Molly Ball

Molly Ball is a staff writer covering national politics at The Atlantic.

Can Obama Win Without ACORN?

Can Obama Win Without ACORN?

Romney's comments about the "47 percent" -- an imagined Democratic-voting underclass -- highlighted a problem for Obama: His 2008 voters may not show up in 2012. More »

Obama Reveals He Has Learned Nothing in the Last 4 Years

Obama Reveals He Has Learned Nothing in the Last 4 Years

If he still believes "you can't change Washington from the inside," the president hasn't mastered the art of getting things done in the Capitol. More »

Why Gary Johnson Won't Shut Up About Marijuana

Why Gary Johnson Won't Shut Up About Marijuana

Catching up with Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson, who's made marijuana legalization a centerpiece of his 2012 presidential campaign More »

Everything You Think You Know About White Working-Class Voters Is Wrong

Everything You Think You Know About White Working-Class Voters Is Wrong

They're not victims with an entitlement complex. They're not bitterly clinging to religion. And they favor Romney, but not by as wide a margin as he needs to win. More »

Issue October 2012

Pipe Dreamer

Could Gary Johnson’s turn as a pro-legalization Libertarian swing the presidential election?

Why Doesn't Romney Just Take It Back?

Why Doesn't Romney Just Take It Back?

Time and again, Romney doubles down rather than admit he's erred. Is he still terrified of being seen as a flip-flopper? More »

Mitt Romney's Class Warfare

Mitt Romney's Class Warfare

In decrying Obama voters as "victims" who are "dependent on government," Romney taps a favorite theme of Tea Party conservatives. More »

Romney's 'New' Campaign Strategy Isn't Actually New

Romney's 'New' Campaign Strategy Isn't Actually New

The Republican candidate hopes to convince voters he's turning the page -- by promising to keep doing exactly what he's been doing so far. More »

The Conservative Prescription for Romney: More Social Issues

The Conservative Prescription for Romney: More Social Issues

To "values voters," the problem with Romney's campaign is not enough red meat -- and not enough Paul Ryan. More »

Under Pressure, Romney Stays the Course

Under Pressure, Romney Stays the Course

His party worries that he's losing the election, but Romney appears no nimbler or more aggressive than before. More »

In Libya Response, a Glimpse of the Real Romney Foreign-Policy Approach

In Libya Response, a Glimpse of the Real Romney Foreign-Policy Approach

Here's what the crisis showed about how the candidates do -- and don't -- differ on foreign affairs. More »

Will Romney's Foreign-Policy Fumble Doom His Campaign?

Will Romney's Foreign-Policy Fumble Doom His Campaign?

As Republicans and Democrats alike judge his response to the embassy attacks harshly, this could be a turning point. More »

How Barry Goldwater's Granddaughter Ended Up at the Democratic Convention

How Barry Goldwater's Granddaughter Ended Up at the Democratic Convention

CC Goldwater reveres her grandfather's legacy -- and says he wouldn't recognize today's GOP. Last week in Charlotte, she helped renominate President Obama. More »

Why Obama's Convention Bounce Is a Big Deal

Why Obama's Convention Bounce Is a Big Deal

The fact that the president is pulling ahead in the polls means Mitt Romney missed his biggest opportunity of the race so far. More »

How Michelle Rhee Is Taking Over the Democratic Party

How Michelle Rhee Is Taking Over the Democratic Party

In a major shift, education reformers are now influential at the highest levels of the party once dominated by the teachers unions. More »

Convention Wrap: Hopeless

Convention Wrap: Hopeless

Two weeks of partisan pageantry leave voters with little reason to believe either candidate has a better future to offer. More »

Even Sarah Palin Thinks We Should Ignore Sarah Palin

Even Sarah Palin Thinks We Should Ignore Sarah Palin

Once the vice-presidential nominee of a major political party, Palin now wonders why "bigwig elites" even know who she is. More »

Obama's Convention Anticlimax

Obama's Convention Anticlimax

In a perplexingly lifeless convention address, the president fails to live up to his reputation as a brilliant orator. More »

How the Convention Speeches Played on Twitter

How the Convention Speeches Played on Twitter

Traffic on the social-media service is massively higher for the Democratic convention this week than for last week's Republican gathering. More »

Bill Clinton Shows How It's Done

Bill Clinton Shows How It's Done

In an era of substance-free rhetoric, Clinton blew away the Democratic convention with a dense, didactic act of political persuasion. More »

The Biggest Story in Photos

Photos of Tornado Damage in Moore, Oklahoma

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