We now know what Barry Obama and his date looked like at prom in 1979 — and they probably looked better than you. Just compare the Obama crew's not-horrible prom fashion to many politicians' prom photos they might wish hadn't been dug up.
Following a disappointing debate marked by a lack of comebacks on the president's part, political journalists are saying a speech in Denver today felt like the president's George Costanza moment.
We've noted the Barack Obama's "intellectual stammer" before, but just how much did it slow him down last night? Well, despite talking four minutes less than Obama, Mitt Romney was able to speak 541 more words.
Critics say moderator Jim Lehrer let President Obama and Mitt Romney walk all over him in the first presidential debate, but because Lehrer let the candidates go long on their answers, and because both are technocratic candidates, the debate had a surprising level of substance.
Last night's presidential debate was the most-tweeted about political event in U.S. history, proving once again that Twitter has become the indispensable tool for following current events.
In the first presidential debate tonight, the candidates won't offer that much policy detail -- President Obama has been prepped to act less "professorial," Mitt Romney to rattle off fewer statistics. Instead, they're focusing on looking calm, cool, and not smug. In other words, they're trying not to inspire GIFs. They are almost certain to fail.
Today in Poll Watch: Two national polls show differing results, Romney's close in Florida and Virginia, but down in Ohio, Romney's gaffe was worse than Obamas, and the Democrat might be winning the Arizona senate race.
If you're not as inherently excited about the prospect of tonight's debate as we are, we've put it into the context of a semantical drinking game, pairing drinks featuring low-to-high alcoholic content with the high-to-low likelihood of crutch words. Play along at home; debates start at 9 p.m. EDT.
Today in Ad Watch: President Obama accuses Mitt Romney of using coal miners as props, Romney talks straight into the camera again, the Romney campaign admits Joe Biden is better at selling their economic message, and an anti-immigration group targets black voters.
The Romney campaign has spent the last few weeks hyping the event, but while doing so, they've made the curious decision to preview almost every single second of the candidate's debate performance in the press
Democrats spent 2011 and the first part of 2012 wallowing in self-pity that President Obama would be vastly outspent by Mitt Romney thanks to Citizens United unleashing an avalanche of negative ads from a financial sector angry at the president, but that hasn't happened. In fact, it's been the exact opposite.
Obama's lead with women voters explains his national poll lead, McCaskill is up by just 1 point in her Missouri Senate race, and Obama is up by a whopping 11 points in a new poll out of Nevada. Here's our guide to today's polls and why they matter.
Mitt Romney said he would not deport the young illegal immigrants allowed to stay in the U.S. after President Obama's executive order in June -- and promised he would pass immigration reform -- in an interview with the Denver Post.
Former campaign staffers for Sen. John McCain's failed presidential run have told The New York Times Magazine's Robert Draper that Mitt Romney was in the same room with them almost four years ago during of the discussion the financial crisis which led to McCain deciding to suspend his campaign and return to Washington. And he wasn't much help.
Today, Elspeth Reeve noted that even the campaigns are treating the upcoming presidential debates as little more than a reality show. Why can't we just watch kittens instead, asks one commenter.
Today in Poll Watch: Hey, it looks like this race might be tight again -- Romney's lead is growing among independents, and Elizabeth Warren's ahead in Massachusetts.
The candidates, campaigns, and pundits have dropped any pretense that the first presidential debate will be anything more than a reality show in which President Obama and Mitt Romney are competing to see who can avoid looking stupid -- not saying something stupid -- on TV.
Both liberals and conservatives are criticizing President Obama's handling of the U.S. consulate attacks in Libya, so why isn't the Romney campaign? The answer is Stuart Stevens, the Romney campaign's embattled chief strategist.
There is dissent in the ranks of the Mitt Romney campaign over whether the candidate should pivot to foreign policy, given President Obama's lead in polls despite voter dissatisfaction with his handling of the economy.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie pulls triple duty -- appearing on Face the Nation, This Week, and Meet the Press -- to tell the whole world how he thinks Wednesday night's debate is going to change the face of the election forever.
Mitt Romney's jokes can be misunderstood sometimes, so he's working to refine his craft before the first Presidential debate of the season.
Every day The Atlantic Wire highlights the video clips that truly earn your five minutes (or less) of attention.
A Fox News poll finds people want change, but they don't want Romney, Nevada and North Carolina are not going the ways the parties expected, and Romney might be fighting in Iowa. Here's our guide to today's polls and why they matter.
What is so awesome about the baby-kissing tradition in American politics is that presidential candidates are required to kiss babies but babies are not required to conform to the social norms of adults.
Mitt Romney isn't beating President Obama in polls, even though the economy sucks and mobs of people are burning the American flag outside a whole bunch of embassies. Pundits are scrambling to explain this unexpected state of affairs.
Here's one more way to measure Mitt Romney's unpopularity: He's less popular than George W. Bush, the last Republican president who's so unpopular he didn't speak at the Republican National Convention and gave his endorsement of Romney while leaping into an elevator.
Gallup sees President Obama strong on approval rating even though Rasmussen doesn't, and the Indiana Senate race is tight.
President Obama has launched two ads—a nice happy one about his plans for the future, and a mean one playing Mitt Romney's "47 percent" audio—while Romney attacks Obama on a core Ohio issue.
If you've been craving a more uplifting tone in the presidential campaign, this is your week.
Today in Poll Watch: Voters are seeing President Obama as the way to go for the benefit of the economy, Mitt Romney is seen unfavorably by half of Americans, Democrats lead Senate races in Florida and Ohio, and the Arizona Senate race might be tighter than expected.
Politico's Lois Romano wrote today that the 2012 presidential election has become a "battle for white men," because, "after decades of taking a back seat" to women and minorty voter. Now, exactly when were white guys being so ignored?
Has your criticism with this election season's crop of infographics been that they have involved too few balloons? The Guardian has you covered.
Earlier today golf legend and Ohio native Jack Nicklaus introduced Mitt Romney at a campaign stop in Westerville. Romney returned the favor by calling Nicklaus "the greatest athlete of the twentieth century," a claim that caused a few sports fans to clutch themselves in astonishment.
There's a wave of bad polling news for Mitt Romney Wednesday morning.
In his latest reset (we've lost count), Mitt Romney has taken a bold step to show his humanity and look straight into the camera.
Barack Obama must be the luckiest dude on the planet, Jon Stewart said last night on The Daily Show, because something is happening to Mitt Romney: He is getting dumber and dumber as the election goes on.
In today's Poll Watch: Things aren't looking good for Mitt Romney in Ohio, President Obama's also up in Florida, and the Massachusetts Senate race is tied.
Here are the four ways Mitt Romney is attacking President Obama on foreign policy: He's too wimpy like Jimmy Carter, he's too vain to do diplomatic drudgery, he's too callous to recognize the humanity of the people who died in Libya, and he's too bureaucratic to use the private sector to help developing countries.
Today in Poll Watch: Voters think President Obama will stand up for the middle class, but actual middle class voters are split between him and Mitt Romney. Meanwhile, Romney appears to be losing ground on Medicare.
Today in Ad Watch: Scott Brown takes on Elizabeth Warren's family tree, President Obama mocks Mitt Romney's "47 percent" tape, and Romney says Obama can't even control Nancy Pelosi.
Have you ever had a job where two different bosses were constantly tell you to do two different things? That's Paul Ryan right now.
It's official: politicians are better at spending rich people's money than rich people are at spending their own money on politics.
Mitt Romney and Barack Obama went head-to-head on CBS's 60 Minutes on Sunday night, and despite some swift swings and tough jabs, nobody got hurt.
Both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama appeared in separate interviews with Univision last week, but their crowds couldn't have been more different. Romney's was loud and raucous; Obama's was as quiet as a golf game. The reason for the difference? Romney juiced the seats.
Today in Poll Watch: Two new polls give President Obama a slight lead over Mitt Romney in North Carolina, whether the country is better off than it was four years ago depends on how you phrase it, and some national polls again show discrepancies.
Oh sure, Paul Ryan gets lots of attention for his muscle-confusing P90X workout, his alleged 6 percent body fat, and his alleged six-pack. But Mitt Romney, 23 years his senior, is healthier, at least based on resting heart rate.
Where did Mitt Romney get the idea that 47 percent of Americans think of themselves as victims?
Mitt Romney has released his 2011 tax return, and it shows he paid an effective tax rate of 14.1 percent tax rate -- and if he'd taken all the deductions he's allowed, it would have been lower.
David Corn, the Washington bureau chief for Mother Jones, may have just given us some more insight into the identity of the person who taped Mitt Romney's "47 percent" comments at a fundraiser back in May.
Mitt Romney's campaign has detailed a strategy shift twice this week, and you can measure the level of faith some conservatives have in it by their very different and very specific recommendations that Romney do something else.
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