President News & Analysis

Republicans Use Birth Control as Campaign Wedge

by Stuart Rothenberg September 9, 2014 · 9:45 AM EDT

Politics is mostly about both parties regurgitating well-established positions (on taxes, the environment, abortion and spending, for example) to appeal to base voters and demonize their opponents. But every so often, candidates from one party try a dramatically new message.

That’s what is happening now in a number…

Why Is the Media Ignoring Hillary Clinton?

by Stuart Rothenberg July 2, 2014 · 10:03 AM EDT

I’ve been deeply distressed by the lack of coverage of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s new book and of her potential 2016 presidential bid.

What could possibly be more important and more interesting than her past, present and future?

Forget about the midterm elections, immigration reform,…

Obama’s New Nuance on His Student Loans

by Nathan L. Gonzales June 13, 2014 · 9:53 AM EDT

President Barack Obama made a fresh case for student loan overhaul with an executive order this week, but he also relayed a much more nuanced version of his own college debt experience.

Over the last couple of years, Obama used his college debt as a compelling anecdote to…

2016 Presidential: Why Hillary Clinton is More Inevitable Than Last Time

by Nathan L. Gonzales May 28, 2014 · 4:58 PM EDT

Hillary Clinton was the clear frontrunner for the Democratic nomination in the 2008 presidential race and managed to lose to a relatively unknown outsider, so why couldn’t it happen again? The short answer is that if she runs again, any Democrats who might consider challenging her shouldn’t count on…

Why This Year’s Primaries Won’t End GOP Civil War

by Nathan L. Gonzales May 9, 2014 · 9:49 AM EDT

The Republican establishment is fighting back, but winning a few primaries this year won’t do much to end the insurgency from party purists. It only takes one general election loss by an establishment candidate to reignite the fire.

Observers see what they want to see in the results,…

Obama’s Foreign Policy Impacts 2014 Elections — Really

by Stuart Rothenberg April 24, 2014 · 9:52 AM EDT

No, I am not going to try to make the case that foreign policy will be at the forefront of this year’s elections, or that international issues are a high priority for most Americans. They aren’t.

But foreign policy could have an indirect yet significant impact on the…

Income Inequality: Democrats Have Some Work to Do

by Stuart Rothenberg January 31, 2014 · 9:52 AM EST

The 14th question of the Jan. 22-25 NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll produced a set of responses I didn’t expect.

The poll asked, “When it comes to reducing income inequality between the rich and the poor, do you want to see the government more involved than it…

What the Latest Iowa Poll Reveals About 2016 (Hint: Not Much)

by Stuart Rothenberg December 23, 2013 · 9:00 AM EST

A new Des Moines Register poll of Iowans’ attitudes toward potential 2016 presidential hopefuls has already received plenty of attention. That’s not surprising, I suppose, given the unquenchable thirst from some about anything to do with the next presidential race.

The survey’s results give us some information —…

One Reason Donald Trump Should Be President

by Nathan L. Gonzales December 17, 2013 · 11:45 AM EST

It’s not very challenging to write about the countless reasons why Donald Trump would not make a good president. But there is one thing the Donald does that might be useful in the Oval Office — he fires people.

As Ezra Klein noted in his recent Bloomberg…

OMG!!! A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN. Or Maybe Not

by Stuart Rothenberg September 28, 2013 · 10:09 PM EDT

Once again, Henny Penny is running around to warn us that the sky is falling. A government shutdown is only [fill in the blank] days, [fill in the blank] hours and [fill in the blank] minutes away. The countdown clock shows the seconds ticking by. The end is near.