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Obama advisors counting on a weakened Romney BY DAN BALZ
Washington Post Service
CHICAGO — U.S. President Barack Obama’s political advisors have long been preparing for a generalelection contest against Republican Mitt Romney. What they have seen of the former Massachusetts governor in the past 30 days makes them think he will enter a fall campaign, if he survives a turbulent nomination battle, significantly weakened by self-inflicted wounds and a major strategic mistake. That assessment in no way changes the view from the sixth floor of the Prudential Building here that the president faces major challenges in his bid for a second term. Continuing economic uncertainties, general unrest among the electorate, frustration with the pace of the recovery and the reluctance of independent voters to embrace the president constitute the stiff head winds that Obama and his team are facing. The gap between what the president promised and the expectations he created in 2008 and his record of delivering will be at the heart of the Republican argument that he does not deserve a second term. But the chaotic Republican race, and the way Romney has dealt with vulnerability and adversity, give those guiding the president’s reelection campaign confidence that, when the general-election campaign begins, the president will hold several advantages over the GOP nominee. What has happened to Romney over the past month has not come as a total surprise to Obama advisors. Having long ago combed his record as a businessman and cast his profile against the general mood of the country, they thought he was a candidate with major weaknesses that could make it difficult for him to appeal to independent and swing voters. At the heart of those perceptions is Romney’s tenure at Bain Capital, a private equity firm where he made his fortune. His record there has come under attack in the Republican race, although his advisors say it is a major asset because of the contrast he could draw with the president, who has no real experience in business or with the private economy. Obama advisors disagree. They argue that, at a time when many U.S. citizens see economic and political systems that appear to be stacked against them, Romney’s decision to base his campaign message on his work at a private equity firm could be a major mistake. • TURN TO CAMPAIGN, 2A
INTERNATIONAL EDITION
Ahmadinejad says Iran ready for nuclear talks TEHRAN — (AP) — Iran is ready to revive talks with the world powers, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Thursday, as toughening sanctions aim at forcing Tehran to sharply scale back its nuclear program. Even so, he insisted the pressures will not force Iran to give up its demands, including to continue enriching uranium, that led to the collapse of dialogue last year. The United States and its allies want Iran to halt making nuclear fuel, which they worry could
Bloomberg News
CARACAS — A photograph of Hugo Chavez’s 14-year-old daughter flaunting a fistful of dollar bills is stirring controversy among Venezuelans angered over her
ROSINES CHAVEZ
GEITHNER SAYS OBAMA WON’T ASK HIM TO REMAIN PAST FIRST TERM, 5A
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eventually lead to weapons-grade material and the production of nuclear weapons. Iran says its program is for peaceful purposes — generating electricity and producing medical radioisotopes to treat cancer patients. The 27-member European Union imposed an oil embargo against Iran on Monday, part of sanctions to pressure Tehran into resuming talks on the country’s nuclear program. It follows U.S. action also aimed at limiting Iran’s
ability to sell oil, which accounts for 80 percent of its foreign revenue. No date is set for the possible resumption of talks between Iran and the five permanent U.N. Security Council members plus Germany. Negotiations ended in stalemate in January 2011, and Iran later rejected a plan to send its stockpile of low-enriched uranium abroad in exchange for reactor-ready fuel rods. Iran had previously indicated that it is ready for a new round of talks. Ahmadinejad is the highest-
ranking official to make the offer. He accused the West of trying to scuttle negotiations as a way to further squeeze Iran. “It is you who come up with excuses each time and issue resolutions on the verge of talks so that negotiations collapse,” Ahmadinejad said in a speech in Kerman in southeastern Iran. “Why should we shun talks? Why and how should a party that has logic and is right shun talks? • TURN TO IRAN, 2A
PHOTOS BY DOLORES OCHOA/AP
Supporters of Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa wave flags with his image at a rally in Quito. Assailed by human rights, press freedom and business groups, Correa remains popular among millions for programs that have improved their quality of life.
POPULAR POPULIST PUBLIC SPENDING FUELS SUPPORT FOR ECUADOR’S PRESIDENT BY GONZALO SOLANO Associated Press
QUITO — Amparo Martinez’s universe is two small, tidy rooms in a poor Quito neighborhood that she shares with her 83-yearold mother and a severely handicapped daughter. Her predicament makes holding a job impossible, so the three depend on a $240-a-month government stipend introduced by Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa under a program for the disabled. Martinez adores Correa. “I hope he’s reelected many times,” she says. Correa is regularly assailed by human rights, press freedom and business groups as intemperate, autocratic and intolerant of dis-
Photo of Chavez’s daughter angers Venezuelans BY CORINA RODRIGUEZ PONS AND CHARLIE DEVEREUX
FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 2012
109TH YEAR I ©2012 THE MIAMI HERALD
father’s tight control of the economy, which has made foreign currency hard to get. The picture was posted on Instagram, an application available on Apple products such as the iPhone and iPad, by Rosines Chavez, the youngest of Chavez’s four children. Her mother and Chavez’s second wife, Marisabel Rodriguez, defended her daughter’s actions. Rodriguez and Chavez are divorced. “I told her that her mistake wasn’t to take the picture, but rather posting it on a medium where there are ignorant people who don’t respect others,” Rodriguez said on her Twitter account Monday. Venezuelans mocked and criticized the photo on Twitter and social media sites. On micro-blogging • TURN TO VENEZUELA, 2A
SYRIAN TROOPS STORM DAMASCUS SUBURB, 6A
sent. Yet he is popular among under Correa adheres to a formillions of Ecuadoreans for pro- mula that has also aided the political longevity of his leftist grams such as the initiative allies Presidents Hugo for the disabled, that have Chavez of Venezuela, improved their lives. Cristina Fernandez An array of stateof Argentina and Evo funded programs impleMorales of Bolivia. mented or broadened But Ecuador desince Correa’s 2006 votes more of its election have brought economy to stability to this traditionally unruly South American nation that previously churned through six presidents in 10 years. A doubling in public spending
public investment than any other nation in Latin America and the Caribbean, spending 10 percent of gross domestic product. The main strategic ally of this tall, pugnacious U.S.- and Europetrained economist has been the high price of oil, currently at $99.50 per barrel, which helped fuel 8.9 percent economic growth last year. Oil accounts for about a third of government revenues in • TURN TO CORREA, 4A
CORREA
Gingrich donor is casino mogul, Israel hardliner BY SHANNON MCCAFFREY Associated Press
ATLANTA — He’s an ardent supporter of Israel. A megabillionaire casino mogul whose Las Vegas Sands Corporation is under federal investigation. And the self-proclaimed “richest Jew in the world.” Sheldon Adelson is also, far and away, the biggest patron of Newt Gingrich’s surging Republican presidential bid. Adelson and his wife, Miriam, have pumped $10 million into a super PAC backing Gingrich that is run by the former House speaker’s onetime aides. Campaign finance experts say the two $5 million contributions are among the largest known political donations in U.S. history. No other candidate in the race for president appears to be relying so heavily on the fortune of a single donor. It’s been made possible by last year’s Supreme Court rulings — known as Citizens United —
DAVOS LEADERS LOOK AT CHINA’S INVESTMENTS ABROAD, BUSINESS FRONT
that recast the political landscape by stripping away restrictions on contributions and how outside groups can spend their money. Sheldon Adelson is Citizens United come to life. “The bottom line is that it creates that potential for one person to have far more influence than any one person should have,” said Fred Wertheimer, president of the campaign finance watchdog group Democracy 21. When any candidate is beholden to a single donor for so much money, Wertheimer said, “It opens the door to corruption and influence peddling.” Wertheimer said the infusion of cash would raise questions about any decision Gingrich would make that touches on gambling, for example. And similar questions could be raised about Gingrich’s Mideast policies. Indeed, without recent disclosures by news organizations, vot-
NADAL OUSTS FEDERER IN AUSTRALIAN OPEN SEMIS, SPORTS FRONT
ers would not have even known about the large contributions until campaign filings due Feb. 20. That would be long after a number of key primaries. The outsized contributions are stirring some unease among the evangelical voters whom Gingrich is counting on to help him defeat Mitt Romney. Richard Land, head of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, called the gambling cash fueling Gingrich’s bid “discomforting.” Land said Gingrich should make clear what his views are on legalized gambling. Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond said the candidate believes it is a states’ rights issue and does not gamble. Friends say Adelson and Gingrich met when Gingrich was House • TURN TO GINGRICH, 2A
INDEX NEWS EXTRA ............3A THE AMERICAS ...........4A OPINION........................7A COMICS & PUZZLES ...6B
1/27/2012 5:05:56 AM
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