Mitt Romney
Romney advisor stands by Trump
Kevin Madden says the GOP candidate will still appear with the birther mogul, even though they disagree
Donald Trump (Credit: Reuters/David Moir) Despite the fact that Donald Trump reaffirmed today that he’s pretty sure President Obama “was born in Kenya,” Mitt Romney advisor Kevin Madden defended an upcoming joint fundraiser in Las Vegas today, arguing that Romney shouldn’t be held responsible for Trump’s birtherism.
In an interview with MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell, Madden noted that Romney has publicly repudiated the birther myth in the past, and would do it again, but stopped short of saying that the candidate will do it in Trump’s presence.
When Mitchell asked if Romney will “stand up next to Donald Trump and disavow that [myth],” Madden replied, “He’ll stand up next to Donald Trump and he’ll talk about why he wants to be president.” “Any time the subject goes off of that, or if something where … Governor Romney would disagree, he’s going to make that very clear,” Madden added, without saying whether that clarification would be to Trump’s face or after the event.
The twice-bankrupt casino mogul has managed to insinuate himself into the Romney campaign, even as he continues to push the entirely false and racially tinged birther myth. If Trump has his way, he’ll play an even bigger role in the Romney campaign going forward, potentially speaking at the GOP convention or even snagging the vice-presidential nod, for which he nominated himself this week.
The standard the Romney campaign seems to be advancing here is that it’s OK for the candidate to appear on the same stage as a loon, as long as that loon doesn’t say the thing that makes him loony in the candidate’s presence. And if he does, the candidate can merely disavow it later. But it’s hard to imagine that the right would be comfortable with Obama appearing on the same stage as, say, Bill Ayers or Jeremiah Wright, even if neither said anything controversial in that moment.
Alex Seitz-Wald is Salon's political reporter. Email him at aseitz-wald@salon.com, and follow him on Twitter @aseitzwald. More Alex Seitz-Wald.
Presidential race is most costly ever
The election is poised to dwarf the cost of 2008, when Super PACs didn't pump millions of dollars into the race
President Barack Obama, left, tours TPI Composites, a manufacturer of wind turbines blades, with plant manager Mark Parriott, Thursday, May 24, 2012 in Newton, Iowa. In Obamas second visit as president to Newton, a city of about 15,000 east of Des Moines, he argued for Congress to renew wind energy tax credits.(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)(Credit: AP) The battle between President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney will be the most expensive presidential contest ever — by a long shot.
There are two main reasons. It’s the first time both major-party candidates are declining post-Watergate federal campaign financing — and the spending limits attached. And the proliferation of super PACS is pumping untold millions into the fray on both sides, mostly for advertising.
So fashion your seat belts and prepare for a howling tempest of broadcast ads, especially if you live in a battleground state.
Continue Reading CloseHey, Mitt: Dump Trump!
After a new rant about Obama's birthplace, Romney needs to cut all ties with the birther loon
Yesterday it was funny: Mitt Romney announced he was having a fundraising contest to let supporters win a dinner with the farce that is Donald Trump. President Obama has raffled off dinners with George Clooney and former President Bill Clinton; Mitt’s got Trump. Any questions? Do you see a stature gap between the two campaigns? Do you want to have dinner with two guys who like to be able to fire people? Whatever floats Mitt’s boat.
Continue Reading CloseJoan Walsh is Salon's editor at large. More Joan Walsh.
John Bolton begs for Romney
The former U.N. ambassador pleads with the GOP base: "Please get yourself together"
John Bolton (Credit: Reuters/Jonathan Ernst) Mitt Romney has always had trouble igniting the Republican base, and apparently some key surrogates have now taken to begging for support.
Bellicose former U.N. ambassador John Bolton, who has been informally advising Romney on foreign policy, was the keynote speaker at a GOP fundraiser in Iowa last night where he pleaded, “Even if you’re not at this moment an enthusiastic supporter of Gov. Romney, will you please get yourself together in the next three or four months?” His inspirational message continued: “He may not have been your perfect candidate, but consider what you will see on the ballot on Nov. 6. This is not a tough decision.” Mitt Romney: Probably Better than the other guy.
In typical Bolton fashion, he also told the Polk County Republicans that a dollar spent on defense is better “than a dollar spent with the Department of Health and Human Services.”
Bolton endorsed Romney in January after forgoing a rumored presidential bid of his own and even though Newt Gingrich promised to make Bolton his secretary of state.
Alex Seitz-Wald is Salon's political reporter. Email him at aseitz-wald@salon.com, and follow him on Twitter @aseitzwald. More Alex Seitz-Wald.
Mitt Romney: Politics “like a sport”
What makes Mitt tick? The nominee says he likes politics because "I can't compete in competitive sports very well"
Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney gestures as he leaves a campaign event in Hillsborough, New Hampshire May 18, 2012. (Credit: Reuters/Jessica Rinaldi) Mitt Romney may have unintentionally opened a window onto his somewhat obscured motivations for running for president in an interview with the Wall Street Journal’s Peggy Noonan today, explaining that he likes sports, but isn’t very good at them, so he does politics instead.
Asked about whether he likes “the game” of politics, the presumed GOP nominee replied, “I like competition, and I think the game [of politics] is like a sport for old guys. I mean, you know, I can’t compete in competitive sports very well, but I can compete in politics, and there’s the — what was the old ABC ‘Wide World of Sports’ slogan? ‘The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.’ The only difference is victory is still a thrill, but I don’t feel agony in loss.”
Continue Reading CloseAlex Seitz-Wald is Salon's political reporter. Email him at aseitz-wald@salon.com, and follow him on Twitter @aseitzwald. More Alex Seitz-Wald.
Private equity’s evil twin
The Facebook IPO debacle exposed venture capital as just as problematic as the industry that gave us Romney
Facebook founder, Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, center, rings the Nasdaq opening bell from Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif on May 18, 2012 (Credit: AP/Zef Nikolla) A funny thing happened on the way to the Facebook IPO. The clash of competing economic ideologies at play in the 2012 presidential campaign got a lot more complicated.
With our first-ever private equity honcho running for president in an era of high unemployment and slow economic growth, it was always a foregone conclusion that this year’s election campaign would include an appraisal of whether Mitt Romney’s version of capitalism is good for America. It’s a debate the culture has been passionately engaged in at least as far back as Oliver Stone’s “Wall Street,” and the battle lines are well-drawn. Is Bain Capital a parasitic corporate raider or an engine for lean-and-mean capitalist renewal? You get to make the call, and then you can go vote.
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Andrew Leonard is a staff writer at Salon. On Twitter, @koxinga21. More Andrew Leonard.
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