HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. – With a Carolina cap on his head and an “Obama 2012” button on his shirt, James Taylor offered a mini-concert to a roomful of committed campaign volunteers on Thursday, thanking them for their get-out-the-vote efforts and urging them on. “I just believe in my heart that this is what will make the […]
James Taylor serenades N.C. Obama volunteers: Carolina is on everybody’s mind Read More »
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — For a grocery clerk at my local market, it was not about political strategies or poll numbers. As I judged the fish selection, he leaned across the counter and asked, “Why didn’t he fight?” I didn’t have to ask what he meant. He knows I cover politics, and I knew he was
‘Why didn’t he fight?’ Obama supporters want an answer, Mr. President Read More »
When does testiness cross over into anger? Whatever you want to call it, Ann Romney is showing the signs. When she takes her husband’s conservative critics to task on Radio Iowa with: “Stop it. This is hard. You want to try it? Get in the ring.” When she leans into an NBC reporter and says:
Could Michelle Obama get away with Ann Romney’s ‘fire’? Read More »
CHARLOTTE — The National Women’s Political Caucus is about issues, not party affiliation, as it tries to get more women elected to office. But the issues it cares about — supporting a women’s right to choose, the Equal Rights Amendment and dependent care for women balancing responsibility for children and aging relatives — come with
At DNC Charlotte, taking the ‘war on women’ seriously Read More »
Four years ago, it seemed as though the Obama campaign could control everything — even the weather. On that night of his acceptance speech in the stadium in Denver, the setting was ideal, dry and cool, with the backdrop of endless sky perfect for the thousands who roared at his triumph. After that, his win
Obama’s speech adjusted for more constrained circumstances Read More »
In the endless arguments over whether certain criticisms of President Obama are racist, there are cases when the answer is clear. In that category we can place angry, barely coherent tweets by a political adviser in Puerto Rico. After the president tweeted that first lady Michelle Obama’s birthday was coming up, Heidi Wys, proving that
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Michelle Obama is as comfortable talking about policy as the warm cuddly stuff, as she proved once again in a phone conversation with several women journalists Tuesday afternoon. Four years ago, her speech in Denver introduced her family to the nation and the nation liked what it saw. She is one of
First lady Michelle Obama previews her all-important speech Read More »
Ann Romney, conventional wisdom says, is her husband’s not-so-secret weapon. Well, yes and no. She humanizes him is the standard line and, wearing a lovely red outfit in her moment on the Republican convention stage on Tuesday, she was a smiling vision of warmth. But though she strings words together more fluently than the GOP
Ann Romney will tell you what’s wrong with you Read More »
Republicans, including “just joking” about birth certificates Mitt Romney, love to chide President Obama about his alleged foreign roots, but couldn’t stop getting misty-eyed over their hard-working immigrant forebears. Government programs equal the devil, but hey, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), didn’t I hear you mention the G.I. Bill that helped your dad attend college? Ann Romney
Parsing the ‘American way’ in a night of contradictions at the RNC Read More »
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — With the Democratic National Convention set to start in Charlotte next week, a lot is riding on the shoulders of Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx. Sure, he sounded casual when he said he’s just “playing the role of the host of a large dinner party. I’m going to spend my time greeting as many of
Anthony Foxx: Q&A with Charlotte’s mayor and DNC host Read More »
