2012 on Huffington Post

Cory Booker Goes Off Message, Everyone Freaks For A Week: The Speculatron Weekly Round-Up

2012-05-25T17:17:23Z

This week, the 2012 election season finally got to pig out on an empty-calorie feeding frenzy, in which everyone in the media pretended to have some sort of lofty conversation about the role of private equity in society while actually reminding everyone else that political elites are completely removed from the real-life stakes of the lives of normal Americans. It made for a great show, though! Pundits screwed on their super-serious faces and reporters faked thoughtfulness and everyone who was pretending to know something about the subject did a fine job of acting like they were doing something interesting. But let's face it: The only reason anyone was talking about private equity was because somewhere, some surrogate had gone "off message," and suddenly there was catnip everywhere!

Read more: 2012 Speculatron, 2012 Speculation, Cory Booker, North Dakota Senate 2012, Arkansas Primary 2012, Mitch Daniels, Elections 2012, Mitt Romney, Cory Booker Bain, Barack Obama, 2012, Video, Unemployment, Cory Booker Obama, 2012 Election, Bain Capitol, Mitt Romney 2012, Kentucky Primary 2012, Arizona House Races, Barack Obama 2012, Veepstakes, North Dakota Senate, Politics News

Romney Argues Big Spending Cuts Would Cause 'Depression,' Contrary To Tea Party Activists

2012-05-25T13:24:02Z

Republican House Speaker John Boehner and GOP Presidential nominee Mitt Romney have, in the course of the past week, pushed starkly different approach...

Read more: 2012 Elections, Boehner, John Boehner, Economy, Mitt Romney, Elections 2012, Jobs, Obama, Stimulus, President, Barack Obama, Romney, 2012, Video, Republicans Spending Cuts, November Election, Republican, Gop, Club for Growth, Cato, Tea Party, Republicans, Politics News

Late Returns: Expert Advice On What Polls You Should Ignore

2012-05-24T19:23:05Z

We have apparently entered the part of the 2012 mid season where the rapid accumulation of polling data is met by a burgeoning field of experts who th...

Read more: Polls, 2012 Speculation, 2012 Speculatron, Video, Polling, 2012 Election, Mitt Romney 2012, Campaign Ads, Mitt Romney, Elections 2012, Barack Obama 2012, Campaign Adwatch, Barack Obama, 2012, Politics News

Massachusetts Voters Not Swayed By Elizabeth Warren Cherokee Controversy

2012-05-24T16:40:05Z

For a long while now, the hotly contested Senate race between Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) and his Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren has centered a...

Read more: Scott Brown, 2012 Speculatron, Elizabeth Warren, 2012 Speculation, Elizabeth Warren Indian, 2012 Election, Massachusetts Senate 2012, Elections 2012, Media Criticism, Elizabeth Warren Native American, Ma-Sen, Elizabeth Warren Cherokee, Massachusetts Senate Race, 2012, Politics News

Robert Scheer: Do the Bain Hustle

2012-05-24T04:12:59Z

Obviously Barack Obama was right in criticizing Mitt Romney's stewardship of Bain Capital. How else to evaluate the business experience that Romney has made a central tenet of his campaign?

Read more: Robert Scheer, Economy, Bain, Obama, Campaign, Democrats, Election, 2012, Politics, Barack Obama, Rahm Emanuel, Bain Capital, Hedge Funds, Mitt Romney, Bill Clinton, Lawrence Summers, Banks, Wall Street, Republicans, Mitt Romney Bain Capital, Elections 2012, 2012 Election, Politics News

Trade Revolt Against Obama Intensifies

2012-05-23T20:32:48Z

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) introduced legislation late Wednesday to protest the Obama administration's refusal to share information about c...

Read more: Tpp, Ron Wyden, 2012 Elections, Wyden, Economy, Darrell Issa, Jobs, Free Trade, Obama, Buy America, Trans-Pacific Partnership, Barack Obama, Buy American, 2012, Issa, Video, Sen. Ron Wyden, Trans-Pacific, Trade, Prescription Drugs, Politics News

The ULTIMATE Grad Gift Guide, Under $30

2012-05-21T17:45:20Z

After four years of hard work in the library, weekends spent studying and waking up early to catch the bus to school, the grad in your life deserves ...

Read more: Creative Graduation Gift, Graduation Gifts, Gift Guide, Grad Gifts, Graduation, Gift-Guides, College, Presents, High School, Graduation Gift Ideas, Graduation-Gift-Guide, 2012, Teen News

Late Returns: Kentucky Primary Features A 'Proxy Showdown' Between Kentucky Senators

2012-05-22T19:25:42Z

The presidential escapade continues to draw most of the media's attention these days, but there are actually some interesting downticket primaries to ...

Read more: Birthers, 2012 Speculation, 2012 Speculatron, Fearmongering, Media Tropes, Mitch McConnell, Campaign Ads, Arkansas Primary 2012, Elections 2012, Jeff Flake, Barack Obama, 2012, Rand Paul, Arkansas Primary, Arizona Primary, 2012 Election, Arizona Primary 2012, Media Criticism, Kentucky Primary, Kentucky Primary 2012, Barack Obama 2012, Deficit Panic, Politics News

Memo To Media: Obama's Harsh Campaign Tone Is Not Actually A New Thing, Okay?

2012-05-22T18:39:00Z

I'm typically a big fan of Molly Ball's work for the Atlantic. But I'm afraid that in explicating this week's private equity-Bain Capital brouhaha tha...

Read more: Eat the Press, Obama Negative Attacks, Obama Negative Campaigning, 2012 Election, Elections 2012, Media Criticism, Myths, Barack Obama, 2012, Politics News

Jeff Greenfield Wants You To Stop Writing All Your Pointless 'Biden-for-Clinton' Veep-Switch Stories

2012-05-22T15:36:39Z

Jeff Greenfield has heard all of your wild-eyed ideas about the possibility that President Barack Obama might pursue some election year gambit and swi...

Read more: Hillary Vice President, 2012 Speculatron, 2012 Speculation, Video, Hillary Biden Switch, 2012 Election, Things-You-Need-to-Stop-Doing, Elections 2012, Media Criticism, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, 2012, Politics News

Has Karl Rove Gone 'Subtle'?

2012-05-22T15:19:30Z

Karl Rove has millions of dollars to indulge his political id. So while we may be in a weird period of focus-group recommended restraint these days, don't expect the restraint to continue. There are reasons for this. It's an article of faith among a large portion of the GOP base that Sen. John McCain lost in 2008 because he wasn't willing to throw heat at Barack Obama and turn the month of October into an all-Jeremiah-Wright-all-the-time sick-a-doo fiesta. Last week's revelation of a proposed ad campaign to do just that served as a reminder that there are plenty of people with money to burn who've a yen to fight the 2012 battle from the gutter. And if Republicans are reminded too much of McCain's perceived failures as they watch Romney prosecute the Obama administration in a too-gentle fashion, they could end up discouraged.

Read more: Eat the Press, Super Pac, Video, Karl Rove, 2012 Election, Campaign Ads, Elections 2012, Media Criticism, Campaign Ad Watch, Crossroads GPS, 2012, Politics News

John Wolfe: Meet The Man Who Might Pull An Arkansas Primary Upset, But Probably Won't

2012-05-22T12:10:05Z

If President Barack Obama is going to lose one of these Democratic primaries, it obviously won't be to some convict in West Virginia or to anti-aborti...

Read more: John Wolfe, 2012 Speculatron, 2012 Speculation, Video, Arkansas Primary, 2012 Election, Arkansas Primary 2012, Elections 2012, Barack Obama 2012, John Wolfe Jr, Barack Obama, 2012, Politics News

PHOTOS: 'Ring Of Fire' Solar Eclipse As Seen From San Francisco

2012-05-21T18:29:46Z

Assuming you woke up from a post-Bay to Breakers nap on Sunday, then just after 5:00 p.m. your eyes feasted upon the rare and amazing annular eclipse ...

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The 2012 Speculatron Weekly Roundup For May 18, 2012

2012-05-18T17:42:00Z

What began in Indiana continued in Nebraska this week, as long-shot state Sen. Deb Fischer scored an underdog victory in Nebraska's GOP primary for th...

Read more: Deb Fischer, Polls, Dnc, 2012 Speculatron, 2012 Speculation, Joe Ricketts Obama, Super PACs, Ron Paul, Arkansas Primary 2012, Mitt Romney, Buddy Roemer, Elections 2012, Barack Obama, 2012, Nebraska Senate 2012, Rand Paul, Joe Ricketts Plan, Polling, Wisconsin Recall, 2012 Election, Buddy Roemer 2012, Mitt Romney 2012, Joe Ricketts, Scott Walker, Nebraska Senate Race, Bob Kerrey, Media Criticism, Ron Paul 2012, Wisconsin Recall Elections, Barack Obama 2012, Politics News

Late Returns: Angus King Will Determine The Fate Of America

2012-05-17T19:26:00Z

Nate Silver has taken a look across the great pollscape of American politics and has some good news for Democrats -- their odds of keeping control of ...

Read more: 2012 Speculatron, Elections 2012, Late-Returns, Joe Biden, Maine Senate, Clinton Biden, 2012, Maine Senate Race 2012, Angus King Independent, Social Media, Video, Jon Huntsman, Angus King Maine Senate, Angus King, 2012 Election, Affordable Care Act, Hillary Clinton, Veepstakes, Politics and Technology, Politics News

Americans Elect Admits Defeat: 'The Primary Process ... Has Come To An End'

2012-05-17T18:35:00Z

Well, after a couple days of fretting behind the scenes with the members of its "online community" (at least those few members who managed to discover...

Read more: 2012 Speculatron, Third Party, 2012 Election, Americans Elect, Elections 2012, Americans-Elect-Third-Party-Candidate, 2012, Video, Politics News

Americans Elect Continues To Fail At The Internet

2012-05-17T15:00:35Z

At some point today, the folks behind Americans Elect -- the super whiz-bang effort to get an anthropomorphic Thomas Friedman column elected president...

Read more: 2012 Speculatron, Third Party, Video, Third Party Candidate, 2012 Election, Americans Elect, Elections 2012, Americans-Elect-Third-Party-Candidate, 2012, Politics News

Mike Huckabee And Citizens United Were Totally Just Kidding About That 'Political Whores' Mailer

2012-05-17T12:25:03Z

Earlier this week, BuzzFeed's Zeke Miller obtained a hard copy of a letter from the conservative nonprofit group Citizens United, signed by sometime p...

Read more: Eat the Press, Fundraising-Letter, Video, Mike Huckabee, 2012 Election, Backsies, Elections 2012, Citizens United, Mike-Huckabee-Mailings, 2012, Politics News

Lisa Paul Streitfeld: (R)evolution in San Francisco: Ana Castillo Seizes the Reigns of Feminist Spirituality for 2012

2012-05-17T11:56:53Z

It was clear to many in the room that she was providing the missing feminine voice capable of renewing the Goddess Movement on a global level after it disappeared underground following the backlash of its New Age commercialization in the '80s.

Read more: Lacma, Annie Finch, Mexico, Jean Shinoda Bolen, Women's Spirituality Movement, Poetry, Ana Castillo, 2012, Mayan Calendar, Sid Reger, Archeomythology, Goddess, San Francisco, New Age, Cosmic Mother, Guadelupe, Astronomy, Astrology, Chicana, Quetzalcoatl, Mayan Prophecy, Daniel Pinchbeck, Penn Museum, Milky Way, Precession of the Equinoxes, Z. Budapest, Dr. Heide Gottner-Abendroth, Charlene Spretnak, Miklk, New Mexico, Cross-Disciplinary, Mythology, Akio Toyoda, Chalice, Kathleen Sweeney, Association for the Study of Women and Mythology, Marija Gimbutas, Cristina Biaggi, Arts News

Late Returns: Will Big Money Buy A Cornhusker Primary?

2012-05-15T18:52:00Z

You probably haven't been paying much attention to the Nebraska GOP Senate primary (there is one, and it's tonight), because feh, Nebraska. But over a...

Read more: Deb Fischer, 2012 Speculatron, Nebraska Primary 2012, Jon Bruning, Americans Elect, Elections 2012, Wall Street Reform, Citizens United, Don Stenberg, 2012, Campaign Finance, Nebraska Election 2012, 2012 Election, Cornhusker Primary, Nancy Pelosi, Eric Griego, Late Returns, Media-Coaches, Nebraska Election, Nebraska Primary, Video, Politics News

As GOP Backs Away From 'Repeal And Replace,' Media Remains Largely Inattentive

2012-05-15T18:10:24Z

Over at Daily Intel, Jonathan Chait notices that after many months of vowing to "repeal and replace" the Affordable Care Act, the GOP has applied Lean...

Read more: Eat the Press, Video, Obamacare, 2012 Election, Mitt Romney 2012, Mitt Romney, Health Care Reform, Elections 2012, Affordable Care Act, Romneycare, Repeal and Replace, 2012, Politics News

Obama's Quandry: Bashing Blundering Banks While Courting Wall Street Cash

2012-05-15T18:06:00Z

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama's response to JPMorgan Chase's spectacular trading failure underscores a persistent tension in his presidency -- ...

Read more: Corruption, 2012 Elections, Dodd-Frank, Marsha Blackburn, Derivatives, Economy, Financial Reform, Bank of America, Wall Street Reform, Mitt Romney, Jobs, Money in Politics, Obama, Democrats, Romney, Barack Obama, Campaign Finance, 2012, Thune, Video, Wall Street, Trade, Jpmorgan, Banks, J.P. Morgan, Occupy, November Elections, Fat Cats, Republicans, Politics News

Which 'Incredibly Boring White Guy' Will Romney Choose?

2012-05-15T15:00:27Z

Yesterday, Politico reported that the Romney campaign had come to an important strategic decision that basically boiled down to, "Let's take all the r...

Read more: Tim Pawlenty Vice President, 2012 Speculatron, Mitt Romney VP, Romney Vice President, Mitt Romney, Elections 2012, 2012, Video, Romney VP, 2012 Election, Mitt Romney 2012, Tim Pawlenty Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty 2012, Tim Pawlenty, Veepstakes, Incredibly Boring White Guys, Politics News

Chris Weigant: Ridiculously Early Look at Electoral Math

2012-05-14T20:40:51Z

Since, as any fifth-grader will tell you, we don't have a national vote for president, tracking the race by means of national polling is almost completely irrelevant.

Read more: Florida, States, Mitt Romney, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Barack Obama, Election, 2012, Electoral Math, Virginia, Polling, Chris Weigant, Ohio, New Hampshire, Iowa, Electoral College, North Carolina, Indiana, 2012 Electoral College, 2012 Electoral Votes, Politics News

Romney Tries To Avoid McCain's Mistakes

2012-05-14T11:33:16Z

Today's big campaign take-out from Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei involves the Mitt Romney campaign's strategy in the wake of lessons learned from 2008: ...

Read more: Mitt Romney Bain Capital, 2012 Speculatron, John McCain, Romney McCain, Mitt Romney, Elections 2012, 2012, Video, Romney VP, Bain Capital, 2012 Election, Mitt Romney 2012, Sarah Palin, Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney John McCain, Politics News