2012 election

After the first 2012 presidential debate in Denver, even CNN's Van Jones conceded: 'Romney was able to out-Obama Obama' — the night Mitt Romney won.

An Aurora shooting survivor publicly asked Obama and Romney to debate gun control in the 2012 campaign. The candidates grieved; neither answered.

After Obama's Charlotte acceptance speech in September 2012, both parties had their nominees: the race was essentially tied, Gallup showing Obama 47, Romney 46.

In 2012, Indian-Americans backed Obama by lopsided margins — up to 84% in exit polls. Immigration policy, more than economics, explains why.

In August 2012 Paul Ryan told a radio host he'd run a marathon in under three hours. The record said 4:01:25. A small fib with a long shadow.

In July 2012, John McCain insisted his 2008 choice of Sarah Palin over Mitt Romney had nothing to do with Romney's tax returns — which McCain had seen 23

A 2012 analysis of OMB data found federal spending grew slowest under Obama since Eisenhower — but the finding turned on which president 'owned' the 2009

After Jane Pitt's anti-Obama letter went national in July 2012, the vicious online backlash reportedly left Brad Pitt's mother shaken and fearful.

In early July 2012, Brad Pitt's mother Jane Pitt wrote to the Springfield News-Leader endorsing Mitt Romney and criticizing Obama on abortion and gay marriage.

Mitt Romney's 2012 campaign promised to run government like a business. What would McKinsey-style management consulting actually mean for the federal

In July 2012, Vanity Fair detailed Mitt Romney's offshore holdings — Swiss and Cayman accounts — and the $100-million question of his enormous IRA.

President Obama's June 2012 claim that 'the private sector is doing fine' became instant campaign fodder — and a case study in how one line defines a season.

June 2012: Wisconsin's recall defeat, anemic jobs numbers, Clinton freelancing, a looming Supreme Court verdict — Democrats woke to the possibility that

Mitt Romney struggled to connect with voters. His wife Ann — warm, candid about MS and cancer — was the asset the Obama campaign couldn't coach against.

After the August 2011 debt-ceiling debacle, Obama's approval sagged — and Democrats in tough districts started keeping their distance.

Rick Perry entered the 2012 race in August 2011 as the anti-Romney. Was there substance behind the swagger? An early assessment.

In 2011, Dominique Strauss-Kahn looked like France's next president. A New York arrest ended that — and exposed how French political culture shielded