brings vastly more substance than the former Alaska governor had when she was chosen as John McCain’s running mate. And in both optics and general election appeal to independents, a female African-American with Rice’s foreign policy chops and moderate leanings could boost the ticket.
Palin’s comments were in response to speculation Rice would be Romney’s vice-presidential pick, driven by conservative commentators Matt Drudge and Rush Limbaugh, both now touting Rice for the post.
But in the end, despite Palin’s willingness (along with Drudge and Limbaugh apparently) to cut Rice some slack on her pro-choice stance, the fact is that the person at the top of the ticket sets the agenda.
Rice’s gender would not help “balance” a man who has flip-flopped on women’s reproductive rights, now supports laws making women non-persons, and won’t even commit to support equal pay. Nor would her race peel off African-American voters from Barack Obama, especially in the wake of the enormous egg Romney laid when he spoke to the NAACP earlier this week.
Read MoreWatch for Rovian Tactics
It must have been a slow news day for Arena, but I thought this question was worth answering. Of course, both campaigns will be watching each other like hawks, hoping for gaffes to drop and then making much of them. But you have to admit Karl Rove is the grandmaster of whipping up attacks, whether the information transmitted is true or not.
Could we have a conversation about how to engage voters so they don’t a) get sidetracked from the big issues or b) become cynical and tune out all the noise?
Politico Arena asks: 
The Karl Rove-founded Republican group American Crossroads has issued an apology today just hours after suggesting in a tweet that Commerce Secretary John Bryson was drunk when he got into a car accident this weekend.
“How does @CommerceSec have 3 car crashes in 5 minutes and alcohol NOT be involved? ?#Skills,” the group tweeted early this morning.
“Earlier Bryson tweet with hashtag ?#skills? attempted levity (before facts known) and failed miserably. We took it down and regret the tweet,” the group said on Twitter shortly after 10 a.m.
Were critics of President Obama too hasty in their judgment of Bryson’s accident? What lessons does this incident offer about Twitter?
My Response:
Read MoreDoes Walker’s victory put Wisconsin in play for the GOP?
Pundits will be talking all day about the meaning of the failed Wisconsin recall election.
The bright spot is that the recall process has forced Walker to moderate his language if not his actions and if the numbers hold out, he will be faced with a Democratic majority in the state senate to slow down his union-busting, tea-party sponsored initiatives.
But I see an ominous cloud of Obama’s making for the national elections in November. Will he learn from this that it does no good to try to deflect controversy from yourself and let other people take the fall?
Politico Arena Asks:
Incumbent Republican Gov. Scott Walker has survived the gubernatorial recall election against Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, the Associated Press reports. The victory comes after Walker divided Wisconsin by making changes to state laws governing collective bargaining for public employees. Though Obama won the state by 13 points in 2008, presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney is expected to be more competitive in the state this fall.
Does this victory put Wisconsin in play for the GOP in 2012?
My Response:
Read MoreIf You Don’t Sing Your Own Song, Who Will?
Analyzing gas prices isn’t usually my beat, but media messaging is. Is failure to talk about declining prices at the pump smart or self-defeating for Obama?
Politico Arena Asks:
Gas prices are expected to hit a two-year low this Memorial Day weekend, averaging around $3.66 a gallon, the Christian Science Monitor reports.
Some energy analysts believe prices could continue to drop through the summer months. The falling prices take away a key piece of the GOP’s platform against President Obama – however, the White House has been relatively quiet about the price drop and a recent AP-GfK poll showed the majority of Americans still disapprove of Obama’s handling of gas prices.
Will the dropping gas prices help Obama’s reelection chances – and should the White House work harder to highlight the decrease? Or will voters still be wary of Obama’s economic performance?
My Response:
Read MoreDoes Newsweek’s Cover Help or Hurt Obama?
If the fastest way to self esteem is to stand up for what you believe, President Obama is standing tall this week–even though it has taken a long “evolution” to stand up for marriage equality. What do you think? Will it help or hurt his reelection prospects?
Politico Arena asks:
The newest issue of Newsweek Magazine has declared President Obama “The First Gay President.” The cover features a photo of Obama with a rainbow-colored halo around his head. The cover comes less than a week after Obama voiced his support for gay marriage.
Does this portrayal help or hurt Obama’s re-election chances?
My Response:
Read MoreDid Scott Walker Foes Make a Bad Bet?
Looks like we’d all better rally to help Wisconsin elect Tom Barrett.
Politico Arena asks:
Polling shows Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker with a narrow lead over Democratic challenger Tom Barrett ahead of the June 5 recall election. Walker infuriated Democrats and labor organizations weeks after taking office in 2011 by driving a measure through the Republican-led legislature to curb the collective bargaining powers of public-sector unions.
Walker holds a hefty financial advantage over Barrett, the Milwaukee mayor. Barrett already lost to Walker in November 2010, and came up short in the 2002 Democratic gubernatorial primary, when he was a congressman.
Did political foes of Scott Walker make a bad bet on the recall? And is Barrett a strong candidate or damaged goods?
My Response:
Read MoreIndies leaning toward Obama or Romney?
It’s way too soon to tell which way independent voters will swing. But net out the contributing factors and it’s clear the results depend on many volatile factors. That chaos gives advocacy groups tremendous opportunity to influence the outcome. What’s your prediction?
Politico Arena Asks: 
A new POLITICO/George Washington University Battleground Poll finds a dead heat in the presidential race six months before the election. Mitt Romney edges out President Obama 48 percent to 47 percent among likely voters. And the president’s job approval rating stands at 48 percent, down five points from February and a number now equal to the amount of people who disapprove of Obama’s performance.
Six months out from the election, do these numbers suggest Romney can exploit the president’s perceived weaknesses? Or do the poll results offer reasons for optimism to the Obama campaign?