The Fix: Master Archives
Obama's efforts are barely connecting with public, but Congress is well off target
A slim majority of Americans say President Obama is focusing on things that matter to them personally, while a clear majority say Republicans in Congress are not, a new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows.
Fifty-one percent say Obama is mainly concentrating on things that are important to them, while 44 percent say his attention is on things that are not important to them. The split tracks Obama's job approval numbers -- 51 percent approve of the job the president is doing, while 41 percent disapprove.
Douglas Shulman won't apologize -- yet, at least
Former IRS commissioner Douglas Shulman doesn't think he has to apologize for the wrongdoing that occurred at the IRS on his watch, and he repeatedly refused to do so at a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Tuesday.
We'll see how long that lasts.
Shulman at several points during Tuesday's hearing expressed "regret" that conservative groups were improperly targeted by the IRS over the last three years, even saying he was "deeply saddened" by it. But when asked whether he would apologize, Shulman balked.
Everything you need to know about the IRS scandal
A week and a half has passed since the Internal Revenue Service first publicly admitted to singling out conservative groups. We know a great deal more about what happened than we did on May 10, but lots of unanswered questions remain.
Here's a rundown of what we know -- and what we still don't -- about the ongoing story.
Hillary Clinton remains teflon despite Benghazi
Hillary Clinton continues to get heavily positive reviews for her work as secretary of state in a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, even after renewed Republican allegations of an Obama administration related to the deaths of four Americans in Benghazi, Libya last fall.
If the Benghazi controversy has taken any toll at all on Clinton, it's been a small one. Sixty-two percent of all Americans say they approved of the way Clinton handled her job at the state department; just 28 percent disapprove. That's a six percentage point dip from a December Post-ABC poll just before she left the administration. The drop in approval is concentrated among conservatives (down nine points), but she has also slid from 77 to 69 percent among moderates.
Jim Inhofe and the "reverse NIMBY" phenomenon
When the Senate considered a bill to provide billions in relief funds for Hurricane Sandy late last year, Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe (R) railed against it, insisting that "when a disaster occurs in America and emotions are high, everyone wants to pour money on it" and likened the bill to a slush fund.
How much do Bill Clinton and labor matter? (And 3 other questions in the L.A. mayor's race)
It's Election Day in Los Angeles, where voters will pick their next mayor after a long and expensive campaign. The technically nonpartisan runoff election pits two Democratic political insiders against one another: City Councilman Eric Garcetti and City Controller Wendy Greuel.
The race has attracted the attention of organized labor, Bill Clinton, and a longtime ally to President Obama. Here's a rundown of the biggest things to keep in mind about the race and why Tuesday's election matters well beyond the city limits:
Obama the uniter? Not really.
Americans are deeply divided over President Obama's ability to bring the country together in a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, the latest sign that his pledge to end decades of partisan warfare in the nation's capital is flagging.
Forty-seven percent of Americans say that Obama has done more to unite the country during his time in office while 45 percent say he has done more to divide it -- a statistically insignificant difference. Among registered voters, it's 47 percent uniter and 47 percent divider.
Barbara Buono's sneaky new ad
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's opponent is out with a new ad, and it might be a candidate for sneakiest ad of the year.
At first glance, Democrat Barbara Buono's ad appears to be just a fun, cutesy new ad making light of her hard-to-pronounce last name -- comparing it to U2 s Bono and Sonny Bono.
By the end though, the message is clear: I'm an Andrew Cuomo Democrat.
Blog Contributors
Chris Cillizza
Chris Cillizza is founder and editor of The Fix, a leading blog on state and national politics. He is the author of The Gospel According to the Fix: An Insider’s Guide to a Less than Holy World of Politics and an MSNBC contributor and political analyst. He also regularly appears on NBC and NPR’s The Diane Rehm Show. He joined The Post in 2005 and was named one of the top 50 journalists by Washingtonian in 2009.
Juliet Eilperin
Juliet Eilperin covers the White House for the Washington Post. She served as the Post's House of Representatives reporter from 1998-2004, covering the impeachment of Bill Clinton, lobbying, legislation, and five national congressional campaigns. Since 2004 she has been one of the country’s leading reporters covering the environment, reporting on science, policy and politics in areas including climate change, oceans, and air quality. She is the author of two books, "Fight Club Politics: How Partisanship is Poisoning the House of Representatives," and "Demon Fish: Travels Through the Hidden World of Sharks." Follow her on Twitter.
Ed O’Keefe
Ed O’Keefe covers Congress and politics for the Washington Post. He previously covered the 2008 and 2012 campaigns and reported on federal agencies and federal employees as author of The Federal Eye blog. Follow Ed on Twitter.
Aaron Blake
Aaron Blake covers national politics at the Washington Post, where he writes regularly for “The Fix,” the Post’s top political blog. A Minnesota native and summa cum laude graduate of the University of Minnesota, Aaron has also written about politics for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune and The Hill newspaper. Aaron and his wife, Danielle, live in Annandale, Va. Follow him on Twitter.
Sean Sullivan
Sean Sullivan covers national politics for “The Fix.” Prior to joining the Washington Post in the summer of 2012, Sean was the editor of Hotline On Call, National Journal Hotline’s politics blog. He has also worked for NHK Japan Public Broadcasting and ABC News. Sean is a graduate of Hamilton College, where he received a degree in Philosophy. He lives in Washington, D.C. Follow Sean on Twitter.
Scott Clement
Scott Clement is a survey research analyst for Capital Insight, the independent polling group of Washington Post Media. Scott specializes in public opinion about politics, election campaigns and public policy. He helps design and analyze all Washington Post polls, including the Washington Post-ABC News poll. Follow Scott on Twitter.
Rachel Weiner
Rachel Weiner covers national politics for Post Politics and The Fix. She came to the Washington Post in 2010 as a political web editor and anchored the Post's 2012 election blog. She was previously a web editor at The Huffington Post. Follow her on Twitter.
Latest Tweets
Another fan of pleading the Fifth: Dave Chapelle -- http://t.co/4G3YCo3ICF
As @AaronBlakeWP notes, Senate hearings generally include fewer theatrics compared to House hearings: http://t.co/MFIOAuVVnm
