Matt Frei
In every American presidential cycle one of the favourite Washington parlour games centres on the choice of the Vice Presidential candidate. After weeks of nose haired tingling speculation Mitt Romney, the man who will take on Barack Obama in November, has finally pricked the bubble of suspense.
US presidential candidate Mitt Romney picks Paul Ryan, a Wisconsin congressman, as his running mate for November’s election.
Dishonest, discredited, and a bundle of outright fabrications. That’s how the latest ads from both the Obama and Romney camps have been received. Can politics be reaching such depths – already?
Matt Frei
Romney may be fabulous at fixing the economy –the issue he is running on. He may be awesome at rising early, thinking clearly and making lists. But he is an awkward candidate, writes Matt Frei.
President Obama has called for more gun controls after the Colorado cinema massacre left twelve people dead -but activists say they want concrete action to prevent more violence.
He insulted his British hosts before he even arrived – and was mocked by London mayor Boris Johnson in front of thousands. But this isn’t the first time Mitt Romney has bashed the Brits.
Gary Gibbon
There’s real concern amongst some Whitehall sources about what is seen as a lack of foreign policy awareness in the Romney team. Mitt Romney has said Russia is the US’s “number one geopolitical foe”.
Mitt Romney isn’t just meeting political leaders on his visit to London – he’s doing some serious fundraising too. But his trip didn’t get off to the best of starts.
He credits himself with saving the Salt Lake City Olympics from scandal and collapse. Now Mitt Romney hopes his Olympic record can boost his electoral fortunes – or will the starting gun misfire?
They’re spending hundreds of millions of dollars on a relentless advertising blitz in key battleground states. So who’s behind the mega-donations fuelling the presidential campaigns?
Could Condoleezza Rice be returning to frontline politics? Speculation is mounting that she could be Mitt Romney’s vice-presidential running mate – and that he could announce his choice within weeks.
Matt Frei
Winning the fund raising arms race doesn’t always mean winning the race, but without money you can’t even get started at any level of American politics.
He is raising millions of dollars in a Hamptons fundraising drive this weekend. But even top Republican John Boehner has admitted the American people just do not like Mitt Romney. Ouch.
Barack Obama is hitting two key swing states in the first bus tour of his re-election campaign. In the battle for the blue-collar vote, he’s bashing his rival Mitt Romney’s big business ties.
It is one of the most critical weeks yet for the Obama administration – two decisions at the supreme court have major implications for the future of federal power.