The Candidates and The World

Transition 2012

A guide to foreign policy and the 2012 U.S. presidential transition.

Midday Update: Holder’s ‘Fast and Furious’ Problem Escalates

by Newsteam Staff Friday, June 29, 2012
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington June 27, 2012. (Larry Downing/Courtesy Reuters). U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington June 27, 2012. (Larry Downing/Courtesy Reuters).

In what is turning into a major election-year battle between Congress and the Obama administration, House Republicans and seventeen Democrats Thursday voted to hold U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress (WashPost) for failing to provide documents they requested to investigate the gun-tracking operation in Mexico known as Operation Fast and Furious. Read more »

Economy Update: Healthcare Law’s Implications for Jobs

by Newsteam Staff Friday, June 29, 2012
A patient has her knee examined by a doctor at University of Chicago Medicine Urgent Care Clinic in Chicago, June 28, 2012 (Jim Young/Courtesy Reuters). A patient has her knee examined by a doctor at University of Chicago Medicine Urgent Care Clinic in Chicago, June 28, 2012 (Jim Young/Courtesy Reuters).

The U.S. Supreme Court’s Thursday decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act moved debate over the law to presidential campaign, as candidates and analysts continue to disagree over its economic implications. Read more »

Weekly Video Brief: Arab Revolutions

by Toni Johnson Thursday, June 28, 2012

This week we have a video from CFR’s Steven A. Cook examining what the winner of the 2012 presidential election will face in the Middle East following 2011′s Arab revolutions, which has sparked political change in Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt as well as turmoil in Syria and Bahrain. The next U.S. president, he says, will have to grapple with the fact that the regional political order “that made it relatively easier and relatively less expensive for the United States to pursue its interests in the Middle East has been turned over.”

Watch below:
Read more »

Midday Update: ‘Obamacare’ Stands, Cost Questions Linger

by Newsteam Staff Thursday, June 28, 2012
Photo of the Day: Supporters of the Affordable Healthcare Act gather in front of the Supreme Court in Washington on June 28, 2012 (Joshua Roberts/Courtesy Reuters). Photo of the Day: Supporters of the Affordable Healthcare Act gather in front of the Supreme Court in Washington on June 28, 2012 (Joshua Roberts/Courtesy Reuters).

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled five to four Thursday to uphold (NYT) President Barack Obama’s sweeping 2012 health care law, including the so-called individual mandate at the heart of the health care overhaul, but questions remain about the economic effects of the law as Republicans continue to contend it hurts U.S. businesses. Read more »

China Update: Portman Says Romney Would Get Tough

by Newsteam Staff Thursday, June 28, 2012
A bank clerk counts U.S. dollar banknotes on bundles of 100 Chinese yuan banknotes in Huaibei, Anhui province April 26, 2012 (Courtesy Reuters). A bank clerk counts U.S. dollar banknotes on bundles of 100 Chinese yuan banknotes in Huaibei, Anhui province April 26, 2012 (Courtesy Reuters).

Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), former U.S. trade representative for the Bush administration, said this week that GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney would get tougher with China (Reuters) on its trade and currency practices and move aggressively to open up more foreign markets for U.S. exports to boost the economy. Read more »

Midday Update: Romney Faults ‘Obamacare’ for the Economy

by Newsteam Staff Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Photo of the Day: President Barack Obama shakes hands at Miami International Airport in Florida, June 26, 2012 (Larry Downing/Courtesy Reuters). Photo of the Day: President Barack Obama shakes hands at Miami International Airport in Florida, June 26, 2012 (Larry Downing/Courtesy Reuters).

Ahead of the U.S. Supreme Court decision expected Thursday on the constitutionality of President Barack Obama’s healthcare law, GOP challenger Mitt Romney is arguing that the slow recovery (LAT) is the fault of a president who was distracted by healthcare at a time when he should have been focused on the economy and jobs. Read more »

Economy Update: Romney Faces Offshoring Criticism

by Newsteam Staff Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Employees make circuit boards at an electronic component factory in Hefei, China, May 2, 2012. (Courtesy Reuters) Employees make circuit boards at an electronic component factory in Hefei, China, May 2, 2012. (Courtesy Reuters)

A new report on GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney’s corporate history has opened new a line of attack on his domestic job creation record (ABC) as he continues to face a tight race on the economy. Read more »

Midday Update: Obama Says DC Gridlock Slowing Recovery

by Newsteam Staff Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Photo of the Day: Supporters of President Barack Obama chant "four more years" at a campaign event at Oyster River High School in Durham, New Hampshire, June 25, 2012 (Larry Downing/Courtesy Reuters). Photo of the Day: Supporters of President Barack Obama in Durham, New Hampshire, June 25, 2012 (Larry Downing/Courtesy Reuters).

At his ninety-ninth fundraiser of the year, President Barack Obama presented a vigorous case for a second term (ABC), framing the November vote as a series of personal choices on foreign policy, healthcare, the economy, immigration, and gay rights that will have tangible effects on the lives of every day Americans. Read more »

Immigration Update: Romney, Obama React to Arizona Case

by Newsteam Staff Tuesday, June 26, 2012
People protest against the Arizona immigration law in front of U.S. Supreme Court in Washington June 25, 2012 (Yuri Gripas/Courtesy Reuters). People protest against the Arizona immigration law in front of U.S. Supreme Court in Washington June 25, 2012 (Yuri Gripas/Courtesy Reuters).

Presidential candidates and pundits reacted quickly to Monday’s split decision from the U.S. Supreme Court that struck down most of Arizona’s immigration law but upheld one controversial provision that requires police to check the immigration status during routine traffic stops or arrests. Read more »

Midday Update: Split Decision on Immigration from SCOTUS

by Newsteam Staff Monday, June 25, 2012
Photo of the Day: Supporters of President Barack Obama at Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, Florida June 22, 2012 (Kevin Lamarque/Courtesy Reuters). Photo of the Day: Supporters of President Barack Obama at Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, Florida June 22, 2012 (Kevin Lamarque/Courtesy Reuters).

In a ruling that could have a substantial impact on the 2012 presidential race, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a split decision on Arizona’s controversial immigration law Monday morning (HuffPost). Read more »