Ron Elving

Goodbye, Again, To Obama's Most Audacious Hope

Ron Elving — Tue, 14 May 2013 23:33:00 +0000

The sudden eruption of second-term scandals in his administration will have many costs for President Obama, but surely the most grievous will be the lost opportunity to transcend the partisan wars of Washington. That aspiration was his fondest dream for his second term, much as it was for his first. Now it seems destined to be dashed once again.

Of course, there are those who believe Barack Obama never intended to be anything but a conquering hero of the left.

Logic Behind Obama News Conference Hard To Fathom

Ron Elving — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 23:49:00 +0000

On Tuesday afternoon, President Obama declared May as Older Americans Month, National Foster Care Month, National Building Safety Month, Jewish American Heritage Month and National Physical Fitness and Sports Month.

The president also issued a statement on the investiture of the new king of the Netherlands.

While small and routine, these moves were all easy to understand, as were the accompanying proclamations from the White House press shop.

What was not clear was the executive thinking behind the postmortem" report on the 2012 national election by the Republican National Committee is either the first step toward the GOP's recovery or the latest sign that the party is headed for a breakup.

Or, it could be both.

RNC Chairman Reince Priebus put out a hard-eyed assessment of the state of his party, excoriating failures

Fiscal Cliff Debate: Why The (Very) Few Rule The Many In Congress

Ron Elving — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 20:48:00 +0000

In the final hours of the latest budget crisis in Washington, several salient facts are increasingly clear.

First, the leaders of the two parties in the Senate might still put together a negotiated deal that would avert the combination of tax increases and spending cuts known as the fiscal cliff.

Hawaii Sen. Daniel Inouye Dies At 88 Of Respiratory Complications

Ron Elving — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 23:17:00 +0000

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

And I'm Melissa Block.

Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii has died. He was 88. He was the president pro tempore of the Senate, an honor held by the most senior member of the majority party and a position that stands third in the presidential line of succession. Inouye died today at Walter Reed hospital outside Washington, D.C., from complications of respiratory disease.

All Eyes On The Battleground States As Polls Close

Ron Elving and Robert Siegel — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 00:50:00 +0000

Robert Siegel talks with Ron Elving about the big picture of Tuesday's elections.

How Sandy's Path Could Chart A Course For Romney's Victory

Ron Elving — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 05:58:57 +0000

Over the pre-election weekend, we began hearing people, mostly Republicans, say that if Mitt Romney does not win the presidency this week it will be because of Superstorm Sandy.

That could be savvy analysis, or it could be the first signs of a search for an excuse. Either way, it's premature. For the moment, the Romney campaign should be looking for a way to turn the storm to its benefit.

The first thing to be learned from Sandy is trajectory.

NPR Poll Finds Presidential Race Too Close To Call

Ron Elving and Mara Liasson — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 02:36:00 +0000

The latest and last NPR Battleground Poll for 2012 shows former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney holding the narrowest of leads in the national sample, but trailing President Obama in the dozen states that will decide the election.

The poll adds evidence that the Oct. 3 debate between the two men redefined the race.

Analysis: Romney Debate Strategy Shows He Thinks He's In the Driver's Seat

Ron Elving — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 17:02:00 +0000

In his third debate with President Obama, Mitt Romney dialed up "cool and cautious" on his mood meter. And that tells you a great deal about where this presidential race stands with two weeks to go.

Romney had to know the president would be coming after him in Boca Raton, Fla., but he decided to avoid the aggressive and even angry notes he had struck in the first two debates. He had achieved what he could with this approach in the initial clash in Denver on Oct. 3, when he seemed the more decisive and strong-willed candidate on stage.