Quick shots: 2010 version of "It's the economy, stupid"

Editor's note: There are 18 days to go before voters cast ballots in the hotly contested midterm elections. In this special feature, CNN's political contributors share their quick thoughts on what's making news.

Paul Begala, a Democratic strategist, was a political consultant for Bill Clinton's presidential campaign in 1992 and was counselor to Clinton in the White House.

Ed Rollins is senior presidential fellow at the Kalikow Center for the Study of the American Presidency at Hofstra University, a principal with the Dilenschneider Group and a former White House political director and chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Begala: How Democrats can win

george w bush nancy pelosi harry reid john mccain al gore

Obama Aims To Rally Base For Mass. Governor

It's a don't-take-anything-for-granted message from President Barack Obama to his party: Even in the most reliably liberal states, no Democratic candidate is guaranteed victory in November.

That helps explain Obama's scheduled appearance Saturday afternoon at a Boston rally for Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, a longtime friend and political ally. Republicans have tried to use Patrick's close relationship with the president as a campaign wedge against the incumbent seeking a second term.

With the Nov. 2 election quickly nearing, Obama is campaigning coast to coast, raising money for candidates and looking to energize Democratic voters whose enthusiasm has waned since the 2008 election. While the White House says it still believes Democrats will retain control of the House and Senate, a sputtering economy leaves the political climate perilous for the president's party.

During a stop Friday in Delaware, a left-leaning state where Democratic Senate candidate Chris Coons holds a solid lead over tea party-backed Republican Christine O'Donnell, Obama said no outcomes should be taken for granted.

"There is no doubt this is a difficult election," Obama said. "This is a tough political environment."

It's a lesson Obama learned firsthand in Massachusetts this year when he swept in to make a last-minute appeal for Martha Coakley, the Democrat seeking to succeed the late Sen. Edward Kennedy. Despite Obama's backing, Coakley lost the special election to Republican Scott Brown.

Even though Massachusetts is among the nation's most liberal states, the last four governors before Patrick were Republicans. Massachusetts voters have opted for GOP governors as a hedge against perceived excesses by the Democratic-run state Legislature.

A poll from Suffolk University and WHDH-TV shows Patrick with a 7-point lead over Republican challenger Charles Baker. Patrick is also being challenged by independent Timothy Cahill, whose candidacy threatens to split the anti-Patrick vote.

Patrick shares Chicago roots, a Harvard pedigree and political consultants with Obama. They've been ardent political supporters of each other, with Obama campaigning for Patrick during his first gubernatorial campaign, and Patrick returning the favor by endorsing Obama in his presidential bid.

———

AP Political Writer Glen Johnson in Boston contributed to this report.

hillary clinton george w bush nancy pelosi harry reid john mccain

Gay Troops Sit Tight While Courts Debate 'Don't Ask'

After a week of legal maneuvers, it's not entirely clear whether the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy is dead or alive. The law bars openly gay people from serving in the military. A federal judge this week issued an injunction barring the Pentagon from enforcing the law; the Justice Department has asked another court to reverse the injunction. Where does that leave things?

nancy pelosi harry reid john mccain al gore bill clinton

Obama faces tough questions from students

Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama heard young people speaking their minds Thursday at a respectful but challenging town hall-style event where he was asked tough questions by students who support and oppose him.

"Oh, no!" Obama responded when told one of the more than 15,000 tweets submitted to the event said the greatest fear was his re-election. Other topics challenged him on the lack of bipartisanship in Washington since he came to power, illegal immigrants, high unemployment and racism.

Obama's answers generally matched his previous statements on major issues. He emphasized the economic crisis in place when his term started in January 2009 and the steps taken to stabilize the situation, as well as the benefits of health care reform and education policies.

The president was forced to address a sensitive topic when asked directly if he believed homosexuality is a choice. Obama responded he was no expert, then added: "I don't think it's a choice. I think people are born with a certain make-up."

"We're all children of God," Obama said. "We don't make determinations about who we love. That's why I think discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is wrong."

Unlike recent similar events in which the questions come from supporters only, the event by Viacom's BET, CMT and MTV networks started with a question by a Texas student who identified herself as a Republican and asked what happened to the bipartishanship Obama promised in this 2008 election campaign, particularly on the issue of health care reform.

Obama, standing in the center of the live audience and using a microphone, calmly responded that his administration and Democratic leaders held numerous meetings with Republicans to try to reach agreement on a bipartisan plan.

"We just couldn't get there," he said, then added that some Republicans made the political decision to oppose any bill instead of working for a solution.

"I do think that there are a lot of good Republican ideas out there," he said. "There are a number of them that were incorporated in the health care bill."

Obama called the bitter debate and legislative battle of the bill "past history," and expressed hope for more cooperation after the upcoming congressional elections on November 2.

Asked why the government mounted a legal challenge to Arizona's controversial immigration law, Obama said a comprehensive approach was needed and that his administration put more resources toward border security than the Bush administration.

He also challenged a questioner who asked about higher taxes, saying: "Taxes are not higher since I took office. Taxes are generally lower since I took office."

When a young man told him that racism in America seems to have worsened, Obama responded by pointing out that usually happens in tough economic times.

Looking around at the diverse group in the room, Obama said progress has been made over the decades.

"This audience just didn't exist 20 years ago," he said. "The amount of interaction, the amount of understanding that exists in your generation among people of different races or different creeds or different colors is unprecedented."

The key, he said, is for the nation to "work together," and he called the students and other young people the potential leaders in that effort.

"If all of you lead, then your parents and your grandparents tend to follow," Obama said, pointing to himself and joking that "as you get older, you know, your mind gets a little more set."

He added: "It needs the poking and prodding and breaking through of stereotypes that young people provide."

john mccain al gore bill clinton newt gingrich sarah palin