Molly Ball

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

Democrats' Money Panic: Is Obama About to Get Swamped by GOP Cash?

Democrats' Money Panic: Is Obama About to Get Swamped by GOP Cash?

Liberals increasingly fear they will be outspent in November the way they were in Wisconsin -- and they may be right. More »

Romney Speaks on Immigration, but Doesn't Answer the Question

Romney Speaks on Immigration, but Doesn't Answer the Question

Badly boxed in, the Republican nominee has no recourse but to attack Obama's order on young illegal immigrants without proposing an alternative. More »

How Worried Is the Obama Campaign? A Q&A With Campaign Manager Jim Messina

How Worried Is the Obama Campaign? A Q&A With Campaign Manager Jim Messina

Even as Democratic doubts about the president's reelection prospects have increased in recent weeks, the man in charge of the reelection effort projects confidence. More »

Elizabeth Warren for President? Democrats' Barren 2016 Bench

Elizabeth Warren for President? Democrats' Barren 2016 Bench

Republicans have a bumper crop of rising stars, but Democrats have so few prospects to succeed Barack Obama that their No. 1 choice has never won an election. More »

How Romney's Dance With Rubio Proves the Veepstakes Matters

How Romney's Dance With Rubio Proves the Veepstakes Matters

By coming forward to insist that he is considering the right's favored candidate, Romney showed his running-mate decision isn't happening in a vacuum. More »

Why Are There So Many Conservative Conferences?

Why Are There So Many Conservative Conferences?

Recent years have seen a proliferation of right-wing activist meetings unmatched on the left. The result: a fired-up base for the GOP. More »

Praise for Obama on Immigration From the Religious Right

Praise for Obama on Immigration From the Religious Right

Some right-wing evangelical Christians, usually no fans of the president, are applauding his move to halt deportations of young illegal immigrants. More »

Obama Is Spending an Unprecedented Amount of Time Fundraising: Scandal?

Obama Is Spending an Unprecedented Amount of Time Fundraising: Scandal?

Thanks to the skyrocketing cost of campaigning and the inadequacy of campaign-finance regulation, the president has held nearly twice as many fundraisers as his predecessor. More »

Iowa Cafe Owner on Romney's Visit and Apology: 'I Took It as Mocking'

Iowa Cafe Owner on Romney's Visit and Apology: 'I Took It as Mocking'

After a messy visit, the Republican nominee offended a local business owner with his blunt manner and fumbling attempt to make amends More »

Why Google Docs Thought 'Congresswoman' Was an Error

Why Google Docs Thought 'Congresswoman' Was an Error

Live by the algorithm, suggest sexist changes by the algorithm. More »

Good News, Liberals: 'Crazy' Michele Bachmann Is Back

Good News, Liberals: 'Crazy' Michele Bachmann Is Back

The congresswoman's wild-eyed persona has returned as she sounds the not-quite-factual alarm about a "suicide-bomber conference" on American soil. More »

Is Anybody Boring Enough to Be Mitt Romney's Running Mate?

Is Anybody Boring Enough to Be Mitt Romney's Running Mate?

As he makes his search for a vice presidential nominee, Romney has plenty of dynamic choices. But the GOP's brightest stars may be too big for the No. 2 slot. More »

What Was the Problem With the Wisconsin Exit Polls?

What Was the Problem With the Wisconsin Exit Polls?

Leaked early exit data briefly gave Democrats hope they'd won the recall Tuesday night. How could a survey of the real electorate be so far off? More »

The Romney Campaign's 'Route to 270' Doesn't Get to 270

The Romney Campaign's 'Route to 270' Doesn't Get to 270

A pollster's strategy presentation aims at an electoral college victory strategy, but falls a bit short of the goal. More »

In Wisconsin, the Left Picked a Fight—and Lost

In Wisconsin, the Left Picked a Fight—and Lost

It doesn't mean Obama is going to lose, but the failed attempt to recall Scott Walker gives Democrats and organized labor reason to fear an emboldened conservative agenda. More »

A Judicial Victory That Could Send Gay Marriage to the Supreme Court

A Judicial Victory That Could Send Gay Marriage to the Supreme Court

They don't get as much attention as Obama's "evolution" on the issue, but the biggest substantive wins for equality advocates continue to come through the courts. More »

The Politician Who's Not Afraid to Love Bain

The Politician Who's Not Afraid to Love Bain

In the presidential race, the name of Romney's onetime employer has become a dirty word. But in Utah, an underdog candidate rushes to embrace what he calls "Mitt's company." More »

Walker and Barrett Get Personal as Wisconsin Recall Reaches Finish

Walker and Barrett Get Personal as Wisconsin Recall Reaches Finish

Why mudslinging has overshadowed the labor fight that started the push to get rid of the governor 16 months ago More »

Mike Bloomberg Doesn't Care What You Think

Mike Bloomberg Doesn't Care What You Think

The New York mayor's latest nanny-state proposal -- a ban on soda -- has even many liberals leery. But the lame-duck Bloomberg is uniquely impervious to public opinion. More »

Was Mitt Romney a Good Governor?

Was Mitt Romney a Good Governor?

As the Obama campaign seeks to make an issue of Romney's term in the Massachusetts state house, locals say he was neither a disaster nor a breakout success. More »

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