It's All Politics

Negative Coattails: Could Obama Cost Arkansas Democrats The Legislature?()  

Arkansas Senate President Paul Bookout, a Democrat, speaks in the Senate chamber at the Capitol in Little Rock on April 5. In November, Arkansans will vote for every seat in the state Legislature.

May 18, 2012 A little-known challenger threatens to embarrass President Obama in the Arkansas primary Tuesday. Although Obama never expected to carry the state in November, his showing could penalize Democrats down the ticket, and could even threaten a hold on the Legislature dating to Reconstruction.

Summary

'It's All Politics': NPR's Weekly News Roundup

It's All Politics, May 17, 2012()  

A GOP superPAC has backed down on its plan to create anti-Obama attack ads featuring the president's former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

May 18, 2012 It's the 300th episode of the podcast! We hear from Ron Elving and Ken Rudin — and from The Listener, too. Plus: an anti-Obama group wavers on hearing more from the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Nebraska Republicans say they've had enough mudslinging, and Americans Elect fails to find a candidate it can promote.

Summary

Election 2012

GOP Group Abandons Racially Tinged Attack Ad()  

May 18, 2012 Republicans unaffiliated with Mitt Romney had planned to spend millions of dollars on a campaign ad connecting President Obama to his controversial former pastor Jeremiah Wright. The idea raises the question, is it possible to redefine Barack Obama this far into his presidency?

Transcript

On Morning EditionPlaylist

It's All Politics

Billionaire Donor Joe Ricketts: From Behind The Scenes To Center Stage()  

Joe Ricketts, whose American Film Company produced The Conspirator, arrives at the film's premiere during the Toronto International Film Festival in 2010.

May 17, 2012 TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts became front-page news Thursday because of a report he was considering a $10 million ad campaign that would attack President Obama over his former pastor. But Ricketts has been quietly funding conservative political causes for the past few years.

Transcript

On All Things ConsideredPlaylist

It's All Politics

N.C. Politicos Pan Proposed Rev. Wright, Anti-Obama Ad Idea ()  

The Rev. Jeremiah Wright addresses the National Press Club in Washington in 2008.

May 17, 2012 We decided to check in with political types in North Carolina, where the electorate is about 72 percent white and 23 percent black, and where polls show Obama and expected GOP nominee Mitt Romney in a dead heat. We asked how ads featuring the incendiary Rev. Jeremiah Wright would play in their state.

Summary

The Two-Way

Romney's $40.1 Million Haul In April Nearly Matches Obama's()  

Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney at a campaign event on Wednesday in St. Petersburg, Fla.

May 17, 2012 In the first month since he effectively wrapped up the GOP presidential nomination, Romney and his party raised almost as much money as the president and the Democratic Party.

Summary

It's All Politics

White House Sandwiches Followed By Snark, Disappointment, Warnings()  

President Obama's limo in what was, in part, the world's most impressive lunch run, Washington, May 16, 2012.

May 16, 2012 The descriptions of the White House lunch meeting from those on the opposing red and blue teams made it sound like yet another meeting featuring the nation's top policymakers that you could have accurately scripted beforehand.

Summary

Candidates Gird For A 'Scorched Earth' Campaign()  

President Obama, who has a technocratic image, has shown that he intends to give as good as he gets — or better — in the campaign.

May 16, 2012 With both the economy and his own poll numbers weaker than he'd want them to be, President Obama has launched attack ads against Mitt Romney that are unusually blunt for this early stage of a campaign. And Romney has responded with a few roundhouse rights of his own.

Summary

It's All Politics

Biden On Bain: Romney 'Thinks This Experience Will Help Our Economy?'()  

May 16, 2012 The Obama campaign on Wednesday escalated its attack on Mitt Romney's business career, with Vice President Joe Biden scheduled to aggressively question how Romney's management of the private equity firm Bain Capital might translate into running the U.S. economy.

Summary

The Two-Way

Bush Says 'I'm For Mitt Romney,' But He Likely Won't Play Role In Campaign()  

Back in 2006: Then-President George W. Bush and then-Gov. Mitt Romney

May 16, 2012 As an elevator's doors closed, former President George W. Bush confirmed the obvious. But Romney's campaign doesn't see Bush playing an important role in the 2012 campaign.

Summary

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NPR It's All Politics Podcast

It's All Politics

NPR political analysts Ken Rudin and Ron Elving delve into the week's political news and analysis in a weekly podcast.

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