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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 7, 2012 At their conventions, the parties presented varying visions of America — as an entrepreneurial paradise where hard work, innovation and prudence are all that matters, and as a communitarian paradise where racial, national and religious differences are subsumed in a surge of shared success. Voters must decide which resonates most and why.

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September 6, 2012 Democrats had to make some hasty and awkward changes to their 2012 platform. The GOP platform passed smoothly but contains some controversial language. Important as it is to set down in writing what a political party believes in, it has become increasingly verboten to talk about it too publicly. There are two big reasons why.

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August 31, 2012 WUSFScott Finn of WUSF Public Media in Tampa, Fla., wonders why some media reports paint his city — host of the Republican National Convention — as "a disaster" and the "strip club capital of the world." He says Tampa looks as much like America as anywhere else and that bashers should back off.

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August 31, 2012 The Republican presidential nominee is being faulted for saying President Obama went on an "apology tour" and for things he claimed about Obama's tax and Medicare policies. But overall, independent fact checkers aren't finding many problems.

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August 31, 2012 The GOP's "We Built That" theme, which grew out of a gaffe by President Obama, all but took over the Tampa convention. Republicans say this line of attack, legitimate or not, highlights what they say is Obama's true attitude toward business. And they believe they can win by convincing the public that the president doesn't understand where jobs come from.

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August 31, 2012 It was Mitt Romney's big night. He got to tell the nation about what he wants to do. But the evening was also about President Obama. And, rather oddly, about Clint Eastwood.

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August 30, 2012 Testimonials from friends speaking to the nation from the state of the Republican National Convention began the process of both explaining his faith and painting a picture of a man it hopes most Americans can relate to — and, of course, vote for.

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August 30, 2012 "I wish President Obama had succeeded because I want America to succeed," the Republican presidential nominee plans to tell the nation tonight. But instead, he will say, "hope and change" have turned to disappointment.

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August 30, 2012 There are claims flying back and forth today over whether Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan has falsely accused President Obama of breaking a promise to make sure a GM plant in Ryan's hometown stayed open. Let's look at the facts.

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August 30, 2012 In a picture, the words Rep. Paul Ryan used in accepting the Republican Party's vice presidential nomination show he had a lot to say about President Obama. He wasn't applauding the president's performance.

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August 30, 2012 Rep. Paul Ryan demonstrated in his convention speech that he's a true believer, much like two previous politicians he has sought to emulate: Ronald Reagan and Jack Kemp. Kemp's economic ideas were controversial decades ago, but they've gained new life in the vice presidential nominee's budget plan.

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