archive

November 17, 2012 Fiscal experts at a Washington forum didn't agree on whether the "fiscal cliff" could be avoided. But they generally agreed that there wasn't enough time before the end of the year to resolve all the complex tax and spending issues that needed to be dealt with.

Summary

November 16, 2012 President Obama and congressional leaders from both major parties met at the White House for the first of what will likely be many negotiations aimed at averting a plunge over the so-called fiscal cliff. Afterward, Congressional leaders sounded optimistic about the chances for a deal.

Summary

November 14, 2012 The newly re-elected president indicated that he, not congressional Republicans, reflected more of the popular will, with his call for higher taxes on the wealthy as part of any agreement to avert the fiscal cliff.

Summary

November 14, 2012 With the fiscal cliff looming, questions continuing to be raised about the deadly attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, and a scandal having forced the director of the CIA to resign, President Obama had his first post-election news conference.

Summary

ListenPlaylist

November 14, 2012 The Obama re-election campaign was informed by its deep dive into data on millions of voters. Some Republicans worry they're way behind in modern campaigning; others note that political science isn't rocket science, and say they can do just as well or better in 2016.

Summary

November 14, 2012 A week ago, the affair that led to the CIA director's resignation wasn't a story. Now, it's almost surely to be a subject at the president's first post-election news conference. Should it be?

Summary

November 9, 2012 The words from President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner on Friday over taxes and the fiscal cliff could be properly viewed as the two men staking out opening positions in coming negotiations. They also could be seen as addressing the two very different constituencies the men must answer to.

Summary

November 9, 2012 In his first address to the nation since his victory celebration Election Night in Chicago, the president repeated some themes from the campaign: that he wants spending cuts to be balanced with revenue increases. And the wealthiest Americans, he said, must be asked to "pay a little more in taxes."

Summary

November 9, 2012 The reasons include a stronger economy and a better-run campaign, readers say. Many also say Republicans just didn't have the right message. And, some argue, the news media favored the president.

Summary

November 9, 2012 "What you guys have done means the work that I'm doing is important. I'm really proud of that. I'm really proud of all of you," the president says just before a tear comes down his right cheek. It's a rare public show of emotion from "no-drama Obama."

Summary

November 8, 2012 A number of people are in the running for Cabinet appointments in President Obama's second term.

Summary

November 8, 2012 The president's campaign fine-tuned its appeal to a younger, less-white electorate and got its supporters to turn out in much larger numbers than Republicans had anticipated. Meanwhile, Mitt Romney was hurt by a lack of money at a critical moment.

Summary

November 8, 2012 President Obama, in his victory speech, noted that the hours voters had to wait in line are something "we have to fix." One solution: Spend more on equipment and poll workers. But that would be tough in this fiscal climate. Another is to expand early voting. But states such as Ohio have had their early-voting laws challenged in court.

Transcript

On Morning EditionPlaylist

November 7, 2012 This presidential election attracted $1.5 billion in outside spending — TV ads, robocalls and other political activity by groups created to take advantage of the new rules of campaign finance law. But on the day after the voting, their track record is open to question.

Transcript

On All Things ConsideredPlaylist