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Barack Obama Check out the latest NPR coverage of President Obama's bid for re-election in 2012.
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Barack Obama

Check out the latest NPR coverage of President Obama's bid for re-election in 2012.

Tuesday

Re-Election Campaign Reveals A President Looking For The Right Balance

President Obama's performance in the first presidential debate cost him a lot. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption

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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

It's All Politics

Re-Election Campaign Reveals A President Looking For The Right Balance

Over the course of a long campaign, Americans have gotten a chance to learn more about President Obama. His personality and his performance as a leader, a debater and a candidate have all been under the microscope.

Re-Election Campaign Reveals A President Looking For The Right Balance

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Obama Campaign Slams Romney's Jeep Ad

A worker installs carpet into a Jeep Liberty at the Toledo Assembly Complex in Toledo, Ohio, in 2011. J.D. Pooley/Getty Images hide caption

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J.D. Pooley/Getty Images

The Message Machine

Obama Campaign Slams Romney's Jeep Ad

Superstorm Sandy has become the main focus of both candidates, but what politicking does remain has Toledo, Ohio, and its Jeep plant at its center. The campaigns are fighting over Mitt Romney's claim that all Jeep jobs are heading to China. Chrysler and the Obama campaign say that's not true.

Obama Campaign Slams Romney's Jeep Ad

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Friday

In Search Of Obama's Second-Term Agenda

President Obama holds a copy of "The New Economic Patriotism: A Plan for Jobs & Middle-Class Security," which outlines some of his agenda for a second term, during a rally in Richmond, Va., on Thursday. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption

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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

It's All Politics

In Search Of Obama's Second-Term Agenda

The president has been relatively mum during the campaign about what he would do if given a second term. He outlined more specific ideas this week — but he hasn't explained how he would get those ideas through Congress.

Thursday

In A Shift From 2008 Race, Obama's Hush On Climate

A boat skims through the melting ice in the Ilulissat fiord, on the western coast of Greenland, in 2008. The glacier is the most active in the Northern Hemisphere, producing 10 percent of Greenland's icebergs, or some 20 million tons of ice per day. But experts say the glacier is in bad shape because of climate change. Steen Ulrik Johannessen/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Steen Ulrik Johannessen/AFP/Getty Images

Solve This

In A Shift From 2008 Race, Obama's Hush On Climate

In sharp contrast to his 2008 campaign, President Obama hasn't mentioned climate change on the campaign trail this time around, instead choosing to focus on the economic side of clean energy rather than the climate change side.

In A Shift From 2008 Race, Obama's Hush On Climate

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Wednesday

Obama Campaign Invokes '537' To Get Out The Vote

Broward County canvassing board member Judge Robert Rosenberg examines a disputed ballot Nov. 24, 2000, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Wilfredo Lee/AP hide caption

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Wilfredo Lee/AP

It's All Politics

Obama Campaign Invokes '537' To Get Out The Vote

An Obama campaign ad airing in swing states referencing the 2000 Florida recount uses memorable images of the days following the election to encourage supporters to vote. It calls 537 "the number of votes that changed the course of American history."

Friday

Obama Battling To Maintain Women's Vote, Seen As His Key To Victory

Onlookers listen as President Obama speaks Friday in Fairfax, Va., about the choice facing women in the election. Carolyn Kaster/AP hide caption

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Carolyn Kaster/AP

It's All Politics

Obama Battling To Maintain Women's Vote, Seen As His Key To Victory

Four years ago, 56 percent of female voters cast their ballots for Barack Obama. But with a recent poll showing him tied with Mitt Romney among women, Obama has been working anew to sway the demographic seen as key to his hold on the White House. Romney has been working to stop him.

Colorado, A Big Win For Obama In 2008, Now A Harder Sell

Supporters turned out for President Obama's first post-debate rally on Oct.4 in Denver. The president is facing a fierce fight for Colorado after winning it by 9 points four years ago. RJ Sangosti/AP hide caption

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RJ Sangosti/AP

It's All Politics

Colorado, A Big Win For Obama In 2008, Now A Harder Sell

In Colorado, the presidential race is a statistical dead heat. The state went heavily for candidate Barack Obama in 2008 — but the president is now facing fierce headwinds. The race is starting to look more like what's happening nationwide — a struggle to bring out the party base.

Colorado, A Big Win For Obama In 2008, Now A Harder Sell

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Wednesday

A Stronger Showing At Hofstra, But Ghost Of Denver Still Haunts Obama

President Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney participate in the second presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., on Tuesday. Charles Dharapak/AP hide caption

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Charles Dharapak/AP

Analysis

It's All Politics

A Stronger Showing At Hofstra, But Ghost Of Denver Still Haunts Obama

The president's improved performance last night doesn't eradicate the damage from the Oct. 3 debate. Only one chance remains to do so before Election Day, so the pressure that animated the Hofstra debate will be all the greater in Monday's finale in Florida.

How Obama Got His Groove Back, And Other Debate Takeaways

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and President Obama spar over energy policy during the second presidential debate at Hofstra University on Tuesday. Charlie Neibergall/AP hide caption

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Charlie Neibergall/AP

Opinion

It's All Politics

How Obama Got His Groove Back, And Other Debate Takeaways

Other takeaways from Tuesday's debate: President Obama gets tough while his GOP rival, Mitt Romney, gives no ground; voters are unhappy; candidates can't let go of the past; and the debate on foreign policy is truly teed up.

Monday

The Not-So-Great Communicator: Is Obama Overrated As A Speaker?

President Obama speaks to supporters last month during a campaign stop in Las Vegas. Isaac Brekken/Getty Images hide caption

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Isaac Brekken/Getty Images

It's All Politics

The Not-So-Great Communicator: Is Obama Overrated As A Speaker?

Since becoming president, Obama's rhetorical triumphs have been just that: moving speeches delivered on ceremonial occasions. When it comes to policy and attempts to move public opinion, the silver-tongued Obama has largely been absent.

Friday

Hawaii Prep School Gave Obama Window To Success

Barack Obama in a 1975 photo from the Punahou School yearbook. He and his eighth-grade homeroom classmates pose with a slide projector as part of the yearbook's theme of "Nostalgia." Punahau School 1974-1975 Yearbook hide caption

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Punahau School 1974-1975 Yearbook

Parallel Lives

Hawaii Prep School Gave Obama Window To Success

Punahou School occupies a privileged position in Hawaiian society. Barack Obama attended the school on a scholarship starting in the fifth grade. Punahou's lasting gift to Obama was that the elite environment familiarized him with success.

Hawaii Prep School Gave Obama Window To Success

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Wednesday

As Race Tightens, The Electoral Map Still Favors Obama

A boy examines CSPAN's 2012 presidential race electoral map at the American Presidential Experience exhibit last month in Charlotte, N.C. Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

It's All Politics

As Race Tightens, The Electoral Map Still Favors Obama

The outcome of the presidential race will come down to swing states, but Obama begins the race to 270 with the comfort of counting on a greater number of all-but-certain electoral votes than Romney has.

Friday

Obama's Jobs Plan Focuses On Federal Investment

President Obama speaks during a campaign event at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., on Friday. Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP hide caption

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Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP

Solve This

Obama's Jobs Plan Focuses On Federal Investment

His plan calls for more spending on infrastructure, a tax cut for firms that hire new workers, aid to state and local governments, and a program to rebuild schools. An analyst who has studied it says the infrastructure part makes sense, but the rest is less potent.

Obama's Jobs Plan Focuses On Federal Investment

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