CatarinaMiglioriniBrazil


Catarina Migliorini



looks set to raise a staggering $780,000 after

she sold her virginity to a Japanese man called Natsu.






Brazilian student sparks outrage after selling virginity online for $780,000 to raise money for poor families


Is there anything you can't buy on the internet? It would seem not...
A 20-year-old Brazilian student has reportedly sold her virginity in an auction to raise money for charity.
Catarina Migliorini looks set to raise a staggering $780,000 after she sold her virginity to a Japanese man called Natsu.
The physical education student, who claims she will use the money to build homes for poverty-stricken families,  received 15 bids.
The victorious bidder from Japan, managed to win despite competition from Americans Jack Miller and Jack Right, and Indian big-spender Rudra Chatterjee
Migliorini, who has sparked outrage across the globe amid claims she is prostituting herself, is being filmed throughout the process by an Australian crew for a documentary film called Virgins Wanted.
In response to critics she said: 'I saw this as a business. I have the opportunity to travel, to be part of a movie and get a bonus with it.
'If you only do it once in your life then you are not a prostitute, just like if you take one amazing photograph it does not automatically make you a photographer.
'The auction is just business, I'm a romantic girl at heart and believe in love. But this will make a big difference to my area,'  she told Folha newspaper.
The Australian documentary will also feature Alex Stepanov, a 21-year-old Australian student, who sold his virginity for $3000 to a Brazilian woman called Nene B in an auction.
Catarina Migliorini signed up to the project two years ago when she saw an advert by Thomas Williams Productions.
Independent Voices ran a survey to ask readers their views on selling sex for money. 17% of respondents admitted they had visited a prostitute, but 57 per cent said they would lie about it to their partner if they had.

Read more: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/uk/brazilian-student-sells-virginity-online-for-780000-16229887.html#ixzz2AOpezTwa

Brazilian student sells virginity for $780,000

Brazilian student Catarina Migliorini has reportedly sold her virginity in an auction to raise money for charity.
Migliorini, 20, looks set to raise a staggering $780,000 after she sold her virginity to a Japanese man called Natsu.
The physical education student, who claims she will use the money to build homes for poverty-stricken families, received 15 bids.
The victorious bidder from Japan, managed to win despite competition from Americans Jack Miller and Jack Right, and Indian big-spender Rudra Chatterjee
Migliorini, who has sparked outrage across the globe amid claims she is prostituting herself, is being filmed throughout the process by an Australian crew for a documentary film called Virgins Wanted.
In response to critics she said: 'I saw this as a business. I have the opportunity to travel, to be part of a movie and get a bonus with it.
'If you only do it once in your life then you are not a prostitute, just like if you take one amazing photograph it does not automatically make you a photographer.
'The auction is just business, I'm a romantic girl at heart and believe in love. But this will make a big difference to my area,' she told Folha newspaper.
The Australian documentary will also feature Alex Stepanov, a 21-year-old Australian student, who sold his virginity for $3000 to a Brazilian woman called Nene B in an auction.
Catarina Migliorini signed up to the project two years ago when she saw an advert by Thomas Williams Productions.


Read more: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/uk/brazilian-student-sells-virginity-online-for-780000-16229887.html#ixzz2AOqBUItd
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/uk/brazilian-student-sells-virginity-online-for-780000-16229887.html

Read more: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/uk/brazilian-student-sells-virginity-online-for-780000-16229887.html#ixzz2AOpuGofW


 AFP –  Thu, Oct 25, 201

Brazilian student sells virginity for $780,000

A Brazilian student has sold her virginity in an online auction for US$780,000 as part of a documentary organised by an Australian filmmaker, although a man who did the same only fetched US$3,000. Catarina Migliorini, 20, was the subject of 15 bids, with a Japanese man named only as Natsu winning on Wednesday night, according to the website of the film "Virgins Wanted". He beat out competition from 14 other men, mostly from Brazil but also from India, Australia and the United States. A male whose virginity was also auctioned, 21-year-old Sydney student Alex Stepanov, fetched US$3,000, paid by a Brazilian woman. Australian media said Migliorini would be "delivered" to her buyer on board a plane to Australia and that she would be interviewed before and after losing her virginity at a secret location.
Filmmaker Jason Sisely, who began his project in 2009 and caused outrage when he put posters up in Sydney and Melbourne saying "Virgins Wanted", said Migliorini was ecstatic and had not expected as much such interest. "The auction closed last night and Catarina is extremely excited. She was speaking to her family in Brazil online and they were extremely happy for her," he told Australian online news site Ninemsn. "But I guess they didn't expect her to do something like this." He said the act would be consummated, but not filmed, in the next few weeks. "We will fly over the winner to Australia and obviously, for the sake of the film and privacy, we can't disclose where and when the act will take place," he said. "I have to leave some details for the documentary." On a "Virgins Wanted" trailer on YouTube, Migliorini said: "I haven't found the right person to do it with, I've been too busy with other stuff." She added: "It's more sane than doing it drunk at a party with a stranger." According to Britain's Daily Mail, Migliorini's decision to sell her virginity to the highest bidder has sparked outrage across the globe, with some claiming she was little more than a prostitute. But she defended the move. "I saw this as a business. I have the opportunity to travel, to be part of a movie and get a bonus with it," she was quoted by the Mail as saying. "If you only do it once in your life then you are not a prostitute, just like if you take one amazing photograph it does not automatically make you a photographer." She will reportedly use part of the cash to build homes for poverty-stricken families. Sisely told Ninemsn that under the terms of the auction a condom was compulsory and Natsu must be tested beforehand for any sexually transmitted diseases. "I'm looking forward to my audience's response to the film," he said.

Brazilian student Catarina Migliorini has reportedly sold her virginity in an auction to raise money for charity.
Migliorini, 20, looks set to raise a staggering $780,000 after she sold her virginity to a Japanese man called Natsu.
The physical education student, who claims she will use the money to build homes for poverty-stricken families, received 15 bids.
The victorious bidder from Japan, managed to win despite competition from Americans Jack Miller and Jack Right, and Indian big-spender Rudra Chatterjee
Migliorini, who has sparked outrage across the globe amid claims she is prostituting herself, is being filmed throughout the process by an Australian crew for a documentary film called Virgins Wanted.
In response to critics she said: 'I saw this as a business. I have the opportunity to travel, to be part of a movie and get a bonus with it.
'If you only do it once in your life then you are not a prostitute, just like if you take one amazing photograph it does not automatically make you a photographer.
'The auction is just business, I'm a romantic girl at heart and believe in love. But this will make a big difference to my area,' she told Folha newspaper.
The Australian documentary will also feature Alex Stepanov, a 21-year-old Australian student, who sold his virginity for $3000 to a Brazilian woman called Nene B in an auction.
Catarina Migliorini signed up to the project two years ago when she saw an advert by Thomas Williams Productions.




The top 10 most embarrasing first date moments

Luke Pomaro




date getty creatvie 300x225 The top 10 most embarrasing first date moments
(GETTY CREATIVE)












The course of true love never runs smoothly. This certainly rings true if the recent survey by Date With A Mate is anything to go by. Members of the site were asked to share some of their dating disasters and the stats that suggest that first date nerves are common place and can lead to some embarrassing situations. Whilst getting food stuck in teeth or nervously spilling a drink where among the most common faux-pas, saying something inappropriate or even calling your new beau the wrong name featured highly, suggesting that one too many glasses of Chardonnay may have been consumed. Here are two experiences of first date disasters.
The female perspective…
I was struggling to find my date in the Tapas restaurant we were meeting in and I was about to hightail it back to the taxi rank, when I made eye contact with my date. He was sitting in the very corner of the bar, glass of red in hand and gave me the nod that it was he! I felt quite on edge, but it was too late to bail, particularly in my heels. So in I went.
We moved to our table, which thankfully was next to the bar and away from the masses, ideal for first date conversation. We ordered calamari, olives, king prawns and a salad to share. We were two glasses of Rioja down and my date decided white wine would be good with the meal. He then told me that he had had ‘bad guts’ for the past few days. He did look as if he was in a slightly cold sweat and I asked him if he felt fine. He said yes and drank another glass of wine. The food arrived and we relaxed into conversation about work when he suddenly said he needed to get some air.
The next thing I saw him hunched over the fire exit door at the side of the restaurant, vomiting. The restaurant doors swung open and my date returned, no mention of the ‘incident’, telling me that he felt a whole lot better. When we parted compant at the taxi rank and he leant in for a kiss but I dodged him and fell into the back seat. As far as I remember he never did have that mint and I know the saying goes “You’ve got to kiss a lot of frogs to find your prince” but I draw the line at sick breath.
The male perspective…
I’d arranged a first date which involved both sets of friends… what could possible go wrong? As planned, I met a few mates up in Covent Garden after work. As the years slip by, so does the alcohol tolerance. By 8pm we were well oiled and in good spirits. My internet date rang to confirm she was in another place around the corner with friends, so we all met up. After a couple of hours of decent banter we decided to head to a rather cheesy nightclub and from where I was standing, all was going swimmingly well.
However, we had been in the club no longer than an hour when a commotion broke out behind me as I chatted to one of her friends. As I looked down, I saw my date sprawled out on the floor. I asked the bar staff to alert the bouncers, as all of our now merged party tried to get a response from the clearly distressed young lady. She came round pretty quickly and with the help of the club doormen, we got her outside and into the fresh air. I sat her down on the pavement and asked if she was alright to which she replied through tears, rather angrily: “Why aren’t you showing me any attention?”
I had a fair idea what that episode was all about. “Did you just collapse to get attention?” I enquired. Then she started crying as if I’d just sacked her from a dream job. As most blokes will testify, we’re no good in situations like this. I felt sorry for her but to me the whole thing smacked of total insanity! The only stroke of luck was that her friends were on hand to make sure she got home safely. Most disturbingly, she sent a text the following day hoping I’d enjoyed the evening and we should do it again sometime.
The top 10 most embarrassing first date moments:
1. Got food stuck in teeth – 17%
2. Bumped into an ex -15%
3. Spilled a drink on date – 14%
4. Said something inappropriate/ offensive – 12%
5. Was stood up – 9%
6. Called date by the wrong name – 8%
7. Walked out of the toilet with flies down/dress tucked into underwear- 7%
8. Wardrobe malfunction – 4%
9. Saw parents whilst on the date- 3%
10. Fell asleep whilst on the date – 2%
For more information visit www.DateWithaMate.com
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Obama sends fresh shockwaves through election race with 'bullshitter' attack on Romney

 
DENVER, COLORADO
 
THURSDAY 25 OCTOBER 2012
President Barack Obama has taken his rhetorical attacks on Mitt Romney, his Republican challenger, to a new level, calling him a “bullshitter” in a still-to-be-published interview with Rolling Stone magazine.
The comment sent fresh shockwaves through the election race today as Mr Obama wound up a cross-country, 48-hour blitz through seven states.
The President savoured an unsolicited – if not totally unexpected – endorsement from General Colin Powell, a Republican who was Secretary of State to George W Bush.
For days, Mr Obama has been calling Mr Romney untrustworthy because of his sudden transition in the last laps of the campaign from a hard-right conservative to a moderate, giving birth to his “Romnesia” mantra. But the Rolling Stone remark, contained in a brief excerpt of the interview published by Politico, strips the varnish from that view.
It came when an executive editor of the magazine said his six-year-old had asked him to send luck to the President for his re-election. The extract concludes with this piece of reporting: “You know, kids have good instincts,” Obama offered. “They look at the other guy and say, ‘Well, that’s a bullshitter, I can tell’.”
A hoarse Mr Obama was also set tonight to become the first serving President to take part in early voting, casting his ballot in his home town of Chicago.
Getting supporters to take advantage of early voting laws in several swing states has become crucial to the President as he tries to hold on in a down-to-the-wire contest. A new Associated Press-GfK poll showed him trailing Mr Romney nationally by 45 per cent to 47 per cent.
The Obama campaign said it had had no early warning of the Powell endorsement. He telephoned the General to thank him. “We think it sends a strong signal about why he should be sent back for another four years to be commander in chief,” said Jen Psaki, a spokeswoman.
“I think we ought to keep on the track that we are on,” the Republican said on CBS television. He questioned Mr Romney both on his economic plan, arguing that his tax-cut proposals don’t work alongside his promise to cut the deficit, and his foreign policy credentials. “I’m not quite sure which Governor Romney we’d be getting with respect to foreign policy,” he said
 Oct. 23, 2012
Mitt Romney, a former private equity investor and governor of Massachusetts, secured the Republican presidential nomination on May 29, 2012, by winning a final batch of necessary delegates in the Texas primary. He was nominated on Aug. 28 as the Republican candidate for president at the party’s national convention in Tampa, Fla.
Having lost the Republican nomination to Senator John McCain in 2008, Mr. Romney had been campaigning steadily since then, raising money and building a formidable political operation. As the nominee, Mr. Romney is presenting himself as a ready-to-lead executive, seizing on the weak state of the economy as a central criticism of President Barack Obama.
With Mr. Romney’s selection of Paul D. Ryan as his running mate, his campaign shifted. The size and role of the federal government moved to the center of the debate. It was a choice intended to galvanize the Republican base and represented a clear tactical shift.
For Mr. Romney, the decision was one of the boldest moves of his presidential candidacy. It promised to energize conservatives, who had been eagerly lobbying for Mr. Ryan and who see his budget as the key to unlocking the economy’s potential for growth.
Throughout the campaign, Mr. Romney has been struggling to win the heart of an increasingly conservative party. Conservatives have never been drawn to Mr. Romney, who in Massachusetts supported abortion rights, and whose capstone achievement as governor there was the creation of a health care plan that to many Republicans looks distressingly similar to the federal law signed in 2010 by Mr. Obama.
In his convention speech in late August, Mr. Romney attempted to redefine the race around his business background, which the Democrats had spent the summer attacking. He delivered a pointed critique of Mr. Obama’s domestic and foreign policy, saying that he had “thrown Israel under the bus.”
Mr. Romney also used the speech to make a case for himself. He recalled his childhood in Michigan, talked about his Mormon faith and aimed a steady stream of messages at women.
But Mr. Romney’s central message was one that focused on the weak economic recovery and harked back to the 1980 campaign of Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter. “This president,’' Mr. Romney said, “cannot tell us that you are better off today than when he took office.”

Presidential Debates
During the month of October, Mr. Romney participated in three televised presidential debates against Mr. Obama. In the first one, on Oct. 3, the immediate reaction to the debate was a torrent of criticism directed at Mr. Obama, with Republicans, and as well as many Democrats, accusing him of delivering a flat, uninspired and defensive performance. The second debate, on Oct. 16, was strikingly different, as Mr. Obama pressed an attack that allowed him to often dictate the terms of the debate. But an unbowed Mr. Romney was there to meet him every time, and seemed to relish the opportunity to challenge a sitting president.
In the final round, on Oct. 22, focusing on foreign policy, Mr. Obama picked up where he left off in the second debate, going on the offense from the start, lacerating Mr. Romney for articulating a set of “wrong and reckless” policies that he called incoherent. While less aggressive, Mr. Romney pressed back, accusing the president of failing to assert American interests and values in the world to deal with a “rising tide of chaos.”  For more on the presidential debates, click here.
Campaign Thrown Off Balance
In September, a few weeks before the debates, the Romney campaign was thrown off balance, first by rioting in the Middle East incited by an anti-Islamic video, and then by the release of a video clip of Mr. Romney speaking at a high-end fundraiser.
The deadly attack on an American diplomatic post in Libya on Sept. 11 propelled foreign policy to the forefront of an otherwise inward-looking presidential campaign and presented an unexpected test not only to Mr. Obama, but also to Mr. Romney, whose response quickly came under fire

While President Obama dealt with the killings of Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans and deflected questions about his handling of the Arab world, Mr. Romney wasted little time going on the attack, accusing the president of apologizing for American values and appeasing Islamic extremists.
“They clearly sent mixed messages to the world,” Mr. Romney told reporters during a campaign swing through Florida.
But Mr. Romney came under withering criticism for distorting the chain of events overseas and appearing to seek political advantage from an attack that claimed American lives. A statement he personally approved characterized an appeal for religious tolerance issued by the American Embassy in Cairo as sympathy for the attackers even though the violence did not occur until hours after the embassy statement. Mr. Romney on Sept. 12 said the embassy statement, which was disavowed by the administration, was “akin to apology, and I think was a severe miscalculation.”
The harsh exchanges had their origins the night before as Mr. Romney’s team was following the increasingly volatile developments in the Middle East. The embassy statement, issued hours before protests in Cairo and the attack in Libya began, had tried to mollify Muslims upset at an American-made anti-Islam video. “We firmly reject the actions by those who abuse the universal right of free speech to hurt the religious beliefs of others,” the statement said.
For Mr. Romney, whose 2010 book, “No Apology,” assailed Mr. Obama for what he saw as trying to placate America’s enemies, the embassy statement rankled. When aides showed it to him, they said he reacted strongly to the notion of “hurt” religious feelings. In his mind, they said, the Obama administration was aligning itself with those who would do harm to the United States. Already on the defensive for not mentioning Afghanistan in his convention speech and losing some ground in recent polls, Mr. Romney saw an opportunity to draw a stark contrast.
On Sept. 13, Mr. Romney sought to move beyond his criticism of President Obama’s response to the turmoil in Libya and Egypt and instead broadly paint the president as weak on foreign policy. At a rally in Northern Virginia, he criticized Mr. Obama for imposing cuts on the military budget, saying, “As we watch the world today, sometimes it seems that we’re at the mercy of events, instead of shaping events, and a strong America is essential to shape events. And a strong America, by the way, depends on a strong military.” 

Leaked Video Shows Blunt Talk
Just a few days later, Mr. Romney faced an escalating torrent of criticism over a video that surfaced of him at a fundraiser. Speaking to a group of wealthy donors, Mr. Romney described almost half of Americans as “people who pay no income tax” and are “dependent upon government.” Those voters, he said, would probably support  President Obama because they believe they are “victims” who are “entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it.”
In a brief and hastily called news conference the night of Sept. 17, Mr. Romney acknowledged having made the blunt political and cultural assessment, saying it was “not elegantly stated,” but he stood by the substance of the remarks, insisting that he had made similar observations in public without generating controversy.
Democrats quickly condemned the remarks as insensitive, and Mr. Obama’s campaign accused Mr. Romney of having “disdainfully written off half the nation.”
The video surfaced as Mr. Romney sought to restart his campaign with new ads and new messaging, in response to calls in his campaign and from outside for him to be more specific about how his policies would fix the nation’s economy and help the middle class.
Once again, the video raised the possibility that Mr. Romney’s campaign would be sidetracked, with attention focused on his proposed tax cuts for the wealthy, the release of his personal tax returns and his ability to connect with middle-class voters. With its unvarnished language, the video seemed to undermine what aides have argued is an enduring attribute that would appeal to independent voters: a sense that Mr. Romney is, at base, an empathetic and caring man.
In the video, Mr. Romney also discussed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with the wealthy donors, telling them that resolving the conflict between the warring neighbors is unlikely to happen. “We sort of live with it, and we kick the ball down the field and hope that ultimately, somehow, something will happen and resolve it,” Mr. Romney said.
Snippets of the video were posted online Sept. 17 by Mother Jones, a liberal magazine, which said it had obtained the recording and had confirmed its authenticity. The author of the Mother Jones article, David Corn, said on MSNBC that the video was shot on May 17 at the Boca Raton, Fla., home of Marc Leder, a financier, who held a $50,000-a-person fund-raiser for Mr. Romney that night.
Addressing the video in the news conference, Mr. Romney said his comments about America aimed to answer “a question about direction for the country: Do you believe in a government-centered society that provides more and more benefits? Or do you believe instead in a free-enterprise society where people are able to pursue their dreams?”

Background
Willard Mitt Romney’s father was George W. Romney, an automobile executive and moderate Republican who was governor of Michigan before losing a presidential bid in 1968.
Mr. Romney and his family are devout Mormons — Mr. Romney spent two years working as a missionary in France. His family is a cornerstone of his political image, and Ann, his wife of 39 years, and five adult sons were fixtures at his campaign stops in 2008. His wife received a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis in 1998.
After earning both law and business degrees at Harvard, Mr. Romney went into corporate consulting. At the leveraged buyout firm Bain Capital, he developed a reputation as someone who could turn failing companies into profitable enterprises – a skill that helped him amass his fortune, but has also brought questions about job cuts and investments that fared poorly.
He reinforced his image of competence by stepping in to help manage the 2000 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, which had been plagued by budget shortfalls and accusations of scandal.
Mr. Romney’s political fortunes have been mixed, but no one can accuse him of choosing easy races. He ran against Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts in 1994 (a race he lost) and for governor of the state in 2002 (a race he won). Indeed, those early campaigns would compromise his efforts to win the Republican primary in 2008. After taking moderate stances on issues including gay rights and abortion, (he said he experienced a “conversion” on the issue in 2004 and now opposes abortion rights), some conservatives are skeptical of his convictions, as well as of his Mormon faith.
Twin Crises Show How Romney Reacts to Challenges
One element that has been conspicuously missing from the Romney campaign is a crisis narrative — the kind of biographical story of overcoming hardship that other politicians have used to define themselves and inspire other Americans.
It is not that a crisis narrative does not exist. In 1968, Mr. Romney, then a Mormon missionary in France, was at the wheel of a tiny Citroën, cruising along a country road, when a Mercedes rounded a curve and crashed into his car, head on. One of his passengers — the wife of the French mission president — was killed. Mr. Romney, by all accounts not at fault, was knocked unconscious and mistakenly pronounced dead at the scene.
Thirty years later, in 1998, at the height of Mr. Romney’s high-flying career as a private equity executive, his wife, Ann, was not well. She was exhausted, and having difficulty walking; her right foot was dragging. When a neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital arrived at a diagnosis — multiple sclerosis — the couple “just held each other in their arms,” their son Josh said, “and just cried.”
These are dark moments — bookends of sorts — in what otherwise has seemed a charmed existence. Both offer clues into Mr. Romney’s character, and the way he reacts to challenges. He is both forward-looking and inward-looking, practical and deeply private, with a consultant’s instinct for identifying solutions even in the most personally trying times.
After the shock of Ann Romney’s diagnosis, he immersed himself in research about multiple sclerosis. He read scientific papers and called medical experts. And he began focusing on practical ways he might make his wife’s life easier. He contemplated installing an elevator in their home and moved the master bedroom downstairs.
After the car crash in France, Mr. Romney returned to his mission duties with a broken arm and renewed zeal; along with another 21-year-old, he was left in charge of the mission. In an early hint of his executive abilities, he concentrated on motivating his peers to win more converts.
Dogged by Record in Massachusetts
During his single term in the governor’s mansion, Mr. Romney was a vocal opponent of the Massachusetts Supreme Court’s ruling allowing gay marriage, and he also presided over the passage of the state’s mandatory health care coverage law.
More even than his faith and his social-conservative credentials, questions about the health insurance plan he signed into law in Massachusetts have left him open to criticism from his party. And the White House has joined in, showering unhelpful praise on the plan, which, like the federal law, includes a mandate for residents to carry insurance.
In a speech in Ann Arbor, Mich., and in an article in USA Today on May 12, 2011, Mr. Romney proposed a state-by-state solution to health care combined with federal action that would cap medical malpractice awards, allow insurance to be sold across state lines and use the tax code to subsidize the purchase of health insurance. He defended his decision to insist on a mandate that all citizens buy insurance or face penalties as ensuring that they take personal responsibility for the costs of their own care rather than passing it on to taxpayers by showing up at emergency rooms that have to treat them by law.
Mr. Romney said that as president, he would advocate a different approach for the nation. He laid out an approach that resembled past Republican plans, including those proposed by former President George W. Bush in his second term. It includes providing tax breaks to individuals who buy insurance on their own, resembling those that benefit people who buy it through their employers; limiting the amounts of some damages in malpractice suits; and financingMedicaid through block grants to the states.

Romney’s Economic Plan
In September 2011, Mr. Romney offered a detailed economic proposal that included repealing President Obama’s health care law, cutting the corporate tax rate, placing sanctions on China as a currency manipulator and immediately reducing taxes on savings and investment by the middle class — and promised to push many of these policies on his first day in the Oval Office.
In the plan, whose stated goal is to “restore America to the path of robust economic growth necessary to create jobs,” he promised to immediately cut the corporate income tax rate, currently topping out at 35 percent, to 25 percent. Although he did not outline any specific proposals for closing loopholes or otherwise simplifying the tax code, he also promised to make permanent the tax cuts on individuals enacted under President George W. Bush and to eliminate taxes on dividends, interest and capital gains for anyone making less than $200,000 a year.
In an effort to stimulate American exports, Mr. Romney said he would push free-trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea, as well as officially place sanctions on China for keeping its currency artificially low, a move that makes Chinese imports cheap to American consumers and has led to trade imbalances.
Mr. Romney also vowed to make it easier for American companies to drill for oil in the United States and to cut federal discretionary spending on anything other than security measures by 5 percent — or $20 billion. He said he would consolidate government training programs and order that any new regulations add no new costs to the economy.
The plan was criticized by Democrats, who said it would require deep cuts in non-defense discretionary spending while lowering taxes sharply for the rich.
In the fall, a wide range of economists, including some conservatives, say that it would be impossible to raise enough money from closing loopholes to cover the lost revenue from rate cuts without raising taxes on the middle class. Democrats, including President Obama, seized on one study that put that cost at $2,000 per middle class household.
Mr. Romney has said that it is “just not true” that he would raise taxes on middle-income earners, with his campaign hitting the Obama campaign for playing “class warfare.” But it is simply not clear how the Romney campaign would fill the holes.

A Drawn-Out Slog for Delegates
Where Mr. Romney had hoped to drive his opponents out and quickly claim the mantle of the “inevitable” nominee, he instead found himself in a drawn-out slog for delegates.

Mr. Romney was initially described as the winner of the Iowa caucuses, but a recount handed the win to Rick Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator who was increasingly gaining conservative support. Mr. Romney won handily in New Hampshire, then was beaten in South Carolina by Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House.
After a bitter and highly negative contest in Florida, in which the Republican establishment almost desperately rallied around him, Mr. Romney emerged the winner and appeared to regain his frontrunner status. But two weeks later, Mr. Santorum swept the Minnesota and Colorado caucuses and won a nonbinding primary in Missouri.
In Michigan, Mr. Romney narrowly carried his native state, while fending off a vigorous challenge from Mr. Santorum. He also won the Arizona primary.
On Super Tuesday, Mr. Romney pulled off a narrow victory in Ohiobut lost several other states to Mr. Santorum, a split verdict that overshadowed Mr. Romney’s claim of collecting the most delegates and all but ensured another round of intense infighting on the road to the nomination.
When Mr. Romney came in third in Alabama and Mississippi, in the heart of the party’s Southern base, in mid-March, it appeared that conservative opposition to his candidacy was coalescing around Mr. Santorum. But a sweep by Mr. Romney of primaries in Wisconsin, Maryland and the District of Columbia on one night in early April gave a clear sense that he was tightening his grip on the nomination. When Mr. Santorum suspended his campaign on April 10, Mr. Romney’s nomination was essentially assured. He formally secured the delegates needed in the Texas primary in late May.
After that, Mr. Romney sought to step up his attack on Mr. Obama’s handling of the economy, while softening his tone on some issues like immigration. The Supreme Court’s decision in June to uphold Mr. Obama’s health care law gave the president a victory, but also gave Mr. Romney a chance to fire up the Republican base by vowing to repeal it.
Summer Challenges for the Campaign
Heading into the summer, Mr. Romney’s highly disciplined campaign was thrown uncharacteristically off-balance by attacks against his record at the private equity firm he co-founded, Bain Capital.
In June 2012, President Obama gleefully went after Mr. Romney and Bain Capital, declaring that “we do not need an outsourcing pioneer in the Oval Office.” The president was citing an article inThe Washington Post reporting that Bain had invested in companies that specialized in the practice of relocating American jobs to low-wage nations like China and India.
Mr. Romney’s campaign questioned that article, saying that when those investments occurred, Mr. Romney had left Bain in 1999 to run the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. But that defense led to a new round of charges, when news reports focused on dozens of federal filings between 1999 and 2001 in which Mr. Romney had described himself as the owner or chief executive of the firm.
In July 2012, Mr. Romney made a highly anticipated overseas trip, the centerpiece of which was a visit to Israel. He offered a strong defense of Israel’s right to protect itself against the threat of a nuclear Iran.
While he was there, Mr. Romney found himself on the defensivewith Palestinian leaders after making comments suggesting that cultural differences were the reasons that Israelis were so much more economically successful than the Palestinians. He did not mention the impact that deep trade restrictions imposed by the Israeli government have had on the Palestinian economy. He also vastly understated the income disparities between the two groups.
The summer also saw Mr. Romney under pressure to release more of his tax returns. Mr. Romney released his full return for the 2010 tax year and a short summary of taxes he paid in 2011. He claims that every year, he has paid at least 13 percent, referring to his effective federal income tax rate. Mr. Romney’s fortune is estimated at $250 million.

Ryan a Bold But Risky Choice for V.P.
On Aug. 11, Mr. Romney introduced Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin as his running mate at a campaign rally, bringing to his side one of the party’s young conservative leaders in a move that altered the contours of the campaign and sharpened the choice facing the voters in November.
The selection of Mr. Ryan, the chief architect of the Republican Party’s plan for tax and spending cuts and an advocate of reshaping the Medicare program of health insurance for retirees, was an effort to reset the race with President Obama after a withering assault on Mr. Romney by Democrats.
The decision instantly made the campaign seem bigger and more consequential, with the size and role of the federal government squarely at the center of the debate. It was a choice intended to galvanize the Republican base and represented a clear tactical shift by Mr. Romney, who until that point had been singularly focused on weak job growth since Mr. Obama took office.
For Mr. Romney, the decision was one of the boldest moves of his presidential candidacy, which had been guided by a do-no-harm strategy. It promised to energize conservatives, who had been eagerly lobbying for Mr. Ryan and who see his budget as the key to unlocking the economy’s potential for growth.
Mr. Obama’s campaign and the Democratic Party seized on the choice and sought to define the Republican ticket in stark terms, as two men who would strip health coverage for retirees and favor the wealthy.
A Party Convention That Did Not Follow the Script
On Aug. 28, Mr. Romney was nominated as the Republican candidate for president at the party’s national convention in Tampa, Fla.
The 4,400 delegates nominated Mr. Romney just six hours after he arrived in Tampa and just as Hurricane Isaac was getting ready to strike the Gulf Coast.
The Republican National Convention did not play out according to the script written by Mr. Romney’s advisers. The storm scrambled the convention schedule, while grass-root elements of the party loudly expressed their disapproval on the convention floor, threatening the images of a party united.
Mr. Romney’s supporters passed new rules governing future primaries over the loud boos of Ron Paul supporters and other conservative activists who had objected to what they said was a power grab by the party’s establishment leaders.
The vote to approve the rules came after aides to Mr. Romney said they had reached a compromise with conservative activists who had rebelled against efforts by the Republican establishment to make it harder for candidates outside the mainstream to collect national delegates at the next convention.
More on the Presidential Debates
During the month of October, Mr. Romney participated in three televised presidential debates against Mr. Obama.
After the first debate, on Oct. 3, the immediate reaction was a torrent of criticism directed at Mr. Obama, with Republicans, and as well as many Democrats, accusing him of delivering a flat, uninspired and defensive performance.
But the second debate, on Oct. 16, was strikingly different. The two men engaged in an intensive clash, with tensions between them spilling out in interruptions, personal rebukes and accusations of lying as they parried over the last four years under Mr. Obama and what the next four would look like under a President Romney. Mr. Obama’s broadsides started with a critique of Mr. Romney for his opposition to his administration’s automobile bailout in his first answer and ended more than 90 minutes later with an attack on Mr. Romney’s secretly taped comments about the “47 percent” of Americans who he said did not take responsibility for their own lives. But an unbowed Mr. Romney was there to meet him every time, and seemed to relish the opportunity to challenge a sitting president.
In the final round, on Oct. 22, which focused on foreign policy, Mr. Obama picked up where he left off in the second debate, going on the offense from the start, lacerating Mr. Romney for articulating a set of “wrong and reckless” policies that he called incoherent. Issues ranged from turmoil in the Middle East to a resurgent Russia to an emerging China. While less aggressive, Mr. Romney pressed back, accusing the president of failing to assert American interests and values in the world to deal with a “rising tide of chaos.” Topics ranged from turmoil in the Middle East to a resurgent Russia to an emerging China. But for all its fireworks, the third debate broke little new ground and underscored that the differences between the two men on foreign policy rest more on tone, style and their sense of leadership than on particular policies. 

For more on the presidential debates, click here.


Oct. 22: Third presidential debate
Main article: President Obama and Mitt Romney wrapped up a series of defining debates with a bristling exchange over America’s place in the world as each sought to portray the other as an unreliable commander in chief in a dangerous era.
Picking up where he left off in the previous debate, Mr. Obama went on offense from the start, lacerating his challenger for articulating a set of “wrong and reckless” policies that he called incoherent. While less aggressive, Mr. Romney pressed back, accusing the president of failing to assert American interests and values in the world to deal with a “rising tide of chaos.”
For all its fireworks, the debate broke little new ground and underscored that the differences between the two men on foreign policy rest more on tone, style and their sense of leadership than on particular policies. Mr. Obama and Mr. Romney seemed to align on matters like withdrawal from Afghanistan, the perils of intervening in Syria and the use of drones to battle terrorists. To read the full article, click here.
News Analysis: Mr. Romney tried to reassure a war-weary public that he would avoid new conflicts, but he had a hard time explaining how he would act differently from Mr. Obama. To read the full article, click here. Also, the debate on foreign policy presented a skewed vision of the world, even the world defined by American national interests. For the article, click here.
TV Watch: The final debate featured an odd role reversal: Mitt Romney seemed to be on the defensive, and President Obama almost sounded like a Republican hard-liner. For the full article, click here.
Other coverage:
Full video: Interactive replay of the final debate, using fact-checks and graphics to take a closer look at attacks and assertions. Clickhere.
For all fact checks, click here.
For a complete transcript, click here. 
Oct. 16: Second presidential debate
Main article: President Obama and Mitt Romney engaged in one of the most intensive clashes in a televised presidential debate, with tensions between them spilling out in interruptions, personal rebukes and accusations of lying as they parried over the last four years under Mr. Obama and what the next four would look like under a President Romney.
Competing for a shrinking sliver of undecided voters, many of them women, their engagements at times bordered on physical as they circled each other or bounded out of their seats while the other was speaking, at times more intent to argue than to address the questions over jobs, taxes, energy, immigration and a range of other issues.
Mr. Obama, criticized by his own party for a lackluster debate performance two weeks ago, this time pressed an attack that allowed him to often dictate the terms of the debate. But an unbowed Mr. Romney was there to meet him every time, and seemed to relish the opportunity to challenge a sitting president. To read the full article, click here.
News analysisPresident Obama, who concluded that he was “too polite” in his first debate with Mitt Romney, made sure no one would say that after their second. He interrupted, he scolded, he filibustered, he shook his head. For the full article, click here.
TV watch: They didn’t seem to feel people’s pain; they mostly tried to wound each other. At their town hall debate on Tuesday night at Hofstra University, President Obama and Mitt Romney circled around each other like tomcats in an alley, at one point doing a little dance of dominance as they clashed over energy policy. For the full article, click here.
Other coverage
For an interactive replay of the second debate, using fact-checks and graphics to take a closer look at attacks and assertions by President Obama and Mitt Romney, click here.
For fact checks of key points, click here.
For a full transcript, click here.
Oct. 11: Vice presidential debate
Main article: Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Representative Paul D. Ryan fiercely quarreled at the one vice-presidential debate, with Mr. Biden using the cutting attack lines against the Republican ticket that President Obama did not and Mr. Ryan delivering a spirited case for conservative policies that Mitt Romney had soft-pedaled.
The 90-minute debate, which unfolded in rapid tempo, offered a spirited airing of the sharp contrasts over the administration’s handling of the terrorist attack in Libya, the pace of the economic recovery at home and the role of government in addressing the nation’s fiscal burdens. For the full article, click here.
News analysis: It was the Young Gun against the Old Hand, the reformer ready to turn the page on an aging social compact that dates to the New Deal jousting with the veteran — alive for much of that compact’s construction — defending the tried and true. For the full article, click here.
TV watch: For Mr. Biden especially, the night was his chance to relive past debates and unleash his inner barroom brawler. For the complete article, click here.

Other coverage

For an interactive replay of the presidential debate, using fact checks and graphics to take a closer look at attacks and assertions by Mr. Biden and Mr. Ryan, click here.
For a video presentation of the debate highlights, click here.
For fact checks, click here.
For a complete video of the debate, click here. For a complete transcript, click here.
Oct. 3: First presidential debate
Main article: In the first of three presidential debates, Mitt Romney accused President Obama of failing to lead the country out of the deepest economic downturn since the Great Depression, using the forum to invigorate his candidacy by presenting himself as an equal who can solve problems Mr. Obama has been unable to. The president implored Americans to be patient and argued that his policies needed more time to work, warning that changing course would wipe away the economic progress the country is steadily making. The two quarreled aggressively over tax policy, the budget deficit and the role of government, with each man accusing the other of being evasive and misleading voters. For the full article, click here.
Other coverage
News analysis: Somewhere in the wonky blizzard of facts, statistics and studies thrown out on stage was a fundamental philosophical choice about the future of America, quite possibly the starkest in nearly three decades.
An interactive replay of the presidential debate, using fact checks and graphics to take a closer look at President Obama and Mitt Romney’s assertions and attacks.
More fact checks on the debate, looking at assertions on health care, the deficit, green jobs, oil subsidies and more.
The TV watch: It was death by a thousand smiles.
Instant reaction polls show a strong performance by Mr. Romney.
Updates and analysis from during and after the debate.
For a full transcript, click here. For a full video, click here.
Body language — a visual analysis of the candidates’ styles.


Obama and Romney, in First Debate, Spar Over Fixing the Economy

Matthew Staver for The New York Times
Mitt Romney and President Obama shaking hands before challenging each other on a number of domestic policy issues in their first debate. More Photos »
By JEFF ZELENY and JIM RUTENBERG
Published: October 3, 2012 










Obama and Romney, in First Debate, Spar Over Fixing the Economy






Matthew Staver for The New York Times

Mitt Romney
 and
President Obama
shaking hands before challenging each other on a number of domestic policy issues in their first debate. More Photos »

By JEFF ZELENY and JIM RUTENBERG

Published: October 3, 2012 

 


DENVER — Mitt Romney on Wednesday accused President Obamaof failing to lead the country out of the deepest economic downturn since the Great Depression, using the first presidential debate to invigorate his candidacy by presenting himself as an equal who can solve problems Mr. Obama has been unable to.

The president implored Americans to be patient and argued that his policies needed more time to work, warning that changing course would wipe away the economic progress the country is steadily making. The two quarreled aggressively over tax policy, the budget deficit and the role of government, with each man accusing the other of being evasive and misleading voters.

But for all of the anticipation, and with less than five weeks remaining until Election Day, the 90-minute debate unfolded much like a seminar by a business consultant and a college professor. Both men argued that their policies would improve the lives of the middle class, but their discussion often dipped deep into the weeds, and they talked over each other without connecting their ideas to voters.

If Mr. Romney’s goal was to show that he could project equal stature to the president, he succeeded, perhaps offering his campaign the lift that Republicans have been seeking. Mr. Obama often stopped short of challenging his rival’s specific policies and chose not to invoke some of the same arguments that his campaign has been making against Mr. Romney for months.

At one point, Mr. Romney offered an admonishment, saying, “Mr. President, you’re entitled, as the president, to your own airplane and to your own house, but not to your own facts, all right?” He forcefully engaged Mr. Obama throughout the night, while the president often looked down at his lectern and took notes.

A boisterous campaign, which has played out through dueling rallies and an endless stream of television commercials, took a sober turn as the candidates stood at facing lecterns for the first time. Mr. Obama, who has appeared to take command of the race in most battleground states, seemed to adopt an air of caution throughout the evening that left some of his liberal supporters disappointed in his performance.

“Are we going to double down on the top-down economic policies that helped to get us into this mess,” he said, “or do we embrace a new economic patriotism that says, ‘America does best when the middle class does best’ “?

For much of the debate, the candidates commandeered the stage, taking control away from the moderator, Jim Lehrer of PBS, as they kept trying to rebut one other. At times, the moderator seemed as if he had walked off the stage, a result of new rules that were intended to allow for a deeper and more freewheeling discussion.

On a basic level it was a clash of two ideologies, the president’s Democratic vision of government playing a supporting role in spurring economic growth, and Mr. Romney’s Republican vision that government should get out of the way of businesses that know best how to create jobs.

Mr. Romney sought to use his moment before a prime-time audience of tens of millions to escape the corner Mr. Obama and his allies have painted him into, depicting him as an uncompromising adherent to policies that have been tried before. He instead turned the focus on his opponent’s record.

“You’ve been president four years. You’ve been president four years,” Mr. Romney said at one point. He ticked through a list of promises he said Mr. Obama had not lived up to, and said, “Middle-income families are being crushed.”

Neither candidate delivered that knockout blow or devastating line that each side was hoping for. Still, style points went to Mr. Romney, who continually and methodically pressed his critique of Mr. Obama. The president at times acted more as if he were addressing reporters in the Rose Garden than beating back a challenger intent on taking his job.

Throughout the evening, Mr. Romney escaped Mr. Obama’s attempts to pin him down on which deductions he would eliminate in his tax proposals.

“At some point,” Mr. Obama said, “the American people have to ask themselves: Is the reason Governor Romney is keeping all these plans secret, is it because they’re going to be too good? Because middle-class families benefit too much? No.”Mr. Obama criticized Mr. Romney for his answer to a primary debate question last year in which he joined his fellow Republicans in saying he would not accept a budget deal allowing $1 of tax increases for every $10 in spending cuts. “Now, if you take such an unbalanced approach,” Mr. Obama said, “then that means you are going to be gutting our investments in schools and education.”

Mr. Romney said his position on the tax-for-revenue deal was because of the state of the economy, not necessarily ideology. “I’m not going to raise taxes on anyone because when the economy’s growing slow like this, when we’re in recession, you shouldn’t raise taxes on anyone,” he said.

He said his proposals were unlike those of other Republicans because he was combining tax reform with lowered tax rates. “My plan is not like anything that’s been tried before,” he said. He said he would not support any tax cuts that added to the deficit, in other words, that were not paid for.

The debate, held at Magness Arena on the campus of the University of Denver, was the first of three face-to-face encounters between Mr. Obama and Mr. Romney. It took place even as voters across the country were already casting early ballots.

All year Democrats have been waiting for Mr. Romney to make a more overt appeal to the sort of moderate voters he needs to win over by highlighting the more centrist positions from his years as Massachusetts governor. And on Wednesday he seemed to highlight his record in ways he had yet to do.

Even as he repeated his plans to repeal the president’s health care plan, he happily embraced the plan he pushed into law in Massachusetts — the basis for the president’s — that is anathema to many in his party.

“I like the way we did it in Massachusetts,” Mr. Romney said of his health plan. “We had Republicans and Democrats come together and work together.”

But an argument for bipartisanship animated much of Mr. Romney’s message through the night. He said he had worked with Democratic legislators in Massachusetts. And he said that he would do the same thing on his first day in the Oval Office.

The claim drew one of Mr. Obama’s sharpest retorts of the night. “I think Governor Romney’s going to have a busy first day,” he said, “because he’s also going to repeal ‘Obamacare,’ which will not be very popular among Democrats as you’re sitting down with them.”

Mr. Romney pressed Mr. Obama on a provision of his health care overhaul that cut $716 billion from the growth in Medicare, saying that by cutting fees paid to providers it was certain to affect treatment. And he emphasized that his plans for Medicare would not affect current beneficiaries or people close to entering the system.

But Mr. Obama interjected, saying that if “you’re 54 or 55, you might want to listen because this will affect you.” He said that Mr. Romney’s plans to offer subsidies for private insurance would mean “the traditional Medicare system will collapse.”

The discussion between the candidates often unfolded in a staccato of statistics, making it difficult to follow. The candidates quarreled over subsidies for the oil industry, Medicare cuts, taxes and government spending.

In the opening half of the debate, Mr. Obama sought to link Mr. Romney to former President George W. Bush. For his part, Mr. Obama sought to link himself to the economic policies of former President Bill Clinton.

Mr. Romney pushed back against Democrats arguments that he is proposing a form of “trickle-down” economics that would benefit the rich and hurt the middle class. He accused Mr. Obama of proposing “trickle-down government.”

“We know the path that we’re taking isn’t working, and it’s time for a new path,” Mr. Romney said.

Both campaigns acknowledged that the race is close enough that the first debate could reorder a contest that has recently appeared to be tilting in Mr. Obama’s favor, in spite of continued economic hardship throughout the nation and a slower recovery than he promised four years ago. The candidates meet for their second debate on Oct. 16 in New York.

While acrimony has deepened between the rivals, the men smiled broadly as they strode briskly onto the stage Wednesday night and exchanged a hand shake that lingered for several seconds. The president opened his remarks by wishing his wife a happy 20th anniversary and offered her a promise: “A year from now, we will not be celebrating it in front of 40 million people.”

Mr. Romney congratulated Mr. Obama and drew laughter from the crowd when he joked: “I’m sure this was the most romantic place you could imagine — here with me.”


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