election-2012
Tagg Romney Wanted to Punch Obama During Tuesday's Debate
Taylor Berman · 10/17/12 09:22PM
Not willing to let his dad hog all the petulant debate rage, Tagg Romney took serious offense when President Obama accused his father of being dishonest. In fact, he was so seriously offended that he wanted to punch the president. Really.
Giving the Elephant a Pink Manicure: A Night Out With Mindy Meyer, the Internet's Candidate for Senate
Camille Dodero · 10/17/12 05:23PM
On Monday night, Mindy Meyer, the 22-year-old New York state senate candidate with a very pink website, hosted her first political fundraiser at Long Island's expansive Inwood Country Club. "It's a pink tie affair!" cried the conservative campaign's invitation to the $500-a-plate dinner a few weeks back. "Come rub elbowes [sic] with politicians and members of the press." By last Thursday, though, Mindy's Twitter account offered a kind of clearance special: $150 for dinner and a "mind blowing surprise!"
Teacher Who Asked Debate Question That Prompted Now-Infamous 'Binders Full of Women' Quote Is Still Undecided
Neetzan Zimmerman · 10/17/12 03:20PM
Her question about gender inequality in the workplace elicited the much-mocked "binders full of women" response that launched a thousand memes.
The Real Issue Is That Binders Are Fucking Terrible
Drew Magary · 10/17/12 01:40PM
I'd like to thank presidential candidate Mitt Romney for taking a moment last night to raise binder awareness. But while most of the Internet is occupied today with the women Mitt is putting in those binders and how those women got into his binders to begin with, I think we need to step back for a moment and talk about a larger issue surrounding binders. And that is that they are fucking terrible.
'It Felt Like [Mitt Romney] Was Staring Into My Soul': The Post-Debate Musings of Jeremy Epstein
Robert Kessler · 10/17/12 11:50AMAmerica's newest sweetheart and undeniable debate-winner Jeremy Epstein joined Chuck Todd on MSNBC this morning to share his experience at last night's town hall debate. Epstein described the question selection process, explaining that each audience member submit four questions, and was given one back, but no one knew for certain they would be called upon.
Last Night's Debate in Under Two Minutes: An Interrupting Competition with 'Binders Full of Women'
Kate Bennert · 10/17/12 10:50AMAs can be gleamed from the various pop-up parody twitter accounts and tumblrs, the second presidential debate was predictably a perfect target for internet meme makers, which in this day and age is what one might call "a success." When the candidates weren't too busy talking over each other, Mitt Romney was making weird, unsupported claims about women and binders and both President Obama and Candy Crowley were providing live fact checking services for the entire evening. It goes to show that the purpose of any given presidential debate is really just to remove the context from stupid things the candidates say and preserve them on the internet forever.
Robot-Human Charisma Wars: The Second Gawker 2012 Presidential Debate Liveblog
Hamilton Nolan · 10/16/12 07:50PM
For what seems like the second time in the last thirteen days, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney will stride on stage tonight and pretend, for a few moments, to not be sickened by one another's presence. Can Obama "recover" from his "poor performance" in the last debate? Can Romney convince "swing voters" that he is "more than a Mormon robot?" The estimable Mobutu Sese Seko and I will be live blogging this debate in order to, uh, help answer these questions, and to perform other vital unspecified pundit services.
Green Party Candidate Jill Stein Arrested with Running Mate For Trying to Enter Presidential Debate at Hofstra
Neetzan Zimmerman · 10/16/12 06:13PMLong-shot third party presidential candidate Jill Stein and her Green Party ticket-mate Cheri Honkala were arrested a short while ago outside Hofstra University while attempting to enter the presidential debate hall without the proper credentials.
Wisconsin Man Who Put Up 'Hang Obama' Sign Swears He's a Huge Fan of the President
Neetzan Zimmerman · 10/16/12 04:05PMJon Stewart Reacts to Fox's Many Attempts to Spin VP Debate In Ryan's Favor
Kate Bennert · 10/16/12 12:30PM
After mocking MSNBC's now infamous freakout over Obama's first debate performance, Jon Stewart turned the spotlight on Fox's latest attempts to spin the debate in Ryan's favor. Across the board, Fox News made some expected accusations: Biden's laughing was "hostile, aggressive, scornful"; some not so expected accusations: "Dementia"; and, of course, some all together laughable accusations courtesy of "Eskimo Annie Oakley" Sarah Palin: Biden "reminded me of a muskox running across the tundra with Ryan and [Raddatz] underfoot."
DNC Pokes Fun at Romney's Impossible Tax Plan with Perfect Parody Website
Neetzan Zimmerman · 10/16/12 09:58AM
Mitt Romney has made it clear that his tax plan will cost the government $5 trillion over the course of 10 years, but hasn't made it equally clear how he plans to pay for it.
Hillary Clinton Takes Responsibility for Security at the U.S. Consulate in Libya
Taylor Berman · 10/15/12 09:24PMIn an interview with CNN tonight, Hilary Clinton claimed responsibility for the security at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya before the attack that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. In doing so, she took some pressure off President Obama and Vice President Biden for what's become a heated campaign issue.
Pizza Hut Got In Trouble, Will No Longer Disrupt the Debate with Frivolous Pizza Questions
Caity Weaver · 10/15/12 02:05PM
Romney and Obama aren't going to have much to talk about in Tuesday night's town hall-style debate, as cardboard circle manufacturer Pizza Hut has rescinded its request to have an attendee ask either candidate "Sausage or Pepperoni?" during the live telecast.
Fox News Resident Psychiatrist Says Debate Performance Suggests Joe Biden Might Have Dementia
Neetzan Zimmerman · 10/15/12 10:30AMYesterday, during an armchair psychoanalysis of Joe Biden's performance at last week's VP debate, controversial Fox News psychiatrist Dr. Keith Ablow told his fellow "Medical A-Team" members that, in his expert opinion, Joe Biden might be suffering from dementia.
Wisc. Senate Candidate's Son Goes Birther: 'We Have the Opportunity to Send Obama Back to Kenya'
Max Read · 10/15/12 09:25AMHere's a video of Jason Thompson, the son of former Wisconsin governor and current Republican candidate for senate Tommy Thompson, at the Kenosha County GOP brunch yesterday morning. What's that he's saying?
Who's Predicting This Year's Post-Election Riots?
Mallory Ortberg · 10/14/12 04:52PMRomney/Ryan Ticket Snags A Crucial Endorsement
Robert Kessler · 10/12/12 05:43PMMore so than any other endorsement thus far, Mitt Romney must be thrilled about this latest one.
Creator of Friday Night Lights Sends Mitt Romney Cease and Desist Letter Over Appropriation of Show's Iconic Rallying Cry
Neetzan Zimmerman · 10/12/12 02:09PM
Friday Night Lights franchise creator Peter Berg is taking serious issue with the Romney campaign's re-purposing of his show's signature quote, "Clear Eyes. Full Hearts. Can't Lose."
Paul Ryan Doesn't Have Time to Explain a 20 Percent Tax Cut, But if He Did It Would Take 18 Seconds
Robert Kessler · 10/12/12 11:15AMAt last night's debate, Martha Raddatz asked Paul Ryan to specifically lay out how he and Mitt Romney intend to lower all Americans' tax rates by 20 percent. This tax cut has been a major part of the Romney/Ryan campaign, but both have been incredibly vague about how they can cut the nation's tax revenue without increasing its deficit. Paul Ryan famously told Fox News' Chris Wallace he "[didn't] have the [time]" because it "would take [him] too long to go through all of the math."