By Colin Campbell and Hunter Walker 11/06/12 9:43pm

The Political Climate

Illo by Zina Saunders.

The Amazing Race: How Hurricane Sandy Scrambled the Political Landscape

Barack Obama won a second term as president. But the biggest political player of the election cycle, it’s fair to say, was Hurricane Sandy, an 85 m.p.h. deus ex machina that provided a boost to Mr. Obama and gave Mitt Romney a steep hurdle to overcome as he headed into the home stretch. Karl Rove said so much himself on Friday, even as hard-hit communities were still without power.

“If you hadn’t had the storm, there would have been more of a chance for the Romney campaign to talk about the deficit, the debt, the economy,” he pointed out to The Washington Post. “When you have attention drawn away to somewhere else, to something else, it is not to his advantage.”

He would say that, of course. He had to say something, after all, to preemptively soften the blow for disappointed donors who had funded his months-long anti-Obama ad blitz to the tune of some $171.5 million. We thought it was in the bag, guys, but who can predict a hurricane? Read More

By Benjamin-Emile Le Hay 9/19/12 4:07pm

First Lady Style Watch

Lady Obama and the girls. Photo Courtesy of AP/WWD.

Is L.A.-Based Designer Barbara Tfank Michelle Obama’s New Designer of Choice?

Word has gotten out from publicists and fashion news authority Women’s Wear Daily that first lady Michelle Obama has endorsed yet another one of Barbara Tfank’s ladylike designs for a heavily monitored public appearance. It is said to be the fifth time that the first lady has donned a Barbara Tfank frock. She wore the ravishing outfit at a meet-and-greet in Gainesville, Fla., for a young girls’ after-school program called Girls’ Place on September 17.

“A friend, who Tfank had shown the unusual fabric to, spotted the dress on C-SPAN and called the designer to tell her the news,” reported WWD.

According to our perhaps inaccurate tally, this means that Ms. Obama has worn Tfank to more public appearances than any other high-end American fashion designer, which leads us to ask: Is Barbara Tfank Ms. Obama’s new designer of choice? Has Ms. Tfank overtaken the feminine and playful aesthetic of Jason Wu? Read More

By Steve Huff 4/17/12 11:51pm

Crategate

President Obama, working up an appetite.

Revelation Made by President 17 Years Ago Shakes Campaign: Obama Ate Dog!

The Dog Days have come early to this year’s presidential race with the revelation by the Daily Caller that our  president was fed dog meat by his stepfather as a boy living in Indonesia. President Obama disclosed this information in his little-known TIME Magazine top 100 non-fiction bestseller, Dreams from My Father, a 1995 memoir of his well-traveled youth.

If the Obama White House feels moved to complain about the hay their opponents are making (the Twitter hash tag #ObamaDogRecipes trended across party lines Tuesday night) out of this unfortunate nugget from his book they may have only themselves to blame. As ABC newsman Jake Tapper pointed out, Democrats have been relentless in promoting the tale of Mitt Romney’s unfortunate dog Seamus, who reportedly rode on the roof of the Romney family vehicle from Boston to Canada in 1983: Read More

By The Editors 1/24/12 7:33pm

opinion

The Tool Mr. Cuomo Needs

Say this about Governor Cuomo: He is not one to dampen expectations. Having delivered tax reform, gay marriage and new union contracts during his first year in office, the governor is looking for even bigger achievements in his second year—which happens to coincide with state legislative elections. Albany’s traditional embrace of the status quo is never tighter than when legislators are up for re-election, which makes the governor’s ambitions even more notable. Read More

By George W. Plunkitt 9/07/11 12:37pm

Indiscretions

Michelle Bachmann with her husband, Marcus, and her daughter, Elisa, in 2008.

The Bachmann Family Needs to Step Up Their Social Media Game

Michele Bachmann’s husband, Marcus, knows how to put on a pair of heels. How did we learn this fascinating tidbit about the spouse of the Minnesota Congresswoman and Republican Presidential candidate? We found it on Facebook courtesy of Bachmann’s daughter.

Bachmann’s staff clearly has some lessons left to learn about the internet. This apparent lack Read More

By Azi Paybarah 4/06/11 4:53pm

2012

Ax Says Obama Had To Do What He Did

David Axelrod said while he was in the White House, dealing with an imploding economy, international crises and countless other problems, he turned to President Obama and said, “I wonder what it would be like to be here when things good.”

Axelrod, speaking at the National Action Network in midtown this morning, said the president Read More

By Reid Pillifant 4/01/11 2:13pm

Stockpiling

Gillibrand Sets a Personal Best, Tops $3 M. in First Quarter

This morning, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand emailed supporters to celebrate her record-breaking first-quarter, in which she raised more than $3 million dollars.

“I couldn’t wait to thank you,” wrote Gillibrand, who is up for re-election again in 2012, before she resumes the usual six-year schedule. “Our campaign just closed its books for the FEC filing period Read More

By Reid Pillifant 3/31/11 8:23pm

Dinner Conversation

Jay Jacobs Says Donors 'Upbeat' for Obama Re-Elect

Jay Jacobs didn’t hear any complaining from the die-hard Democrats who attended President Obama’s $30,800 dinner in Harlem on Tuesday night.

“People can grumble all they want up until the president walks in a room,” said Jacobs, who chairs the state Democratic committee, in addition to being a high-profile party fundraiser. “Believe me, it’s unbelievable Read More