INSIDE POLITICS

The Washington Times' political blog.

• McCain: Obama bus trip abuses taxpayers' money

  By Stephen Dinan | Published October 18, 2011 Comments

  Republicans' 2008 presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain, said Tuesday that President Obama has crossed the line with his current bus tour, arguing that it is a campaign event that should be funded by political donors, not federal taxpayers.

• Obama suffers enthusiasm deficit

  by Stephen Dinan | Published October 17, 2011 Comments

  Republicans seem far more excited to vote in next year's presidential elections than Democrats are, suggesting the same sort of enthusiasm gap that pushed the GOP to big gains in the 2010 elections.

• Bachmann loses Capitol Hill communications director

  by Seth McLaughlin | Published October 14, 2011 Comments

  The high turnover rate in Republican presidential contender Michele Bachmann's congressional office continued Friday when her communications director announced he was taking a similar job with another office on Capitol Hill.

• Pallid returns seen on Obama's tanning tax

  by Paige Winfield Cunningham | Published October 14, 2011 Comments

  More than a year after President Obama's health care law imposed a new tax on tanning, revenues are a bit pale.

• Obama OKs combat troops to Uganda

  by Dave Boyer | Published October 14, 2011 Comments

  President Obama authorized the deployment of about 100 U.S. combat-equipped troops to Uganda two days ago to help local forces capture or kill Lord's Resistance Army leader Joseph Kony, Mr. Obama told congressional leaders Friday in a letter.

• Club for Growth defends Cain's 9-9-9 tax plan

  by Seth McLaughlin | Published October 14, 2011 Comments

  The influential anti-spending Club for Growth defended Republican presidential contender Herman Cain's 9-9-9 tax plan against attacks from his GOP rivals, saying that those who warn the federal sales tax component would simply hand Congress another way to levy taxes on citizens "miss the mark."

• Texas Rep. Poe: Dewhurst is 'one to beat' in Senate race

  by David Eldridge | Published October 13, 2011 Comments

  Rep. Ted Poe, Texas Republican, said he doesn't have a personal "favorite" in the crowded field of GOP hopefuls jockeying to replace Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison next year, but he said his state's lieutenant governor, David Dewhurst, is the "one to beat."

• Speculation about Biden annoys White House

  by Dave Boyer | Published October 13, 2011 Comments

  The White House is getting irked about persistent speculation in the media that President Obama might dump Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. as his running mate in 2012 in favor of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

• Cain: 'My church is still in the 'hood'

  by Seth McLaughlin | Published October 12, 2011 Comments

  Contrasting his black experience with that of President Obama, Republican presidential contender Herman Cain said Wednesday that, after growing up in the racially segregated South, he's still connected with the trials and travails of the black community — a connection symbolized by the fact that "my church is still in the 'hood."

• Daley to leave White House after election

  by Dave Boyer | Published October 12, 2011 Comments

  White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley said Tuesday he will leave his job after the 2012 election.

• Warren shows fundraising savvy in Massachusetts race

  by Paige Winfield Cunningham | Published October 11, 2011 Comments

  In the first indication of her fundraising prowess, Senate hopeful Elizabeth Warren dwarfed a Democratic rival and brought in double the sum raised by incumbent Scott Brown of Massachusetts.

• Poll: Cain, Romney tied in Va.

  by Dave Boyer | Published October 11, 2011 Comments

  Businessman Herman Cain is gaining ground with Virginia voters, tying former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for the lead among GOP presidential contenders in a Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday.

• Romney holds big lead in N.H. poll

  by Seth McLaughlin | Published October 10, 2011 Comments

  On the eve of the presidential debate there, a new poll shows Mitt Romney holding a big edge in New Hampshire over his rivals in the GOP nomination race.

• Romney scores key backing in early primary states

  by Seth McLaughlin | Published October 10, 2011 Comments

  Mitt Romney on Monday rolled out high-profile endorsements from a couple of former senators, giving him some powerful allies in two of the key early primary states in the Republican nomination process.

• Perry attack ad hits 'Romneycare'

  by Seth McLaughlin | Published October 10, 2011 Comments

  Texas Gov. Rick Perry kicked off Columbus Day on Monday with a sharply critical new Web video that lights into presidential rival Mitt Romney's support of a universal health care law in Massachusetts, suggesting it is evidence that the former governor's attempts to cast himself as a successful conservative businessman ring hollow.