US congressman refuses to stand down over rape remarks -
France24
A Republican Senate candidate under fire for his comments about rape and pregnancy was under intense pressure to drop out of the race ahead of a significant deadline Tuesday. Republicans feared the turmoil could damage their hopes for winning control of the U.S. Senate. Congressman Todd Akin again vowed to fight on despite the storm over his comments that women’s bodies can prevent pregnancies in cases of “legitimate rape.” He was once seen as a strong challenger to incumbent Democrat Claire McCaskill in the Midwestern state of Missouri, but now even prominent members of his own party urge him to step aside. |
Paul Ryan: The man with the plan -
Economist
BY PICKING Paul Ryan, an athletic and brainy young congressman from Wisconsin, as his running-mate Mitt Romney has delighted Republicans and Democrats in equal measure. To the Republican base, Mr Ryan is the distilled essence of tea, a determined tax-cutter and state-shrinker. To the Democrats, he makes a perfect target for exactly the same reasons. But no one can accuse Mr Romney any longer of being unclear about what he will do if he makes it to the White House
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Paul Ryan could inspire meaningful debate -
WP
The selection of Paul Ryan — chairman of the House Budget Committee — as Mitt Romney’s vice presidential candidate has the potential to turn this dreary presidential campaign into a meaningful debate over the size and role of the federal government. It could also (sadly) litter the debate with so many exaggerations, distortions and falsehoods that Americans end up less informed and less able to make sensible choices. Until now, the campaign has been a disheartening descent into a swamp of negative ads and personal character attacks that, if hardly unprecedented, seem unusual in that they’re increasingly made by the candidates themselves. Any semblance of a reasoned debate over the nation’s future has been conspicuously absent. |
Obama warns against 'turning back' at first re-election rally -
France24
President Barack Obama said Saturday the United States had suffered too much pain to turn the economy over to Republican Mitt Romney, as he fired up his first official reelection rally. "We are not turning back the clock, we are moving forward," Obama said, seeking to revive the political magic that swept him to power in 2008, and to confound new signs that the recovery may be running out of steam. |
Gingrich pulls plug on "wild ride" White House bid -
First Post
Newt Gingrich ended his run for U.S. president on Wednesday after dazzling in televised debates but slumping to defeat in dozens of Republican primaries under attack from rivals who portrayed him as the consummate Washington insider. The former U.S. House of Representatives speaker, the face of the Republican Party in the mid-1990s, badly trailed front-runner Mitt Romney in polls and his campaign piled up a debt of $4.3 million. |
Obama makes surprise trip to Afghanistan to sign key pact, mark bin Laden raid -
Kevin Sieff and Scott Wilson, Washington Post
President Obama outlined his plan to end America’s longest foreign war during a visit here Tuesday colored by election-year politics and economic uncertainty, declaring that “this time of war began in Afghanistan, and this is where it will end.” “We have traveled through more than a decade under the dark cloud of war,” the president said at a U.S. military base. “In the pre-dawn darkness of Afghanistan, we can see the light of a new day on the horizon.” |
Romney foreign policy spokesman quits -
Richard A oppel Jr. and Helene Cooper, NYT
Richard Grenell, an openly gay and longtime Republican foreign policy spokesman hired last month by Mitt Romney’s campaign, abruptly resigned on Tuesday after antigay elements in the party criticized his appointment and some Republican advisers said Mr. Grenell had been sidelined by the campaign during a busy foreign policy week. The Romney campaign issued a statement saying that it had sought to keep Mr. Grenell from quitting. And according to some Republicans, while Mr. Grenell’s sexual orientation was not an issue for the campaign, the Romney team had cut Mr. Grenell out of the loop on some issues after feeling a surprising pressure from some social conservatives. |
Romney Wins Where it Counts: Collecting Money, Delegates -
Lisa Lerer, Bloomberg
With yesterday’s 12-percentage-point victory in Illinois over chief rival Rick Santorum, which netted about 42 of the 54 delegates at stake, Romney is almost halfway to obtaining the 1,144 he needs to capture the Republican presidential nomination. To finish the job, he must get 46 percent of the remaining delegates. By contrast, Santorum, who trails Romney by more than 2-1 in delegates, would have to win about 69 percent of the remaining number. |
Romney routs Santorum in Illinois, fires salvos at Obama -
S Rajagopalan, Pioneer
The former Massachusetts governor, aided by a well-endowed war chest and a well-oiled campaign machine, captured 47 per cent of the votes against Santorum’s 35 per cent, and his performance in the race for delegates was even more impressive. Needing 1,144 delegates to seal the nomination, Romney now has 563 against Santorum’s 263 in the delegates count maintained by the Associated Press. The other two players, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul, trailed way behind with 135 and 50 delegates respectively. Illinois being Obama’s backyard and one of the bigger states, Romney turned his guns on the president in his victory speech. |
Illinois Votes in Rare Turn in Spotlight -
Steven Yaccino, NYT
Entering the First English Lutheran Church on Tuesday morning, voters in the Illinois Republican primary had to first walk between two network news trucks parked out front. Through one windshield, one could see a monitor glowing in the predawn with live footage from inside the church gymnasium, where eight voting booths stood waiting. The news media’s presence was a clear reminder for some voters of a rare opportunity for Illinois: With the prolonged Republican presidential race turning into an incremental slog to win delegates that could last until August, Republicans in this city were conscious of the fact that their vote, for the first time that many could remember, had influence. |
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