Seth McLaughlin
Articles by Seth McLaughlin
Biden, Ryan go head to head, but they can’t see eye to eye in vice presidential debate
Looking to erase the memory of President Obama's widely panned debate performance from a week ago, Vice President Joseph R. Biden took the fight to his rival Paul Ryan on Thursday, accusing him of obfuscating Republicans' tax cut plans and calling GOP criticism of the administration's handling of last month's Libya terrorist attack "malarkey." Published October 11, 2012
Romney retools message on jobs after dip in unemployment rate
Last week’s improved unemployment rate has stripped one of Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney’s go-to lines from his stump speech, forcing him to revamp his message on jobs and the economy. Published October 10, 2012
Romney sidesteps questions on detaining U.S. citizens
Mitt Romney sidestepped questions Wednesday about whether he would have signed the National Defense Authorization Act that authorizes the indefinite detention of terror suspects, including American citizens, saying he didn't have enough information on the law. Published October 10, 2012
Obama tries to win back women voters, hits Romney on abortion
With President Obama losing his advantage among female voters, his campaign aides Wednesday resurrected attacks on Mitt Romney over abortion and women's rights, claiming the Republican nominee is hiding his true positions. Published October 10, 2012
Romney to build on debate boost
An energized Mitt Romney is looking to build on his new campaign momentum in the country’s swing states, including in Ohio, where he is deploying some of his heaviest political artillery and personalizing his message in his hunt for undecided voters. Published October 9, 2012
‘Sesame Street’ firm calls on Obama to pull ‘Big Bird’ ad
Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit company that owns Big Bird and the rest of the “Sesame Street” gang, asked the Obama campaign Tuesday to pull down political ads featuring the iconic bird and attacking Mitt Romney for saying he would end taxpayer funding for PBS. Published October 9, 2012
Feathers fly as candidates fight over Big Bird
Mitt Romney flipped President Obama's re-election team the proverbial bird on Tuesday, saying the Democrats' attempts to make a big issue over Mr. Romney's opposition to federal subsidies for Big Bird reflect their misguided priorities. Published October 9, 2012
Romney to slam Obama on warfare
Mitt Romney on Monday will accuse the Obama administration of fundamentally misunderstanding the threat of radical Islam, using a major foreign-policy speech at the Virginia Military Institute to say President Obama is rejecting six decades of bipartisan consensus by not flexing more U.S. muscle on the world stage. Published October 8, 2012
Romney lays out policies for foes and friends of America
Mitt Romney vowed Monday to "recommit" the United States to a two-state solution between the Israelis and Palestinians, to put "clear conditions" on U.S. assistance to Egypt and to ensure Syrian opponents get access to needed weapons as he sought to define key foreign policy differences with President Obama. Published October 8, 2012
Obama launches pre-emptive strike ahead of Romney’s foreign policy speech
President Obama's re-election campaign on Monday launched a pre-emptive strike ahead of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's planned foreign policy address, arguing that Mr. Romney has failed the the commander-in-chief test on the global stage — in part by staking out positions to the right of former President George W. Bush. Published October 8, 2012
Obama camp looking for answers in aftermath
Mitt Romney's debate performance continued to wear well Thursday as President Obama's backers searched for answers to what went wrong with their candidate, who voters and pundits alike said lacked the magic that captivated the country in 2008. Published October 4, 2012
Debates not last word on presidential race
The presidential debates may be the biggest news events between now and Election Day, but with two monthly jobs reports, the final deficit tally and several other end-of-the-fiscal-year numbers due, the calendar is littered with other potential political land mines. Published October 3, 2012
Presidential debate ritual is great equalizer for incumbent, challenger
Call it the built-in gravitas gap: President Obama flies the country in a grand 747, cruises in plush limousines adorned with American flags, and speaks from the White House Rose Garden, while his campaign opponent, Mitt Romney, flies in a smaller MD-83 passenger jet, rides in nondescript SUVs and makes speeches at factories and strip malls. Published October 2, 2012
Romney won’t deport illegal immigrants with temporary legal status
Moving to soften his immigration stance ever so slightly, Mitt Romney said this week he will not immediately deport the illegal immigrants granted tentative legal status by President Obama — and the Republican nominee also set a soft deadline for getting a broader immigration bill done in 18 months. Published October 2, 2012
Romney insists Pa. in play in November
Mitt Romney courted military cadets and top-dollar donors on Friday as he declared Pennsylvania up for grabs in the November election — a state where the campaign is not running television ads and where poll numbers suggest that Friday's pit stop appeared to be more about raising the money needed to compete in more hotly-contested battleground states. Published September 28, 2012
Obama, Romney move battle to Virginia for military votes
President Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney each trolled for military votes Thursday in the critical swing state of Virginia, and although polls show Mr. Obama with a slight edge overall in the state, he is having trouble convincing veterans that he should remain their commander in chief. Published September 27, 2012
Romney, Obama locked in a duel for Ohio’s working-class voters
Scrambling to regain his footing in the Buckeye State, Mitt Romney enlisted the help Wednesday of a golf legend and a television star with the sort of blue-collar credentials that could resonate with the state's working-class voters. President Obama, meanwhile, made his own Ohio pitch to college crowds at Bowling Green and Kent State. Published September 26, 2012
Romney tax release appears to undercut Democratic charges
Seeking to put to rest lingering questions about his tax history, GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney on Friday released his 2011 tax return as well as a 20-year "summary" of what he has paid to the IRS – a financial history, as told by tax preparers, that appears to punch a hole in Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid’s claim that the Republican presidential nominee avoided paying federal income taxes for more than a decade. Published September 21, 2012
Romney campaign zeroes in on Florida
Mitt Romney told a Florida crowd Thursday that he — not President Obama — is the real agent of "change" in the 2012 election as the Republican presidential nominee tried to win over voters in a state that's joined Ohio as key bellwethers in presidential elections. Published September 20, 2012
Nondeportation trips up Romney
President Obama's nondeportation policy continued to tie Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney in knots Wednesday as he struggled to find a stance that can appeal to Hispanic voters while not angering his own conservative base. Published September 19, 2012