Tagged: Mitt Romney

Democratic strategist Paul Begala and Republican commentator Bill Kristol were in Louisville on Tuesday evening to discuss the ongoing presidential campaign at the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce’s annual business summit.

Polling numbers shows President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney are locked in a tight race this fall with a small margin of undecided voters. The negative attacks are beginning to escalate with both campaigns accusing the other of misleading voters. 

Political observers note that Mr. Obama has run harsh ads against his GOP challenger on television, which is unusual for an incumbent president seeking re-election.

Begala a CNN analyst and  an adviser for Priorities USA, a super PAC supporting the president. He says Mr. Obama needs to run as a challenger who will outline what the next four years will hold if he is re-elected.

"When times are tough and the president tells you, ‘I’ve done a great job’ people get resentful. They say ‘really, cause I’m still hurting out here.’ What I would do instead is lay out my agenda for a second-term and run as if he were a challenger," he says. "I’m all for attacking Romney and I’m doing it full-time. But he’s also got to say what I can’t do, which is here’s what I will do if you give me this job for the next four years."

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is waiting on presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney to take the lead on President Obama's decision to stop deporting the children of illegal immigrants.

McConnell is one of the president's strongest and quickest critics, but the GOP leader is being unusually quiet until Romney makes his position clear. He says members of his caucus are "withholding judgment" until the former Massachusetts governor takes the lead.

From The Washington Post:

“I think we’re going to wait and see what governor Romney has to say, and we’re going to be discussing his views on this,” McConnell told reporters at the Capitol Tuesday. “I think many of us may have similar views. Others may not.”

McConnell said he was deferring to Romney because the former Massachusetts governor is “the leader of our party from now until November — and, we hope, beyond.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is pleading with President Obama to deliver new ideas on the sluggish economic recovery.

The president is scheduled to deliver a major economic address Thursday, which will be the first of the general election campaign and in the swing state of Ohio.

But observers expect Mr. Obama won't offer any new jobs proposals and instead continue to push lawmakers to pass his "to-do" list.

McConnell says Democrats are getting anxious about economic stagnation and the nearing election.

"We can expect more of the same: more government, more debt and higher taxes to pay for it all," he said on the Senate floor Wednesday. "Now, according to the news reports, some Democrats are starting to get a little wary of this approach. A number of folks who worked in the Clinton Administration have suggested something more positive. But others are pleading with the president to double down on the message that government is the answer."

Appearing on Fox News Channel's "Hannity" Thursday, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., endorsed GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney despite his father Congressman Ron Paul's ongoing White House bid.

Romney has clinched the 1,144 delegates needed for the Republican nomination, and Paul's father has suspended his campaign but is still pursuing delegates through the state process.

"Well, you know, my first choice had always been my father," Paul told conservative commentator Sean Hannity. "He is still my first pick, but now that the nominating process is over, tonight, I am happy to announce I am supporting Governor Romney."

Even though the presidential nomination process is effectively over, Kentuckians can still vote for candidates other than Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama in tomorrow's primary.

Republicans can cast ballots for Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul, even though they're no longer in the running. And Democrats will be able to choose 'uncommitted' instead of President Obama.

But University of Louisville political scientist Dewey Clayton says those other names don't really matter.