2012 Presidential Election | featured news

US Republican hopeful Mitt Romney rebuts President Barack Obama's attack on a budget proposal approved by congressional Republicans, in a speech to the media... "The president came here yesterday and railed against arguments no-one is making and criticised policies no-one is proposing," Mr Romney said.

With the general election matchup against President Obama beginning to take shape, Mitt Romney swept a trio of Republican primaries in Wisconsin, Maryland and Washington, D.C. on Tuesday.

Polls are open in Maryland, the District and Wisconsin, where Tuesday’s Republican primaries could move Mitt Romney closer to a nomination that has hovered just out of his reach. Romney is favored to win in all three jurisdictions: the closest race appears to be in Wisconsin, where recent polls have shown him with a single-digit lead over former Sen. Rick Santorum (Pa.)

President Obama's re-election team is already waging a campaign against Mitt Romney, including an ad linking him to big oil companies.

The former Pa. senator leads among likely GOP voters back home, but nearly 4 in 10 could change their minds before the April 24 primary.

Mitt Romney and the Republican National Committee will start raising money together, as President Obama already does with Democrats.

To watch Mitt Romney campaign across Wisconsin the past few days has been to wonder whether the Republican primary is still going on.

Since he first stood in the massive shadow of Barack Obama four years ago, Joe Biden has emerged to be a full partner and a great political asset for the president. The unequal nature of their relationship at first was a function of Obama’s unique standing as a candidate, but as he has fallen to earth, Biden’s star has risen. He is becoming an excellent surrogate for the president, taking on some of the essential work of defending the administration and sticking in the shiv when necessary. Biden does the latter with real skill, most of the time. His attack this weekend on Mitt Romney and Republicans as being “a little out of touch” was masterful.

A Rick Santorum TV ad morphs an image of Obama into Romney, making the point that there are no policy differences between the two.

Former President Bill Clinton says he believes President Barack Obama can win re-election if he can persuade voters he steadied a shaky economy.