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November 12, 2012 This past election may have been about jobs. But there was a more profound question at issue: coming to grips with the collapse of the myth that we all go it alone. Commentator Alva Noë says this myth has distorted our politics and that President Obama was right to take aim at it.

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November 9, 2012 Political historian Allan Lichtman says he sees elections the way geophysicists see earthquakes — as events fundamentally driven by structural factors deep beneath the surface, rather than by superficial events at the surface.

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October 23, 2012 The final presidential debate left many viewers scratching their heads. It's not that the candidates invoked unimportant issues. It's not that the two held so elevated a conversation mere mortals could not understand. It's that they were debating almost entirely in tone rather than content.

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October 19, 2012 Utah could give Mitt Romney his largest margin on Election Day, but the state's biggest newspaper is rooting for his rival. The Tribune's editorial board says the Romney it praised for turning around the 2002 Olympics is not the same Romney running for president in 2012.

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October 5, 2012 The Sesame Street character is getting lots of newfound attention since Mitt Romney brought up federal funding for PBS in Wednesday's debate.

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October 5, 2012 Or Mister Governor or Mister President. Listeners hear bias in campaign coverage. I hear Andy Jackson and unwashed American culture.

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October 2, 2012 Certain things always get attention during a presidential contest, including debates and gaffes. They don't really matter, one political scientist suggests.

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September 17, 2012 Videos appearing to show Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney talking candidly with wealthy donors about Obama supporters have caused a stir in the campaigns. The videos have emerged after Romney's perceived stumbles on the campaign trail.

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• Palestinians Have 'No Interest ... In Establishing Peace,' Romney Says

September 14, 2012 An ambiguous quote about the first lady by an attendee at a Romney American Legion event did injustice to blacks, veterans and the attendee herself. Many listeners heard hate speech. If so, did NPR share blame? Should reporters even care how the audience might react?

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September 10, 2012 The Democratic convention seemed to have more enthusiasm, better speeches and greater emotion than its Republican counterpart. But Charlotte is over, and bad economic numbers are the new reality.

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September 6, 2012 The theme of the Democratic Convention has been "Forward." In accepting the party's nomination tonight, President Obama has to answer the question, "Forward to what?" And he may take a page from Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1936 renomination speech.

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September 5, 2012 Once political enemies, President Obama and Bill Clinton have established a partnership that's becoming a cornerstone of the Obama campaign. Clinton exemplifies perhaps the most crucial political gift that Obama seems to lack.

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September 5, 2012 The former president, who will speak tonight in North Carolina, has played a role in every Democratic National Convention since 1972. Reviewing Clinton's exploits at the past 10 annual confabs offers a set of milestones for his entire career — and recaps 40 years of convention history.

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