Stephen Dinan

Two-thirds of jobs go to immigrants during Obama’s four years

Two-thirds of those who have found employment under President Obama are immigrants, both legal and illegal, according to an analysis that suggests immigration has soaked up a large portion of what little job growth there has been over the past three years. Published October 31, 2012

GOP makes push in Pennsylvania

Both presidential campaigns and their super PAC allies are now running television ads in Pennsylvania, with Republicans making a late push to try to swing the state their way, and Democrats moving to block them. Published October 30, 2012

Hurricane Sandy hits the campaign trail

Hurricane Sandy is already changing plans for both presidential campaigns, who canceled events across the eastern seaboard ahead of the massive storm's landfall this weekend. Published October 26, 2012

Audit: Green jobs stimulus program wastes cash

President Obama's green jobs training program, which was part of his stimulus, has failed on most key jobs measures, according to a new internal audit that found it was training workers who already had jobs that didn't need green energy skills, and was failing to place new enrollees in jobs once they finished the training. Published October 26, 2012

Panetta: Benghazi intelligence too sketchy to send troops

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said Thursday that a U.S. commando team was mobilizing as the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya was unfolding last month, but the lethal assault was over by the time the team arrived. Published October 25, 2012

Boehner demands that Obama disclose more details on attack in Libya

House Speaker John A. Boehner on Thursday demanded that President Obama explain why his administration has struggled to handle the terrorist attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, in a move that could raise the political peril to the White House. Published October 25, 2012

Ryan: Government rules crippling social safety net

Seeking to lay groundwork for a rewrite of the social safety net, Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan said Wednesday the federal government must stop measuring its programs by dollars spent and instead grade them by how many people are lifted out of poverty. Published October 24, 2012

Romney says Obama campaign ‘taking on water’

Mitt Romney said Tuesday the debates have "supercharged" his supporters and left President Obama's campaign "taking on water" as he traveled out west, seeking to shore up his support in several states before returning to the eastern battlegrounds. Published October 23, 2012

Debates boost Romney favorables

Mitt Romney crossed a major threshold this week, moving above 50 percent in his favorability rating, according to the Real Clear Politics average of polls — and for the first time in the campaign he leads President Obama on that measure. Published October 23, 2012

Obama, Romney tangle on al Qaeda, foreign policy in final presidential debate

Mitt Romney accused President Obama of failing to protect the military from budget cuts and squandering U.S. leadership in the Middle East, leaving America standing by as al Qaeda has surged to become active in a dozen countries, as the two men faced off Monday night in their final debate. Published October 22, 2012

In debates, some issues more equal than others

President Obama says on the campaign trail that global warming "isn't a hoax," and it was one of his big three legislative priorities coming into office in 2009 along with passing a stimulus and his health care law — and the only one of those three he didn't get done. Published October 22, 2012

Poll: Obama has edge; enthusiasm favors Romney before final debate

Mitt Romney's first debate bounce has evaporated and President Obama once again has taken a slim lead in The Washington Times/Zogby Poll released Sunday night — though the survey showed Mr. Romney's backers are far more energized about him than the president's backers are about their candidate. Published October 21, 2012

Romney: Obama has ‘incredible shrinking campaign’

Mitt Romney charged Friday that Democrats have resorted to "silly word games" to try to win the election after President Obama on Friday accused him of "Romnesia" in changing his earlier stances. Published October 19, 2012

Celebrities share stage with White House hopefuls

Pleading for voters to give President Obama another chance in office, rock star Bruce Springsteen hit the campaign trail in Ohio and Iowa on Thursday, hoping his star power could persuade undecided voters to give the Democratic incumbent a second chance. Published October 18, 2012

Welfare spending jumps 32% during Obama’s presidency

Federal welfare spending has grown by 32 percent over the past four years, fattened by President Obama's stimulus spending and swelled by a growing number of Americans whose recession-depleted incomes now qualify them for public assistance, according to numbers released Thursday. Published October 18, 2012

Not backing down, Romney clarifies debate remarks on illegals

Mitt Romney on Tuesday appeared to open a new avenue for illegal immigrants to get legal status, but his campaign quickly shut the door Wednesday, saying he still only supports a very narrow pathway that would require joining the U.S. military. Published October 17, 2012

Day after debate, Obama, Romney keep on punching

Fresh off his more animated debate performance, President Obama joked Wednesday that he is still trying to get the hang of the face-to-face showdowns with Mitt Romney, even as the Republican nominee said Mr. Obama appears to be "running on fumes" in the run-up to Nov. 6. Published October 17, 2012

Romney opens door on immigration

Amid the attacks and countercharges in Tuesday's debate, Mitt Romney appeared to make some news in saying he will seek to create ways to grant a path to citizenship to younger illegal immigrants brought here as children. Published October 16, 2012

Obama, Romney clash on jobs, energy and Libya at second debate

A combative President Obama, seeking to redeem himself from an earlier poor debate performance, went toe-to-toe with Mitt Romney Tuesday night at their second debate and accused the Republican nominee of fabricating attacks and distorting both of their records on everything from energy policy to terrorism. Published October 16, 2012

Coburn calls out Senate cohorts as biggest waste in government

The Senate's top waste-watcher says the federal government is bloated with extra spending — including in the halls of Congress itself, where he says senators and staffers are collecting salaries while failing to do very much work. Published October 15, 2012