The Center Holds: Obama and His Enemies
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His mother, Ann, wrote to a friend: Maraniss, Barack Obama, 488.
“like a spy beyond enemy lines”: Barack Obama, Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance (New York: Random House, 1995), 200.
They spent more than $30 million a year: private report by Robert G. Wilmers, chairman, M&T Bank Corp.
In January of 2012, Priorities USA spent almost as much on salaries: Peter Nicholas and Carol E. Lee, Wall Street Journal, April 5 not buying health insurance ov small , 2012.
“It’s a war: Jonathan Alter, Newsweek, August 15, 2010.
“The metrosexual black Abe Lincoln: Jeff Zeleny and Jim Rutenberg, New York Times, May 17, 2012.
16. THE BOOK OF MITT
The most common indictment of Romney: see www.RomneyFlop.com.
“[My father] wanted to be president less than anyone: Michael Kranish, “The Story behind Mitt Romney’s Loss in the Presidential Campaign to Barack Obama,” Boston Globe, December 12, 2012. See also Michael Kranish and Scott Helman, The Real Romney (New York: HarperCollins, 2012).
Theodore White found him almost embarrassingly sincere: Theodore H. White, The Making of the President 1968 (New York: Atheneum, 1969), 36.
“because his supporters are convinced that he’s a liar”: Michael Kinsley, Bloomberg View, October 6, 2011.
17. BOSTON MAD MEN
The Wall Street Journal editorialized that a “coasting” Romney campaign: Wall Street Journal, July 6, 2012.
“the campaign’s monomaniacal belief: Bill Kristol, Weekly Standard, July 5, 2012.
18. A MESSAGE BUILT TO LAST?
“Stop Coddling the Super-Rich: Warren E. Buffett, New York Times, August 14, 2011.
When informed that Romney supported: Robert Draper, New York Times Magazine, July 5, 2012.
The New York Times described the rally: Mark Landler, New York Times, May 5, 2011.
“The First Gay President”: Andrew Sullivan, Newsweek, May 21, 2012.
19. OBAMACARE’S CLOSE SHAVE
“The taxing power of the federal government, my dear: Jonathan Alter, The Defining Moment: FDR’s 100 Days and the Triumph of Hope (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2006), 313.
“with specific know
ledge: Jan Crawford, “Roberts Switched Vote to Uphold Health Care Law,” CBSnews.com, July 1, 2012.
Romney needed to make Obamacare a big issue:Wall Street Journal, July 6, 2012.
20. THE MACHINE HUMS
He warned them that if “a couple billionaires”: Lloyd Grove, Daily Beast, June 30, 2012.
By mid-2012 the Obama campaign had burned through: Nicholas Confessore and Jo Craven McGinty, New York Times, August 4, 2012.
“Do you remember any phrase or sentence: Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal, June 22, 2012.
21. DEMOGRAPHY AS DESTINY
“I think my dear brother Barack: Chris Hedges, truthdig.com, May 16, 2011.
22. IN THE SCRUM
Obama was acting “un-American”: Charles Murray, “Ideas Blog,” American Enterprise Institute, July 18, 2012.
A reporter for Bloomberg Businessweek: Sheelah Kolhatkar, “Exclusive: Inside Karl Rove’s Billionaire Fundraiser,” Bloomberg Businessweek, August 31, 2012.
sought explicit business favors from the government in a Romney administration: Alison Fitzgerald and Julie Bykowicz, Bloomberg News, August 29, 2012.
Harold Simmons, who would give nearly $27 million: see Opensecrets.com.
“You need to actually convince voters: Bill Kristol, Fox News Sunday, Fox News, September 2, 2012.
“Where Clinton entertains: Joseph Lelyveld, New York Review of Books, October 11, 2012.
“I guess I really actually feel: Darrel Rowland, Columbus Dispatch, August 19, 2012.
23. MAKERS VERSUS TAKERS
Then he repeated the number: Brian Beutler, TalkingPointsMemo.com, September 19, 2012.
He was especially interested when: see David Corn, 47 Percent: Uncovering the Romney Video That Rocked the 2012 Election (New York: William Morrow, 2012).
“Lucky duckies”: The Wall Street Journal, “The Non-Taxpayer Class,” November 20, 2002.
Academic research showed that if the calculations included “submerged” government benefits: Suzanne Mettl partner, Russ Schriefer, ass small er and John Sides, New York Times, October 25, 2012.
“Between 60 and 70 percent of Americans: see Nick Baumann, Mother Jones, January 22, 2013.
“government closest to the people: Paul Ryan, Christian Broadcasting Network, April 10, 2012.
The Church must stand with the poor and forsaken: see CatholicMoralPhilosophy.com.
spoke at length with FDR about Pope Leo: Alter, The Defining Moment, 98.
Romney resembled Thurston Howell: David Brooks, The New York Times, September 18, 2012.
“arrogant and stupid”: Bill Kristol,
Photo Credits
1: Twitter
2: Bob Kreisel/Alamy
3: Will White/Wikimedia Commons
4: Fred Prouser/Reuters/Corbis
5: The Washington Post/Getty
6: Andrew Welsh-Huggins/AP
7: The League of Women Voters of Florida
8: Christopher Dilts
9: Elan Kriegel
10: Christopher Dilts
11: Official White House Photo/Pete Souza
12National Youth Administrationat the OK: Official White House Photo/Pete Souza
13: C-Span via YouTube
14: Official White House Photo/Pete Souza
15: Official White House Photo/Pete Souza
16: Official White House Photo/Pete Souza
17: Fox News via YouTube
18: Bectrigger/Wikimedia Commons
19: Courtesy of Romney Family/Brooks Kraft/Corbis
20: Washington Post/Getty Images
21: Christopher Dilts
22: Obama for America
23: Christopher Dilts
24: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP
25: Official White House Photo/Pete Souza
26: Obama for America via YouTubetube
27: Mother Jones via YouTube
28: Scott Prouty
29: Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights
30: Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights
31: Official White House Photo/ Pete Souza
32: Official White House Photo/Pete Souza
33: J. Pat Carter/AP
34: Lawrence Jackson
35: Official White House Photo/Pete Souza
36: Official White House Photo/Pete Souza
37: Elise Amendola/AP
38: Twitter
39: Official White House Photo/Pete Souza
Index
Abbottabad, Pakistan, 145, 147, 148
ABC, 278
ABC News, 181, 212, 241, 250, 325, 329, 335n, 338
Abdullah, Prince of Saudi Arabia, 49
abortion, 208, 281, 316, 340
Abramoff, Jack, 49
A/B testing, 98–99, 258
ACORN, 76, 364
Acting White (Christie), 273n
Adams, John, 32
Adelson, Sheldon, 188, 191, 192, 195–97, 278, 339
advertisements, 192
for Obama campaign, 227, 230, 231, 243, 246–47, 255, 262, 267, 277–78, 279, 283–84, 289, 298
for Romney campaign, 221–22, 223–24, 230, 247, 256, 267, 279, 283–84, 289
Affordable Care Act, see Obamacare
Afghanistan War, 12, 19, 116, 146, 148, 150
winding down of, 162
AFL-CIO, 174
African Americans, 207, 242, 263, 269, 270–73, 341–42, 346, 347, 359, 360, 362, 374–75
in election of 2008, 24, 93, 270
at Republican convention, 290
same-sex marriage and, 241, 270, 273
unemployment and, 270, 273
voter suppression of, see voter suppression
AIDS, 273n
Ailes, Roger, xii, 50, 61–62, 68, 179, 335, 357, 358, 371, 375
partner, Russ Schriefer, ws small Benghazi and, 347
Obama’s meeting with, 62–63
paranoia of, 65–66
Romney supported by, 64–65, 178, 282
air traffic controllers, 168
Airwolf, 264
Akin, Todd, 281, 340, 361
Alabama, tornado damage in, 150
Alexander, Lamar, 57, 141
Alinsky, Saul, 69, 188
Alito, Samuel, 251, 255
Al Qaeda, 145–46, 156, 157, 158, 319, 332
Amandi, Fernand, 278
Amateur, The (Klein), 35, 231
American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), 24
American Crossroads, 24–25, 291
American exceptionalism, 176
American Family Association, 37
American Israel Public Affairs Committee, 196
American Jobs Act, 25–26, 143, 181, 235, 325
American Legion, 301
American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), 73–74 partner, Russ Schriefer, office early, 76–77, 79, 299
American Motors, 208, 209
American Revolution, 37
Americans Coming Together, 24, 88, 197
Americans for Job Security, 225
Americans for Prosperity, 20, 24, 81, 206, 283, 365
Americans for Tax Reform, 48, 49, 51, 59
Ameritrade, 204
Ampad, 214
Amtrak, x
Analyst Institute, 98–99
Andrews, Rob, 55
Angola, 47–48
Annenberg Center, 215
@AnneOnymous, 670, 310, 311, 318
anti-history, 21
Anti-Injunction Act, 251
Anxiety Generation, 238
apartheid, 199
Apple, 66, 99, 246
Arab Spring, 198
Archuleta, Katherine, 93, 269
Arizona, 183, 228
Armey, Dick everyone plays by the same rulescv, 20, 362
Arno, Peter, 306
Arpaio, Joe, 41
Ashcroft, John, 75
Asian Americans, 359, 360
assault weapons ban, 208
Associated Press, 261, 338
assymetrical polarization, 44
Astro-turfing, 20
Atlantic, 9
Atlas Shrugged (Rand), 164, 315, 316
Atlas Society, 316
“Attack on American Free Enterprise System,” 72–73
Atwater, Lee, 41–42
Aurora, Colo., shooting in, 37, 373
austerity, 234, 282
Authorization for the Use of Military Force, 144
auto bailouts, 10, 19, 26, 209–10, 263, 278, 325, 331, 348, 349
Avlon, John, 35
Awlaki, Anwar al-, 157
Axelrod, David, xii, 4, 7, 11, 13, 15, 16–17, 64, 86, 88, 91, 96, 97, 112, 117, 118–19, 151, 179, 187–88, 215, 232, 236, 237, 245, 257, 306, 326, 327, 348, 353, 356
on advertising, 243
class politics played by, 92
Clinton’s convention speech and, 294
debates and, 322, 323
dispute with Cutter and, 239
on Grand Bargain talks, 165
Institute of Politics founded by, 377
Obamacare and, 22, 252
Penn despised by, 247
on Romney’s campaign mistake, 246
on Romney’s mean-spiritedness, 189
Romney’s offshore money ad and, 262
and Silver’s prediction of Obama’s loss, 174
Stevens’s trashing of, 226–27
super PACs and, 202
on “trust” election, 217
2012 election predicted to be close by, 83 partner, Russ Schriefer, office early
Axelrod, Lauren, 252
Ayres, William, 62
Bachmann, Michele, 176, 177–78, 190, 334
Baghdad Bob, 227
Baier, Bret, 184, 211
Bain Capital, 85, 91, 187, 212–13, 214–16, 218, 228, 230, 231, 232, 238–39, 245–46, 262, 267, 282, 283–84, 307, 311, 314, 363, 365
Bain Consulting, 85
Baker, Howard, 44, 45
Baker, Jim, 135
banks, 325
bailouts of, 19, 26, 137
compensation at, 200
nationalization and, 35
Barack Obama (Maraniss), 231
Barbour, Haley, 282, 291–92
Barnes, Fred, 224
Barnes, Melody, 93
B partner, Russ Schriefer, office earlyarnett, Randy, 249
Barr, Michael, 126
Bartlett, Bruce, 168
Baucus, Max, 85, 160, 204
Bauer, Bob, 40, 77, 82, 301–2, 342, 343
Bauer, Virginia, 147, 155
Beane, Billy, 84
Beck, Glenn, 23, 32, 37, 39, 41, 66, 253, 276
Beeson, Rich, 225, 357
Begala, Paul, 283
Bendixen & Amandi, 277–78, 279
Benenson, Joel, 20, 22, 93, 118, 190, 236–37, 238, 246, 261, 296, 325, 328, 330, 338–39, 350–51, 361
Benghazi, Libya, attack on U.S. embassy in, 319–20, 330, 331, 332, 347, 377 not buying health insurance se24
Bennett, Barry, 187
Bennett, Bill, 315
Bennett, Bob, 53
Berg, Philip, 33
Bernanke, Ben, 180, 369
Bernstein, Jared, 28
Betts, Roland, 138
Bible, The (TV series), 371–72
Biden, Joe, 91, 114, 267, 332, 378
bin Laden’s death used in 2012 campaign by, 158
Catholicism of, 279
congressional leaders informed of death of bin Laden by, 153
in debate, 329–30
debate over continuing resolution and, 161
and expiration of tax cuts, 12
fiscal cliff deal made by, 370
on historic nature of killing of bin Laden, 156
Obamacare and, 22
Obamacare victory celebrated by, 252
political backslapping easy to, 125
same-sex marriage and, 241–42
START Treaty and, 11
Tea Party opposed by, 26–27
worries about bin Laden raid, 149, 152
Big Data, 84–85, 88, 98, 224
“Big Table” meetings, 257
Binder, DavidNational Youth Administrationdoh2, 93, 95, 234, 238
bin Laden, Osama, 294
burial of, 155
in escape from Tora Bora, 146, 149, 152
identification of body of, 152
killing of, xii, 145–58, 177, 332
plans for trial of, 149
Bird, Jeremy, 87, 89–90, 101, 102, 260, 264, 341, 377, 378
birth control, 112, 161, 177, 279–81, 331, 363
birthers, 30–31, 33–34, 39–41, 176, 177, 211, 231, 242
Bismarck, Otto von, 49
Black Hawk Down, 148
Blackstone Group, 204
Blagojevich, Rod, 139
Blair, Tony, 62, 247
Blanchard, Anita, 154, 356
Blinder, Alan, 22
blind trusts, 208
Bloomberg, Michael, 85, 119, 342
Bloomberg Businessweek, 291
Bloomberg News, 349
Blue State Digital, 99
Blunt, Roy, 280
Boards of Election, 301
Boehner, John, 2, 12, 39, 51, 52, 55, 123, 350
Benghazi attack and, 320
as caught up in Gingrich’s departure, 159
compromise opposed by, 3, 48
continuing resolution and, 161–62
Daley’s friendship with, 142
and expiration of tax cuts, 12
and extension of payroll tax holiday, 236
fiscal cliff negotiated by, 369–70
at Grand Bargain talks, 165–67, 169
Obama’s relationship with, 160, 369–70
and Republican extremism, 53–54
spending cuts and, 169, 170–71
Steele opposed by, 183
Tea Party’s disdain for, 163
work ethic of, 160
and worries about freshman of 2010, 2–3
Boeing, 136
Bolling, Eric, 41, 347
Boll Weevils, 52
Bolton, John, 240
Booker, Corey, 216
Boone, Pat, 24
Boortz, Neal, 253
Borowitz, Andy, 213
Boston, Mass., Romney’s campaign headquarters in, see Romney, Mitt, 2012 campaign of
Boston Globe, 208, 215, 230
Bowden, Mark, 149
Bowles, Erskine, 57, 127, 375
Bowman, Barbara, 141
BP oil spill, 26, 135, 140, 175, 343
Bradley, Bill, 46
Brady, Nicholas, 135
Branstad, Terry, 80
Braun, Carol Moseley, 88
Brawley, Tawana, 271
Brazile, Donna, 140
Brennan, John, 146, 150
bin Laden’s death reported by, 154
Brennan Center for Justice, 82, 299, 376
Broder, David, 60
Brooks, David, 317
Brookside Capital Partners Fund, 309 not buying health insurance se24
Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny (BOND), 68
Broun, Paul, 372
Brown, Floyd, 48
Brown, Randy, 355
Brown, Scott, 10, 21, 175, 280, 306
Bryan, William Jennings, 193
Buchanan, Pat, 51, 289n
Buckley, William F., 30
budget, 159–75, 177
balancing of, 168
default on, 168–69
see also Ryan, Paul, budget plans of
Budget Control Act (2011), 170–71
Buffett, Warren, ix, 172, 193, 203, 213, 234, 363
Buffett Rule, 203
Bull Moose Party, 114
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, 43n
Bureau of Labor Statistics, 298, 334
Burgess, Michael, 54
Burnett, Mark, 372
Burrell, Tom, 43
Burt, Gabriel, 107
Burton, Bill, 202, 238, 283–84, 329
Bush, George H. W. partner, Russ Schriefer, office early, 11, 33, 44, 45, 55, 125, 138, 181, 220, 243, 320, 335, 379
budget deal of, 46
business community’s relationship with, 135
Clinton underestimated by, 220
Taxpayer Protection Pledge signed by, 50
telephone services program of, 284n
thank-you notes written by, 126
voter trust in, 217
Bush, George W., x, 48, 51, 55, 125, 172, 181, 194, 208, 219, 220, 221, 223, 296, 316, 320, 332, 343, 359, 379
bin Laden pursued by, 146
business community’s relationship with, 135, 204
as governor, 125
informed of death of bin Laden, 152
Latino vote and, 273–74
racial politics avoided by, 42