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Great divide for Obama, Romney: investment, profits, 'fairness'AFP - Getty Images
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More news
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Economic pessimism returns
First Read: NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll underscores campaign messages of both Obama and Romney.
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NBC/WSJ poll highlights Obama's economic vulnerabilities
The new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll indicates that Americans believe the incumbent commander in chief has either made no impact on pocketbook issues – or even made them worse.
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Potential VP pick Paul Ryan calls Obama 'a failed president'
House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan had harsh words for President Barack Obama Tuesday, but told the crowd the nation could get back on the right track with the 2012 election.
- Obama leads big with Latinos
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Economic pessimism returns
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Dispatches from NBC embeds via First Read
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Obama touts foreign policy victories at graduation
By NBC's Ali Weinberg: President Obama told the graduating class of Air Force Academy cadets that they would be starting their military careers in an international environment shaped largely by his administration's policies.
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Romney assails unions in speech detailing education plans
By NBC's Garrett Haake: Mitt Romney detailed his education proposals in a major policy address, laying out a plan to promote school choice and reform existing laws -- all while combating teachers' unions, whom Romney blamed for obstructing many of the needed changes in the nation's schools.
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Fast-breaking analysis from the NBC Political Unit
An exclusive week-long, all-access pass to “Meet the Press”
Chart: Voter Confidence Index
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sept | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 34 | 34 | 23 | 28 | 41 | 30 | 5 | -6 | 6 | 11 | -1 | -9 |
| 2010 | -14 | -23 | -18 | -16 | -22 | -24 | -35 | -33 | -39 | -36 | -28 | -42 |
| 2011 | -21 | -22 | -38 | -38 | -2 | -27 | -36 | -49 | -63 | -54 | -53 | -45 |
| 2012 | -29 | -21 | -21 | -23 | -19 |
data
updated
5/15/12
updated
5/15/12
PRESIDENTIAL VCIs
Shown below is each President's last VCI prior to the presidential election. Hover over items for more information.
Photos: Obama's fourth year in office
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President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai meet to sign the Strategic Partnership Agreement at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, Afghanistan on May 2, 2012. The deal insures American military and financial support for the Afghan people for at least a decade beyond 2014, the deadline for most foreign combat forces to withdraw. During Obama's surprise trip to the war-torn nation, he also addressed the American people in a televised address. (Kevin Lamarque / Reuters) Back to slideshow navigation -
Obama winks as he tells a joke about his place of birth during the White House Correspondents Association Dinner in Washington on April 28, 2012. The annual event, which brings together Hollywood celebrities, news media personalities and Washington correspondents, featured comedian Jimmy Kimmel as the host. (Saul Loeb / AFP - Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation -
President Obama 'slow-jams' the news along with Tariq "Questlove" Trotter, left, and Jimmy Fallon, host of NBC's "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" on April 24, 2012. (Nbc / Lloyd Bishop/NBC) Back to slideshow navigation -
Obama sits on the famed Rosa Parks bus at the Henry Ford Museum following an event April 18, 2012 in Dearborn, Mich. "I just sat in there for a moment and pondered the courage and tenacity that is part of our very recent history but is also part of that long line of folks who sometimes are nameless, oftentimes didn't make the history books, but who constantly insisted on their dignity, their share of the American dream," said Obama. (Pete Souza / The White House via Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation
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Standing with millionaires and their assistants, President Barack Obama makes a statement about the "Buffett Rule" in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building April 11, 2012 in Washington, D.C. Named after the billionare invester Warren Buffet, the rule would ensure that the wealthiest Americans pay at least 30 percent of their income in federal taxes. It is a centerpiece to Obama's re-election platform. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation
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President Barack Obama helps a child roll an egg during the White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House on April 9, 2012. Thousands of people attended the 134-year-old tradition of rolling colored eggs down the lawn, which was started by President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1878. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation
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President Obama signs the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington April 5, 2012. "This bill represents exactly the kind of bipartisan action we should be taking in Washington to help our economy," said the president. Behind him, in a rare moment of public support, was Republican Majority Leader Eric Cantor. (Yuri Gripas / Reuters) Back to slideshow navigation
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Supporters of the president's health care overhaul rally in front of the Supreme Court in Washington on March 28, 2012. The justices heard three days of arguments over the constitutionality of the legislation. (Charles Dharapak / AP) Back to slideshow navigation
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President Obama covers the microphone as he arrives at the Nuclear Security Summit at the Coex Center in Seoul, South Korea, March 27, 2012. At left is Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev. The gesture was a nod to comments he made to Russian President Dmitri Medvedev the day before; a private conversation picked up by a hot mic. (Susan Walsh / AP) Back to slideshow navigation
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President Obama chats with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev during a bilateral meeting at the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, South Korea, March, 26, 2012. A private moment between the two men was caught by a live microphone, Obama telling the Russian leader he'd have more "flexibility" on missile defense after the general election. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP) Back to slideshow navigation
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President Obama looks through binoculars to see North Korea from Observation Post Ouellette in the Demilitarized Zone, the tense military border between the two Koreas, in Panmunjom, South Korea, March 25, 2012. Obama is with Commander of the United Nations Command Security Battalion-Joint Security Area U.S. Lt. Col. Ed Taylor, right. (Susan Walsh / AP) Back to slideshow navigation
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President Obama delivers remarks on energy independence at Stillwater Pipe Yard in Cushing, Oklahoma, March 22, 2012. Obama is traveling to Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Ohio for events on energy independence. (Jason Reed / Reuters) Back to slideshow navigation
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President Obama shares a laugh with British Prime Minister David Cameron as they sit in the front row at University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio, March 13, 2012, while attending a NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship First Four game. (Jim Watson / AFP - Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation
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Nancy Mancias, of the anti-war group Code Pink, looks into an Oakland, Calif., campaign office for President Barack Obama during a March 12 vigil in the wake of a massacre of 16 villagers by a suspected rogue American soldier in Afghanistan. President Obama called the deaths "shocking," and offered condolences to the families who lost loved ones. The killings followed weeks of heightened tension between the U.S. and Afghanistan after copies of the Quaran were incinerated at an air base in Bagram. (Stephen Lam / Reuters) Back to slideshow navigation
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Obama speaks after touring the Rolls-Royce Crosspointe plant, on March 9, 2012 in Prince George County, Va. “I want to make stuff here and sell it over there," the president told the audience. "And that’s exactly what you’re doing here." His visit to Virginia came just days after Mitt Romney's GOP primary victory in the state. He again touted the success of the automotive bailout, which Romney opposed, by saying the "heartbeat of American manufacturing was at stake." (Mark Wilson / Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation
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Obama reacts to a question about what he would say to Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney during his first press conference of the year in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., March 6, 2012. Obama held the news conference hours before results from crucial Super Tuesday contests. (Saul Loeb / AFP - Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation
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Obama meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., March 5, 2012. The two leaders talked on the Iranian nuclear stand-off, with each publicly seeking to stake out some common ground. (Saul Loeb / AFP - Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation
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Obama hosts a dinner for members of the U.S. military who served in Iraq in the East Room of the White House in Feb., 29, 2012. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP) Back to slideshow navigation
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Obama sings with blues legend B.B. King, right, during a performance with an all-star cast at the White House event titled 'In Performance at the White House: Red, White and Blues' in Washington, D.C, on Feb. 21. The program, celebrating blues music and recognizing Black History Month, featured performances by B.B. King, Troy 'Trombone Shorty' Andrews, Jeff Beck, Gary Clark, Jr., Shemekia Copeland, Buddy Guy, Warren Haynes, Mick Jagger, Keb Mo, Susan Tedeschi, and Derek Trucks. The president sang a few lines of "Sweet Home Chicago" with King and Jagger at the end of the evening. (PBS / In Performance at the White House: Red, White and Blues) Back to slideshow navigation
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President Barack Obama runs over to greet a small crowd of people after arriving at Paine Field Airport in Everett, Wash., on Feb. 17. Obama toured a production facility and delivered remarks at the Boeing plant in Everett where he used the new Dreamliner as a backdrop to call for programs to help U.S. companies compete overseas. Said the president: "As long as the playing field is level, you can compete with any worker, anywhere, anytime, in China, in Europe, it does not matter. If we have a level playing field, America will always win, because we have the best workers." (Susan Walsh / AP) Back to slideshow navigation
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Obama makes a statement with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius about contraceptive care funding in the press room of the White House on Feb. 10. He announced that religiously-affiliated institutions will be able to opt-out from covering birth control for employees, but that insurance companies will be required to foot the bill in those cases. "No woman's health should depend on who she is or where she works or how much money she makes," said Obama. (Larry Downing / Reuters) Back to slideshow navigation
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Obama reacts as 14-year-old Joey Hudy of Phoenix, Arizona, launches a marshmallow from Hudy's "Extreme Marshmallow Cannon" during the White House Science Fair in the State Dining Room on Feb. 7. Obama announced new policies to recruit and support science, technology, engineering and math teacher programs, including requesting $80 million in his upcoming budget for teacher preparation. (Saul Loeb / AFP - Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation
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Melba Conway, an activist with the ANSWER Coalition, holds a stack of signs during a demonstration outside of the White House on Feb. 4. As Iran continued to flaunt its nuclear program, Obama responded with tigther sanctions on Feb. 6, targeting Iran's Central Bank and freezing other assets. (Haraz N. Ghanbari / AP) Back to slideshow navigation
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Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres challenges First Lady Michelle Obama to a push up contest during a taping of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" in Burbank, Calif., on Wednesday, Feb. 1 which aired the following day. (Michael Rozman / Warner Bros. via AP) Back to slideshow navigation
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President Barack Obama mimics trying to read a mortgage loan contract that he and first lady Michelle Obama signed to purchase their first condo, while speaking at the James Lee Community Center in Falls Church, Va., Feb. 1. The president unveiled a new plan he said will help millions of homeowners to refinance. "If you're underwater through no fault of your own and can't refinance, this plan changes that," Obama said. (Cliff Owen / AP) Back to slideshow navigation
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Obama checks out a Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 during his visit to the Washington Auto Show at the Washington Convention Center on Jan. 31. "It's good to remember the fact that there were some folks who were willing to let this industry die," said the president in a not-to-subtle jab to Mitt Romney, who opposed the auto bailouts. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP) Back to slideshow navigation
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Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has a pointed conversation with President Obama after he arrived at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport on Jan. 25. She was photographed wagging a finger at the president after greeting him and handing him a handwritten note. Brewer described the exchange as being driven by Obama’s dissatisfaction with her book, though the president described the exchange as being “not a big deal.” (Haraz N. Ghanbari / AP) Back to slideshow navigation
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Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona is hugged by President Barack Obama as he arrives to deliver the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 24. Obama used the speech to focus on economic concerns, laying out what he called a 'blueprint' for revitalizing the economy, improving manufacturing, and restructuring the tax code. Giffords, recovering from a gunshot wound to the head, resigned the following day to focus on her recovery. (Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA) Back to slideshow navigation
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Above: Slideshow (28) As it happens: Obama's fourth year in office - Obama's fourth year in officeKevin Lamarque / Reuters
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Slideshow (73) As it happens: Obama's fourth year in office - Third yearRichard Drew / AP
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Slideshow (65) As it happens: Obama's fourth year in office - Second yearJ.D. Pooley / Getty Images
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Slideshow (68) As it happens: Obama's fourth year in office - First yearChuck Kennedy / Pool via EPA
Political cartoons
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The Week in Political CartoonsScranton Times Tribune, Politica
Msnbc.com's political cartoonists take a look back at the past week.
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Chart: Delegate count
Social: From the field
Decision 2012 headlines
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Obama leads big with Latinos
Less than six months before November’s presidential election, President Obama enjoys a sizable lead over Mitt Romney among Latino voters, according to a new national NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Telemundo poll of Latino respondents.
- Economic pessimism returns
- NBC/WSJ poll: Obama, Romney locked in tight contest
- Romney wins Kentucky, Arkansas GOP primaries
- Obama suffers defections in Ark. and Ky. primaries
- NBC/WSJ poll: Obama's gay-marriage announcement a 'draw'
- Potential VP pick Paul Ryan calls Obama 'a failed president'
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Obama leads big with Latinos
More political news
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Great divide for Obama, Romney: investment, profits, 'fairness'
Questions are emerging from this week’s rhetoric and polling data that could be answered in the fall presidential debates.
- NBC/WSJ poll highlights Obama's economic vulnerabilities
- Obama leads big with Latinos
- Economic pessimism returns
- Secret Service head: Scandal was 'aberration'
- NBC/WSJ poll: Obama, Romney locked in tight contest
- NBC/WSJ poll: Obama's gay-marriage announcement a 'draw'
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Great divide for Obama, Romney: investment, profits, 'fairness'
