The Man Who Took on the Wall Street Blob
The Jobs Number: Doesn't Change Where We Are, But Where We Are Ain't Great
Given the Potential Pitfalls, It Was a Solid Speech
CHARLOTTE—Nicely done, Mr. President. READ MORE >>
How I Got Ejected From a Super PAC Reception
How Obama’s Biggest Donors Get Their Goodies in Charlotte
CHARLOTTE—It is often said that there are two conventions: The convention most of the delegates and media experience—lots of bland receptions and earnest panel discussions on the future of U.S.-Canada relations—and the convention the wealthiest donors experience, full of skybox poshness, private dining rooms, and lavish after-parties. READ MORE >>
Obama’s Fatal Ambivalence About Wall Street: Convention Edition
CHARLOTTE—When the history of the 2012 election is written, the way Democrats chose to fund their convention will take up exceedingly few (okay, no) words. But it turns out to be a useful window onto the problems the White House has sometimes made for itself. READ MORE >>
The Things Romney Failed to Accomplish
For months, Mitt Romney’s general-election plan was to pick off voters who rather liked Barack Obama but considered him in over his head. As of the convention, that strategy had come up short. Whatever people’s ambivalence toward Obama, they found him so much more likable it was hard to see Romney winning. That put enormous pressure on Romney’s convention speech to change perceptions of him personally. But, after watching him deliver it, I don’t get the sense he succeeded. READ MORE >>
Unpacking Paul Ryan’s Centrist Reinvention
The early consensus on Paul Ryan’s speech is that he was speaking to conservatives rather than the country. And Ryan certainly did his share of anti-Obama fulminating. Still, I heard the speech as much more of a lurch to the center than the press generally gave him credit for. READ MORE >>
My Last Best Try at Explaining the Ryan Pick
Am I the only one who’s still head-scratchingly, shoulder-shrugingly, stare-aimlessly-at-the-heavens mystified by the Paul Ryan pick? READ MORE >>
