Soon after "The New York Times" reported on a Republican proposal to spend millions connecting President Obama to his controversial former pastor Jeremiah Wright, people close to the project dropped the plan. But the incident raises the question of whether it's still possible to redefine Barack Obama this far into his presidency, and whether anything is off-limits in the 2012 election.

Earlier this year, President Obama's fundraising machine ran millions of dollars ahead of even the best-financed Republican candidates. But now that Mitt Romney is the presumptive nominee, the money gap is narrowing.

With both the economy and his own poll numbers weaker than he'd want them to be, President Obama has launched attack ads against Mitt Romney that are unusually blunt for this early stage of a campaign. And Romney has responded with a few roundhouse rights of his own.

The Obama campaign on Wednesday escalated its attack on Mitt Romney's business career, with Vice President Joe Biden scheduled to aggressively question how Romney's management of the private equity firm Bain Capital might translate into running the U.S. ec onomy.

As an elevator's doors closed, former President George W. Bush confirmed the obvious. But Romney's campaign doesn't see Bush playing an important role in the 2012 campaign.

Nebraska state Senator Deb Fischer won the Republican nomination Tuesday to run for a U.S. Senate seat in November. She will face former Senator Bob Kerrey, a Democrat who represented the state from 1988-2000.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner warned on Tuesday that the U.S. will likely hit its debt limit sometime before the end of the year. At the same event in Washington, House Speaker John Boehner promised that any increase in the nation's debt ceiling woul d have to be accompanied by corresponding budget reductions. .

The conservative known for his role in the 2008 presidential election is taking on a veteran Democrat in a new Ohio district. An analyst calls the race a microcosm of "the culture wars that are going on in the country right now." Most of the candidates' fu nding is coming from outside the state.

Congressional candidates are increasingly raising money from supporters and groups who are ideological and outside their district — leaving some to say local voters and local issues are playing second fiddle to these donors' ideologies.

Nebraska state Sen. Deb Fischer has won the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, setting the stage for a high-stakes November election against former Democratic Sen. Bob Kerrey.