From extra shifts at auto and steel plants in Ohio to office buildings rising in Northern Virginia, the geography of the U.S. economic rebound is providing an edge to President Barack Obama’s re-election. The unemployment rates in a majority of the 2012 battleground states are lower than the national average as those economies improve. Coupled with the growth of adult minority populations in those states, the trends create a higher bar for presumed Republican Party presidential nominee Mitt Romney in his quest to unseat Obama. “There are jobs out there,” said Chris McGiffen, 47, of Zanesville, Ohio, who moved to the state in 2010 from St. Louis to look for work. He found a job as a welder at Columbus Castings, a steel foundry that ... Continue reading →

Enlarge image Joe Ricketts Kris Connor/Getty Images for Roadside Attractions Joe Ricketts last year in Washington, DC. Joe Ricketts last year in Washington, DC. Photographer: Kris Connor/Getty Images for Roadside Attractions For two years, Joe Ricketts has been building a political operation seeking to curb government spending that could have reached a crescendo in August with an unexpected, multimillion dollar attack on President Barack Obama. The admission by a Ricketts’ spokesman yesterday that one proposed advertising campaign focused on the president’s relationship with a Chicago preacher known for racially charged sermons removed the element of surprise, increased scrutiny of his political activity and put at a negotiating disadvantage one of the Ricketts family’s prized possessions -- the Chicago Cubs. “Not only was this plan merely ... Continue reading →