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Obama At Barnard: A Speech for November, Not the Ages

May 14, 2012 | 3:28 PM

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There are times when presidents speak to the world and make history with commencement addresses. John F. Kennedy announcing the opening of test ban treaty talks at American University June 10, 1963. Lyndon B. Johnson proclaiming the Great Society at the University of Michigan May 22, 1964. Ronald Reagan rallying a generation and announcing the West will "transcend communism" as "some bizarre chapter in human history" at the University of Notre Dame May 17, 1981. Bill Clinton launching a "national conversation" about race at the University of California at San Diego June 14, 1997. And George W. Bush outlining the Bush Doctrine and telling the nation how he would conduct the war on terror at West Point June 1, 2002.

(PICTURES: Political Commencement Speeches for the Class of 2012)

Then there are times when presidents speak to constituency groups and try to make political hay; times like Monday when President Obama addressed the graduates of Barnard College in New York City.

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Barnard, Obama, politics, Romney, women

Ann Romney Tweets; What Would Hillary Do?

By Beth Reinhard

April 12, 2012 | 8:59 AM

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You've come a long way, baby? Somehow the 2012 campaign has regressed back to 1992 (some would say even decades earlier) when Hillary Clinton kicked up a storm for saying "I suppose I could have stayed home and baked cookies and had teas but what I decided to do was to fulfill my profession which I entered before my husband was in public life.''

The perceived knock on homemakers by the Yale-trained lawyer who went on to become First Lady came to mind when Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen scoffed on CNN Wednesday that the wife of presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney "has never actually worked a day in her life.'' It was an insulting comment that revealed a lesson still unlearned from 1992. Work is work, whether it's a paid office job or unpaid and generally thankless child-rearing. In a move clearly aimed at ginning up outrage among stay-at-home moms, Ann Romney joined Twitter to shoot back: "I made a choice to stay home and raise five boys. Believe me, it was hard work."

Are we still having this debate in 2012? Worse, are we having it in 140 characters or less? Still, Ann Romney's tart response was the smartest move by the Romney campaign yet as it tries to close a yawning gender gap with President Obama. When asked about his deficit of support among women, Romney has repeatedly pointed to his wife's role in the campaign. That's not going to cut it. Then Romney tried to turn the tables on the alleged "war on women'' by claiming 93 percent of the jobs lost in the Obama administration were done by women, a terrific comeback if only it were true. He made the claim at carefully choreograped press conference in which he was surrounded by rows of women.

Gov. Romney, you cannot outsource the gender gap to your wife. Also, women are not props.

Feminists might say all this talk about what women want shows progress. Politicians are fighting for women's votes! Except what's unclear is whether both sides are simply pandering or actually committed to real policy reforms that would make a difference in women's lives. Then we truly will have come a long way.

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Ann Romney

Cantor and the GOP Need Romney to Close the Deal

By John Aloysius Farrell

March 4, 2012 | 11:51 AM

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House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's decision to endorse Mitt Romney is a certified big deal. The Virginia Republican is no highborn member of the Washington establishment - he's the GOP House leader with the closest ties to the Tea Party movement and the huge group of representatives it elected in 2010.

This was no snow-maned party elder backing Romney on national television - it was a conservative young gun.

Why Romney? Why now? Cantor said on NBC's Meet the Press that Romney's "bold pro-growth, pro-jobs plan for the future" is what sold him. According to Cantor's aides, Romney's comprehensive detailing of his economic proposals showed the majority leader how much the two men had in common. They spoke on the telephone last week, and then there was Cantor on Sunday morning, telling the world that he has cast his Virginia primary ballot for Mitt.

But then there is this: Cantor knows that the Republican House majority, which he's accountable for preserving, will be far more secure if the GOP can wrap up its divisive primary season and fall in line behind the presidential nominee.

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Eric Cantor, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Obama, presidential race, Republican Party, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, Tea Party

Santorum's Views on Sex and Religion Keep Him From Talking About the Economy

By John Aloysius Farrell

February 22, 2012 | 12:28 PM

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At the end of Rick Santorum's appearance on the CBS News show "Face the Nation" on Sunday, host Bob Schieffer felt the need to do some explaining to his guest and audience.

"I had hoped to ask you some questions about the economy," Schieffer told Santorum. "But frankly, you made so much news yesterday, out there on the campaign trail, I felt compelled to ask you about that."

Schieffer is not alone. Santorum has certainly been talking about the economy, but he's scheduling many of his campaign stops before religious audiences, where he makes news with his opinions about gay rights, contraception, abortion, public schools, religion and other social issues. His bold pronouncements have delighted social conservatives, and proved catnip for the media.

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abortion, contraception, Michigan, public schools, religion, Romney, Santorum, sex

Obama Lucky on Catholic Contraceptive Ruling

By John Aloysius Farrell

February 7, 2012 | 5:19 PM

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Given the choice between lucky and smart, most times I'll choose lucky. And in requiring that Catholic institutions like hospitals and colleges offer their employees a health insurance policy that includes birth control, the Obama administration has been lucky, not smart.

Lucky, because the controversy has been more than partially obscured by a similar flap over the actions of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation. The group's decision (since retracted) to cease funding for Planned Parenthood seemed to ratify, at a pivotal moment, the argument made by the White House and its supporters: that women's reproductive rights remain under fire.

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Birth Control, Catholics, Obama

Why Romney Needs to Keep Fighting for Evangelical Votes

By Jill Lawrence

January 14, 2012 | 5:23 PM

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Mitt Romney was never likely to capture the endorsement of the Christian conservatives who met in Texas this weekend and belatedly crowned Rick Santorum their favorite in the Republican nomination race. But two new media moves under a "Shares Our Values" banner underscore Romney's determination -- and need -- to win at least some votes from that group in South Carolina.

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Republican nomination race, Republican Party

Question on Newborn Has Santorum Fighting Back Tears

By Ronald Brownstein

January 2, 2012 | 6:30 PM

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NEWTON, Iowa -- In a dramatic moment on Monday, Rick Santorum fought back tears and his wife Karen grew misty-eyed when a voter asked them about criticism of their 1996 decision to bring home a newborn who died soon after childbirth.

Santorum choked up as he described the family's decision to bring home their child Gabriel after the newborn died in the hospital. Noting that his wife worked as a neo-natal nurse, Santorum said: "It was so important ... for the family to recognize the life of that child and for the children to know they had a brother."

(RELATED: Gingrich: Romney's a Liar)

The exchange was prompted by a voter who said she had heard liberal Fox News commentator Alan Colmes criticize the decision to bring home the child. "To some who don't recognize the dignity of all human life, who see it as a blob of tissue ... this is somehow weird, recognizing the humanity of your son. Somehow weird, somehow odd and should be subject to ridicule."

Earlier, as Santorum spoke, his wife Karen was heard to say: "It's so inappropriate."

Santorum concluded his response by restating his commitment to pursue an anti-abortion agenda. "I will stand and fight," he said. "I will hope to be able to look into the eyes of the American public and say 'Be more welcoming, open up your heart to love more, to love all life."

Romney's 1994 Problem

By Major Garrett

December 12, 2011 | 2:44 PM

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To anyone who thought GOP front-runner Newt Gingrich attacked Mitt Romney Saturday by joking he was only one loss to Sen. Edward Kennedy away from "career politician" status, think again.

Compared to what Gingrich could have said, that was no attack. It was practically a Cinnabon served with cold milk.

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1994, abortion, Barack Obama, California primary, Cinnabon, Contract With America, Edward Kennedy, Gingrich, Hillary Clinton, Reagan-Bush, Romney

The Flip-flopper, the Flop and the Fiasco

By Ron Fournier

November 9, 2011 | 10:57 PM

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The flip-flopper. The flop. And the fiasco. That about sums up the GOP presidential lineup Wednesday night as a debate outside Detroit underlined the flaws of the party's headliners: Mitt Romney, Rick Perry and Herman Cain.

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Cain, debate, Detroit, Perry, Romey, sexual harrassment

Cain Has Already Lost on Abortion Issue

By Jackie Koszczuk

October 27, 2011 | 1:30 PM

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Social conservatives who are either concerned or confused by businessman Herman Cain's position on abortion rights should stay tuned ... carefully tuned.

After several days of botching an important issue for evangelicals and cultural conservatives, Cain inexplicably stepped into the abortion rights mess he's created again on Wednesday -- and promptly made things worse. At a campaign stop in Corpus Christi, Texas, Cain said that he is "pro-life, no exceptions," which contradicted his staff's explanations over the past several days that the candidate does in fact support the three exceptions embraced by mainstream Republicans: rape, incest and to save the life of the mother.