US-Mascot-Ends-Losing-Streak

A long-running losing streak dating back to 2006 in Washington has finally come to an end. "Theodore Roosevelt" has won the presidents' race at Nationals Park after more than 500 consecutive losses.

POLITICS

POL-Debate-Walkup

To win in November, Mitt Romney must emerge from his first debate with President Barack Obama as the leader on this campaign's defining question: Which candidate do voters trust more to handle the economy?

POL-Debate-Rules

Just what can viewers expect to see when President Barack Obama and rival Mitt Romney square off at the first presidential debate in Denver Wednesday night? While the conversation might at-times be freewheeling and off the cuff, both candidates will have to operate under the confines of the hard-and-fast rules established by the Commission on Presidential Debates.

POL-presidential-debates-explainer

After months of talking about each other and their policies, the world finally gets to see Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney go toe-to-toe on the same stage in a series of three televised debates ahead of the U.S. election. Unlike other countries, such as the United Kingdom, where the prime minister must defend his policies under televised duress from the opposition nearly every week, face-to-face showdowns between the two men fighting for the White House only happen every four years. And while debates rarely swing the outcome of an election, a gaffe -- or a silver-tongued swipe at the opposition -- under the bright lights can alter the perception of the two contenders, for better or worse.

POL-Ann-Romney-Debate

After her husband's failed 2008 run for president, Ann Romney said she would never do it again -- until she decided she would. And now that Mitt Romney is in the political fight of his life, Ann has become a key advocate and character witness.

POL-BTN-debates

The first of four debates -- three presidential and one vice presidential -- in the final month of the election takes place October 3 in Denver. While we would love to tell you what will happen, the CNN Crystal Ball is out of order. Instead, our best guess of what to expect comes from debates past. Here's a look back, by the numbers, of the trends and surprises of past debates.

POL-Romney-Tax-Deductions

Mitt Romney detailed with fresh specificity this week how he would pay for large tax cuts he's proposed for all Americans, though his campaign says the suggestions were merely options and not a firm look into what policies he would seek to enact as president.

POL-Obama-Video-2008

On the eve of the first presidential debate, conservative media outlets seized on footage of a five-year-old speech by then-candidate Barack Obama, who argued at the time that the federal government discriminated against Hurricane Katrina victims.

POL-Obama-Coal-Ad

The latest salvo in the battle for coal country is an ad from President Barack Obama's campaign, which accuses Mitt Romney of using miners as "props" at a campaign rally that was subsequently used in a television commercial.

POL-Role-Of-Governmnet-Shifts

Hours before the first debate between President Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney, a showdown that will focus on domestic issues, a new national survey indicates that Americans have undergone some major changes on the basic questions concerning the size and role of the federal government.

POL-Campaigns-Spin-Debate

In a spate of expectation-setting ahead of Wednesday night's debate, both campaigns offered their predictions for the first meeting between the two presidential candidates, with President Barack Obama's team arguing the first session between the candidates will be about laying details before voters, and Team Romney looking for unfiltered access to those who remain undecided.

POL-Romney-Campaign-Debate

Going into the first presidential debate in Denver, a senior Romney campaign aide said they are feeling "good" about where they are in the campaign.