By Rand Paul
Obama acts as though we no longer have a Constitution
Mitt Romney crossed a major threshold this week, moving above 50 percent in his favorability rating, according to the Real Clear Politics average of polls — and for the first time in the campaign he leads President Obama on that measure.
After clinching the Republican presidential nomination Tuesday in Texas, Mitt Romney has emerged from a bloody primary slog running neck-and-neck with President Obama — putting him in the exact same position as the last two Republicans to lead their party into the general election.
Michigan native son Mitt Romney is mounting a giant effort to win back some love in the state of his birth, amid fresh signs he will have trouble winning the Feb. 28 primary or a general election matchup for the state's 16 electoral votes this fall against President Obama.
To Trump, or not to Trump: indeed, presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich huddles with billionaire Donald Trump in Manhattan for a time on Monday, a stop made by most of his rivals in months past. Mr. Trump himself has emerged as the newest Republican kingmaker, emerging as moderator for a newly minted debate hosted by Newsmax in Iowa at month's end that may or may not include the phrases "you're fired" or "I'm declaring my candidacy for president."
A Public Religion Research Institute survey released in June found that six out of 10 Americans say elected officials should be held to a higher moral standard than everyone else. But financial sins are worse than the sexual variety, apparently.
Just as many voters were getting over a record-setting string of state Senate recall elections with the prospect of another against the governor, the parties are gearing up for what many are predicting will be a hard-fought race for the open U.S. Senate seat left by retiring Sen. Herb Kohl, a Democrat.
While lawmakers argue and the White House cringes, consider that the nation's capital now has an official, "native" cocktail. Oh well, why not? D.C. Council member Jack Evans will issue an official proclamation Thursday, naming the "Rickey" as D.C.'s very own libation, and declaring July to be "Rickey Month."
With President Obama officially running for re-election, the call from the left for a primary challenge was gaining steam - though no challenger so far is stepping forward.
Candidates in the midterm elections unabashedly have attacked their opponents' families in recent campaign ads, leaving political observers to decide where best to draw the line and putting those targeted on the defensive — with the fallout in one instance possibly costing the Democrats a Senate seat.
President Obama is sharpening his attack on Republicans as he tries to recast November's elections from a referendum on his policies to a choice between Democratic and GOP ideas — but it's a tall task with an electorate that seems intent on sending Democrats a stinging rebuke.
If the Democrats are looking for graveyards to whistle past, taking false courage in the babble of frightened voices, they should find them in the Middle West, where Republicans once owned most of the electoral real estate and Democrats have pried a lot of it out of their grip in recent decades.
The "tea party" movement is trying to add to its string of nationwide GOP primary upsets this election year by winning Tuesday in New Hampshire and Delaware, both crucial seats in the fight to control the Senate.
President Obama made brief mention of his predecessor Tuesday night, but the end of combat operations in Iraq has some wondering whether former President George W. Bush deserves more acclaim for having left in place the framework Mr. Obama is following to wind down the war.
The summer of the discontented voter steams onward and, unfortunately for President Obama, polls show voters are no longer blaming the bad times on the George W. Bush administration.
"Compared to a month ago, he's up a net 12 points with Democrats and down a net 11 points with Republicans," Mr. Jensen says.
"Chris Christie is now more popular with Democrats nationally than he is with Republicans," says Tom Jensen, director of Public Policy Polling, who points out that Mr. Christie enjoys an overall 51 percent approval rating.
