Steve Benen

Mitt Romney tends to shine in Republican presidential debates in large part because he generally seems prepared. Putting aside whether his answers are truthful or sensible, the former governor’s answers are generally polished — he gives the appearance of someone who at least tried to do their homework. It was bizarre, then, to see Romney […]

In about an hour or so, the six remaining Republican presidential candidates will take the stage in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, for yet another debate, this one on Fox News. It will be the first debate with only five candidates, and it takes place just five days before the South Carolina primary. Common sense suggests […]

Today’s edition of quick hits: * Escalating crisis in Yemen: “Al-Qaida militants seized full control of a town south of the Yemeni capital on Monday, overrunning army positions, storming the local prison and freeing at least 150 inmates, security officials said.” * A day of service: “President Barack Obama evoked Martin Luther King, Jr.’s own […]

Republican consultant/pundit Mike Murphy got in an interesting dig this morning at the conventional wisdom surrounding Mitt Romney. In particular, Murphy noted a Fox News poll showing Romney leading the GOP pack with 40% support nationally. “But wait, I’ve been hearing about Mitt’s ‘25% cap’ from media pundits for a year!” At first blush, this […]

The Romney campaign released an odd memo over the weekend, which was largely forgettable, except for the conclusion, which stood out for me. When Barack Obama ran for the presidency, he promised to “fundamentally transform the United States of America.” Sadly, he is succeeding. He is pushing America toward a European-style entitlement society that would […]

It seemed like a fairly significant deal over the weekend when over 100 prominent and influential evangelical leaders — all significant players in the religious right movement — held an “emergency” meeting in Texas to discuss what to do about the race for the Republican presidential nomination. Soon after, the pastors and activists voted to […]

As expected, Jon Huntsman left the race for the Republican presidential nomination this morning, but as he “suspended” his campaign, the former governor took some time to decry candidate “attacks.” That would be the same Jon Huntsman whose campaign said recently that Ron Paul had ideas out of “The Twilight Zone” and whose super PAC […]

Today’s installment of campaign-related news items that won’t necessarily generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers: * Apparently one Super PAC isn’t quite enough for Mitt Romney, who now has another Super PAC investing another $455,000 in pro-Romney television ads in South Carolina this week. * The latest […]

The disgraced former House Speaker sure does say strange things. Republican Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich suggested at a Fox News forum hosted by Mike Huckabee in South Carolina on Saturday that it would be a good idea to fire federal employees for being too liberal. Federal law, on the other hand, says Gingrich’s plan would […]

In his latest column, CNBC’s Larry Kudlow equates the United States with “U.S. Government Inc.” As he sees it, this “company” is facing “bankruptcy,” and needs a private-equity firm to come in and start “downsizing, modernizing, shrinking staff and making substantial changes in management.” The point isn’t subtle. Kudlow is making the case for Mitt […]