SEC rule hits Romney fundraising

The Wall Street Journal reports that Mitt Romney's new "Victory Fund"  -- a joint effort between the campaign and the Republican National Committee -- has encountered a minor stumbling block.

Deep pocketed Wall Street donors, many of whom are thought to favor Romney, are being warned by their firms to limit donations. Here's the Journal:

"[The Victory Fund] asks donors to give as much as $75,800, including donations to Mr. Romney's primary MORE

Surprise! Budget mess rolls on

Congress and the White House took another few steps away from conducting a well-reasoned, bipartisan budget process on Wednesday, as Democrats and Republicans let loose another round of ultimatums and rhetorical bombs.

Let's start with the battle between House Republicans and the White House. Last year, with just hours to spare before a voluntary default on the nation's debt, Congress passed a piece of legislation called the Budget Control Act.

Along with MORE

Romney's economic brain trust

The long trek to the White House is never made alone. Instead, candidates pick up all manner of consultants, pollsters, advisers, press officers and wanna-be appointees along the way.

Mitt Romney, now considered his party's presumptive nominee, has his own team of four economic advisers. Harvard economist Greg Mankiw and Columbia Business School's Glenn Hubbard hail from academia.  Former Sen. Jim Talent and Rep. Vin Weber bring knowledge of Washington's hallways MORE

Romney hints at tax changes

One of the biggest knocks on Mitt Romney this election cycle is that his policy proposals have lacked specificity -- especially when it comes to how much the government should tax, and what programs it should spend that revenue on.

But on Sunday, a few new details were revealed as reporters were able to eavesdrop on a closed Romney fundraiser.

We know Romney wants to cut income tax rates MORE

What kind of car is Obama?

If President Obama was a car, what kind of car would he be and why?

That's the question Resurgent Republic, a conservative polling and advocacy group, asked independent voters in Virginia and Colorado recently. The focus group members all voted for Obama in 2008, but are undecided heading into this year's general election.

The answers, to say the least, varied.

One voter said Obama is most like a Yugo. Yes, the subcompact MORE

Obama's army of tax-paying secretaries

A phalanx of administrative assistants and their millionaire bosses joined President Obama onstage Wednesday at the White House as he once again called on Congress to pass his "Buffett Rule."

Why the odd pairing of secretaries and millionaires? The general principle behind the rule is that millionaires and billionaires like investor Warren Buffett shouldn't pay a lower percentage of their income in federal taxes than middle-class households, and specifically their secretaries.

Buffett MORE

'Green' jobs top 3 million

Kermit has more company lately.

There were 3.1 million green jobs in the U.S. in 2010, or about 2.4% of the nation's employment.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics just released its first tally of jobs associated with producing green goods and services. The Obama administration has been pushing green jobs as a way to stimulate the economy and generate job growth. He's set aside billions of dollars to promote the industry, including MORE

Romney's message in an improving economy

Mitt Romney thinks the economy is improving.

That might come as a shock if you've heard the candidate's stump speech. But it's true.

Romney met with voters Monday in Springfield, Ill., on President Obama's home turf, and made clear that he is not a member of the second-recession doomsday crowd.

"I believe the economy is coming back by the way," Romney told the crowd. "We'll see what happens, it's had ups and downs, MORE

Oil release: Obama and Cameron in cahoots?

The price of crude oil took a nosedive on Thursday after Reuters reported that President Obama and his British counterpart David Cameron had agreed to a release of strategic oil reserves that would take place within months.

The White House later denied that such an agreement exists, but did say that Obama and Cameron had discussed rising crude prices.

For the United States, such an agreement would mean tapping the Strategic Petroleum MORE

Obama whacks Republicans on gas price rhetoric

President Obama defended his energy policy on Thursday, and at the same time called out Republicans for promising lower gas prices while allegedly ignoring alternative sources of energy.

Without mentioning any of the candidates by name, Obama went so far as to suggest that the Republicans seeking the presidency are the kind of people who might deny that Earth is a sphere.

"A lot of the folks who are running for a MORE