Outside the Beltway

I give it a C+/B- (adequate, passing, nothing exceptional).

Mitt Romney’s speech last night was the best he’s ever given, but it’s impact may have been undercut but several odd production decisions that preceded it.

A legal setback for the Texas Voter ID law, but not much of a political setback for Voter ID laws in general.

Tonight’s convention speech is the most important speech Mitt Romney has ever given.

Once again, a Presidential election could be decided by the Buckeye State.

Paul Ryan pointed to a shuttered GM plant in his hometown as proof of Obama’s failed policies. The truth will make your head hurt.

Today’s convention activities will include the opening salvos of an attack on the President’s foreign policy. This strikes me as a mistake.

Jeb Bush continues to speak the truth on the GOP’s position on immigration issues. Sadly, his fellow Republicans aren’t listening.

A new book by one of the Navy SEALs involved in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden differs significantly from the official version put forward by the government.

The political convention we know is a 19th Century relic. It’s time to modernize it and make it a lot shorter.

The Romney Campaign is reportedly planning a more aggressive campaign against the President for the fall.

To much fanfare, President Obama announced a shift in Afghan War policy in December 2009. There’s little evidence it’s worked.

The former Republican governor of Florida says his former party is so extreme that it holds positions he held two years ago.

The fallout from Todd Akin’s rape comments on Sunday has exposed a rift in the Republican Party.

UVA says a presidential visit isn’t worth the hassle or expense. They’re right.

Bill Keith built a successful business making solar-powered ceiling fans. The President’s trade policies are in the process of destroying it.

A pre-Convention look at the Electoral College map finds Mitt Romney in the same tight spot he’s been in for months now.

National Review’s Kevin Williamson has some truly bizarre advice for Mitt Romney.

National Review’s Keith Williamson can’t fathom why Alpha Male Mitt Romney is having so much trouble beating Girly Man Barack Obama.

Heading into the party conventions, the Presidential race is as close as ever.

Congress and the American people have a choice to make between two not very palatable options.

The candidates aren’t talking about the war in Afghanistan very much, but that’s mostly because the American people don’t want them to.

POLITICO has a new eBook on the Obama campaign and wants you to buy it.

Maybe the real problem this year isn’t that the campaign is unduly nasty, but that it’s incredibly petty.

It’s been two months since the President has taken questions from the reporters who cover him.

The quadrennial political conventions have become, long, boring, tedious, and largely predetermined. It’s time to shake things up by making them a lot shorter.

Two groups of former special operations soldiers are opposing Obama. Their military bonafides are not their most interesting credentials.

Think the auto bailout was a success? Think again.

At some point, however, using the bad actions of the past to justify worse actions in the present has to stop.

No, Barack Obama is not going to dump Joe Biden before the Democratic Convention.

A black ‘Democrat’ who seconded Obama’s nomination in 2008 is endorsing Romney in 2012. It’s not a big deal.

Dan Balz summarizes what has been “A most poisonous campaign” and is likely to get much worse before it gets over.