National politics, with Mark McKinnon & Dick Polman
ListenHour 1
The Republican field of candidates for the 2012 presidential nomination is taking shape, and it’s nothing if not interesting. While The Donald Trump and Mike Huckabee declared they were NOT running, Rep. Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich formally tossed their hats in the ring. Gingrich in particular is off to rocky start, denouncing aspects of Wisconsin Republican Paul Ryan’s budget plan and then apologizing quickly for that criticism, leading many to portray support for Ryan’s cuts to popular entitlement programs as a new GOP “litmus test” for presidential candidates. Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum made news for criticizing torture survivor Senator John McCain for not understanding how torture works, after the Arizona senator said waterboarding had not yielded the key clues to find Osama bin Laden. Meanwhile, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney attempted to defend his own healthcare reform and distinguish it from President Obama’s. And Republican donors and consultants continued to beckon popular governors like Indiana’s Mitch Daniels, New Jersey’s Chris Christie and Texas’ Rick Perry into the race. Joining us to talk about the emerging 2012 race, including President Obama’s positioning, are MARK McKINNON, co-founder of No Labels, Daily Beast columnist and political consultant, and DICK POLMAN, longtime political columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer and National Interest blogger for WHYY.
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[audio: 052011_100630.mp3]
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