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Charles Babington

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks at the spring reception for the Republican Committee of Chester County Tuesday, April 10, 2012 in Mendenhall, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Obama-Romney showdown starts with a harsh tone

Charles Babington The Associated Press

Last updated Wednesday, April 11, 2012 - 8:49am

MENDENHALL, Pa. — The 2012 presidential general election has begun. It won’t be pretty.

Barack Obama, Election 2012, Mitt Romney, Presidential Campaign, National Read more Comments

Romney hits Obama, ignores GOP rivals in Missouri

Charles Babington The Associated Press

Last updated Tuesday, March 13, 2012 - 5:46pm

LIBERTY, Mo. — Mitt Romney isn’t waiting to lock down the GOP presidential nomination to begin focusing his campaign chiefly on President Barack Obama.

Campaign, Mitt Romney, President Obama, Republicans, National Read more Comments

Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum speaks at the Livonia Chamber of Commerce breakfast, Monday, Feb. 27, 2012, in Livonia, Mich. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Santorum says Romney isn't conservative enough for GOP

Charles Babington The Associated Press

Last updated Monday, February 27, 2012 - 11:18am

MARQUETTE, Mich. -- The question of whether Mitt Romney is conservative enough to deserve the Republican presidential nomination regained center stage in the GOP contest Sunday, with Rick Santorum saying the former Massachusetts governor fails the test.

Mitt Romney, Politics, Republicans, National Read more Comments

Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks at the Price Hill Chili Restaurant up to 112, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2012. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Gingrich hits Romney, Obama, on Catholic rights

Charles Babington, Philip Elliott The Associated Press

Last updated Tuesday, February 7, 2012 - 2:16pm

CINCINNATI -- Newt Gingrich thrust the reproductive rights issue into the GOP campaign spotlight on Tuesday, criticizing both Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama's records on requiring Catholic organizations to provide contraceptive aids in some circumstances. Rick Santorum vowed to make the issue a central part of his struggling campaign.

Birth Control, Catholics, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Politics, President Obama, Religion, Republicans, Rick Santorum, National Read more Comments

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, campaigns with former United Nations ambassador John Bolton in Hilton Head, S.C., Friday, Jan. 13, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Romney rivals seek SC theme, champion to stop him

Charles Babington, Thomas Beaumont The Associated Press

Last updated Saturday, January 14, 2012 - 4:56pm

CHARLESTON, S.C. — With a week left to halt Mitt Romney from sweeping to a third straight victory, his GOP rivals are struggling in South Carolina for a theme, momentum and most crucially, one strong challenger to consolidate conservatives’ misgivings about the front-runner.

Mitt Romney, Presidential Campaign, Primary Elections, Republican Party, National Read more Comments

Huntsman defends Romney's record at Bain

Charles Babington, Steve Peoples The Associated Press

Last updated Wednesday, January 11, 2012 - 5:14pm

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Jon Huntsman said Wednesday it's time for Republicans to stop attacking presidential front-runner Mitt Romney's role in a corporate-takeover firm, but he said there are plenty of government-related issues on which to criticize Romney.

Huntsman, a former Utah governor and ambassador to China, is hoping his third-place New Hampshire finish will provide enough momentum to keep his underdog presidential campaign chugging in the deep South. He urged South Carolina Republicans Wednesday to see him as a pragmatic problem-solver who disdains partisan posturing.

Campaign, Jon Huntsman, Mitt Romney, Politics, Republicans, South Carolina Primary, National Read more Comments

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks during a campaign stop at Homer's Deli and Bakery in Clinton, Iowa, Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

Romney's ride stays remarkably smooth in GOP race

Charles Babington The Associated Press

Last updated Thursday, December 29, 2011 - 10:36am

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Regardless of whether Mitt Romney wins the Iowa Republican caucus Tuesday, he has enjoyed a remarkably easy presidential race so far.

When his rivals have stopped battering each other long enough to criticize him, they've often done so tentatively and ham-handedly. Romney's injury-free journey is all the more surprising because, despite some obvious campaign skills, he has well-known vulnerabilities ripe for attack.

Campaign, Iowa caucuses, Mitt Romney, Politics, Republicans, National Read more Comments

Dems: Romney is easier jobs target than Gingrich

Charles Babington The Associated Press

Last updated Tuesday, December 20, 2011 - 2:57pm

WASHINGTON -- Conventional wisdom, supported by polls, maintains that Mitt Romney would be a tougher opponent than Newt Gingrich against President Barack Obama.

But one factor keeps Democrats from salivating over Gingrich's rise in the Republican presidential race: Romney may present a fatter target on jobs, the issue expected to dominate the 2012 contest.

Barack Obama, Democrats, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Politics, Republicans, National Read more Comments

Romney opens up a bit more to media scrutiny

Charles Babington The Associated Press

Last updated Thursday, December 8, 2011 - 11:24am

WASHINGTON -- Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney responded Tuesday to complaints that is shielding himself from media scrutiny, agreeing to more in-depth interviews and holding his third modest press availability in four days.

Campaign, Media, Mitt Romney, Politics, National Read more Comments

Gingrich gambles in bid to catch Romney

Charles Babington The Associated Press

Last updated Thursday, November 24, 2011 - 8:08pm

WASHINGTON -- Newt Gingrich, a political gambler his whole life, is banking on unorthodox stands on immigration, Social Security and other issues to propel him past Mitt Romney in the Republican presidential contest.

Debates, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Politics, Republicans, National Read more Comments

(ISAAC BREKKEN/The Associated Press) In this Oct. 18, 2011, file photo, Republican presidential candidates Herman Cain, left, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, center, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry are seen before a Republican presidential debate in Las Vegas. Key proposals from the Republican presidential candidates might make for good campaign fodder. But independent analyses raise serious questions about those plans and their ability to cure the nation’s economic and housing woes. The candidates are pushing lower taxes and less regulation in the name of job creation. But employers say poor consumer demand is a far bigger obstacle to new hires.

Studies challenge wisdom of GOP candidates’ plans

Charles Babington The Associated Press

Last updated Sunday, October 30, 2011 - 4:16pm

WASHINGTON — Key proposals from the Republican presidential candidates might make for good campaign fodder. But independent analyses raise serious questions about those plans and their ability to cure the nation’s ills in two vital areas, the economy and housing.

Economy, Housing, Presidential Campaign, Republican Party, Elections, National Read more Comments

(EVAN VUCCI/The Associated Press) President Barack Obama leaves after speaking in the briefing room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Oct. 21, 2011, where he declared an end to the Iraq war, one of the longest and most divisive conflicts in U.S. history, announcing that all U.S. troops would be withdrawn from the country by year’s end.

Obama’s foreign successes may help little in 2012

Charles Babington The Associated Press

Last updated Saturday, October 22, 2011 - 4:22pm

WASHINGTON — By declaring the Iraq war over, President Barack Obama scored what his allies see as a fourth big foreign policy success in six months, starting with Osama bin Laden’s killing.

Election, Libya, Osama Bin Laden, President Barack Obama, Presidential Campaign, National Read more Comments

(MANUEL BALCE CENETA/The Associated Press) Republican presidential candidate former Governor Mitt Romney, arrives to deliver his remarks at the Values Voter Summit in Washington, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2011.

Romney responds to Mormon flare-up; Perry passes

Charles Babington, Kasie Hunt The Associated Press

Last updated Saturday, October 8, 2011 - 5:10pm

WASHINGTON — Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney on Saturday denounced “poisonous language” against faiths as he grappled with a flare-up over religion sparked by a prominent supporter of Texas Gov. Rick Perry, his rival. Perry steered well clear of that simmering issue and pushed another hot button instead: Social Security.

Election, Mitt Romney, Presidential Campaign, Religion, Republican Party, National Read more Comments

(J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE/The Associated Press) Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky walks to the floor as the Senate prepares to vote on a short-term funding measure that includes dollars for disaster relief without an offsetting spending cut elsewhere, as demanded by the GOP-controlled House, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, Sept. 26 2011.

Congress’ dysfunction long in the making

Charles Babington The Associated Press

Last updated Saturday, October 1, 2011 - 5:02pm

WASHINGTON — How did it get this bad on Capitol Hill?

Budget, Congress, National Read more Comments

Analysis: Perry, Romney defend records in forum

Charles Babington The Associated Press

Last updated Friday, September 23, 2011 - 8:04am

With many Republican voters pushing for ever-purer conservatism, the two requirements sometimes stand in conflict. The candidate who best figures out how to appeal to that audience without abandoning his own record is likely to win the nomination to challenge President Barack Obama in 2012.

Mitt Romney, Politics, Republicans, Rick Perry, National Read more Comments