Steve Benen

In about a half-hour, what’s called the “CNN-Southern Republican Debate” will get underway in Charleston, the 16th GOP debate of the cycle. It will be the first debate with only four candidates — Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, and Ron Paul — and it takes place just a couple of days before the South […]

Today’s edition of quick hits: * Afghanistan: “More than two dozen people were killed in a four insurgent attacks in southern Afghanistan that began late Wednesday and continued through Thursday afternoon, Afghan authorities said.” * It’s becoming a habit: “The United States Navy has for a third time in as many weeks come to the […]

The pressure may be getting to Mitt Romney a little bit. A South Carolina protestor asked him this morning about his agenda for helping the 99%, and the former governor got more than a little testy in his response: “Let me tell you something: America is a great nation because we’re a united nation. And […]

Reader M.G. flagged a line Mitt Romney used during Monday night’s debate and asked whether the Republican frontrunner is telling the truth. Let’s take a look at the Romney quote: “[T]he most extraordinary thing that’s happened with this military authorization is the president is planning on cutting $1 trillion out of military spending. Our Navy […]

A year ago, Public Policy Polling ran its annual “TV News Trust Poll.” There were plenty of interesting tidbits, but there was one line from the pollster’s analysis that stood out: “Democrats trust everything but Fox. Republicans don’t trust anything but Fox.” A year later, PPP is back with new results, which point in a […]

Following up on an earlier item, as if there weren’t enough questions involving taxes swirling around Mitt Romney, his offshore accounts make his tax returns that much more important. The Romney campaign has pushed back against the reports this morning, arguing that the Republican is not using his offshore strategy to avoid U.S. taxes. The […]

One of the more clear-cut triumphs of President Obama’s first three years has been the success of his auto-industry rescue. Republicans predicted it would fail miserably. They were wrong and the White House was right. Bloomberg reported this week that auto plants are operating at a capacity unseen in a long while, adding shifts and […]

It’s a very busy day in the race for the Republican nomination. The results of the Iowa caucuses point towards a new winner; Rick Perry is out; Mitt Romney has a variety of problems (tax rates, tax returns, stashing cash in the Caymans); and there’s a debate tonight. But one of the controversies getting plenty […]

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: * As expected, Rick Perry officially “suspended” his presidential campaign this morning, and threw his support to Newt Gingrich. * A new Politico poll out of South Carolina shows Mitt Romney leading […]

The latest national New York Times/CBS News poll has plenty of interesting tidbits, but reader J.F. flags some numbers I’d overlooked. Way into the poll — page 26, question 85 — respondents were asked, “How would you mainly describe the policies Barack Obama has pursued as president — as socialist, liberal, moderate, conservative or libertarian?” […]