Politcs

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Condoleezza Rice’s first name comes from the Italian musical term con dolcezza -- “with sweetness.” That was how Rice played her round Thursday at Pebble Beach on the first day of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. She was all smiles and nods to the galleries, backslaps and friendly chatter with her group.

And that’s how Rice, intentionally or not, is quietly helping change the face of golf for women and people of color. She keeps popping up at golf clubs and in tournaments that were once fortresses of the white, male ruling elite.

SALT LAKE CITY — Syracuse City Attorney Will Carlson is among a group of eight candidates vying for a state Senate seat being vacated by Salt Lake County mayor-elect Ben McAdams.

Carlson joins a crowded field in the field for Senate District 2 that includes current county mayor Peter Coroon, state Democratic Party Chairman Jim Dabakis and Jenny Wilson, a member of the Salt Lake City Council, Robert Comstock, Brian Doughty, and Jon Watkins.

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — New York Jets owner Woody Johnson says, if asked to choose, that Mitt Romney winning the presidential election in November is a bigger priority than his NFL team having a winning season.

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney accused President Barack Obama on Monday of distorting the GOP ticket’s tax policies, continuing the presidential campaign’s sharply personal tone.

“It seems that the first victim of an Obama campaign is the truth,” Romney told about 3,000 people at an outdoor rally in Manchester, N.H.

Asked by a woman about Obama campaign “lies” that claim the GOP ticket would raise taxes, Romney said, “All we’ve heard so far is one attack after another.” He said perhaps only one of the Democrats’ many TV ads is “honest.”