There are close to 400,000 registered Latino voters in the state, up 23 percent from four years ago, according to the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO). There are a similar number of Mormons living in Arizona, though the community has a longer and more established history of voter turnout. And this year, observers say, Republicans are counting on their vote. 

Only three weeks ago, the president spoke at a high school in the heart of the Latino part of town. The hugely popular Mexican rock band Maná also played. More than 11,000 people showed up, some waiting five hours in the near 100-degree heat to get in. Mitt Romney won’t be able to match that enthusiasm among Nevada’s Latinos. But David Damore at UNLV says if Romney can peel away just 10 percent of Hispanic voters, that could make the difference in who wins Nevada. 

Some experts are calling it a tie, while snap polls anoint President Obama as the winner. But the more accurate reading of the second presidential debate is to say simply: Mitt Romney lost. Yes, Obama was “much improved” as one CNN pundit put it, but his re-energised avatar would have been less impressive without Romney’s help. The former governor of Massachusetts committed five key unforced errors that determined the outcome of the debate, each revealing a different (and un-electable) Mitt Romney.

As the vice presidential debate’s referee, Martha Raddatz of ABC News is getting high marks almost all around for regaining a modicum of respect for the media, following Jim Lehrer’s limpid performance in the first presidential debate. What’s being widely missed by the ringside scorekeepers, however, is that while Raddatz is getting a pass for dwelling too much on foreign policy — after all, her colleagues allow, she is a foreign correspondent -- she badly flubbed the portion of the debate devoted to entitlement programs.

We've heard a million complaints that the president needs to get "tougher," that his style is too laid-back for him to fight aggressively enough with opponents. He clearly prefers substantive dialogue to fighting, which can be admirable in a leader, but the kiss of death to a candidate. Previously I have defended his style, but not anymore. In the debate the president came across as someone in a heavyweight fight who was being sucker-punched repeatedly but refused to respond in kind. 

Because of the uncertainty of which way it will go, Virginia is considered a critical battleground state among others, including Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, New Hampshire, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Despite concerns, those at the rally did not lack enthusiasm. Amy Rivera, who waited in line since 9 a.m. to make it to the rally, said Romney’s “47 percent” stance only further confirmed her suspicions. “He’s completely out of touch with what the people want.”

In May 2012, minority newborns began to outnumber their white counterparts in the US. But even with an African American president and huge growth of minority populations, why is it minorities are still far from exercising the full potential of their political power as voters? Voter turnout numbers are relatively low because of: 1) immigrants who are eligible for naturalization but don’t become citizens; 2) citizens who don’t register to vote; and 3) registered voters who don’t vote.

When the first presidential debate was televised in September of 1960, Americans chose Jack Kennedy over the more knowledgeable Richard Nixon mainly because Nixon's upper lip was sweaty and Kennedy looked gold-dusted in an expensive suit and he seemed serene. (Kennedy wore make-up; Nixon refused it.) Presidential debates, ever since then, have been about who "looks" more presidential or makes the snappier zinger or doesn't look bored (by glancing at his watch). 

Escape Fire, which opens October 5, 2012, is constructed on three-levels: the human element, the problems with healthcare and the examination of the solutions for providing world-class, cost-efficient healthcare. While a work of nonfiction, the message and narrative pace suffers to some degree without an impact singular villain-- no Roger for Michael Moore to badger, no McDonald’s dollar menu to clog Morgan Spurlock’s arteries or usurpers to the King of Kong throne. Only the mass poor decisions of nutritional diet, antiquated training of medical students and a system that is more profitable if the U.S. general population is in need of constant medicinal treatment. 

Aside from Mitt Romney's recent jab at Barack Obama's concern over global warming—and the president's tit-for-tat response—climate change has been largely under the radar in the campaign. But several groups, backed by hundreds of thousands of petitions, are trying to change that, at least for one night. Nine environmental organizations Friday delivered more than 160,000 petitions to Jim Lehrer urging him to ask a question about climate change during Wednesday's first presidential debate.