David Corn

Washington Bureau Chief

Corn has broken stories on presidents, politicians, and other Washington players. He's written for numerous publications and is a talk show regular. His best-selling books include Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War.

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Allred's October Surprise Source Tried to Tell Romney Story in Movie

—By David Corn

| Wed Oct. 24, 2012 9:28 AM PDT

Gloria Allred.

Is this the October Surprise of 2012? Attorney Gloria Allred appeared in a Canton, Massachusetts, court today to petition a judge to unseal records in the decades-old divorce case of Tom Stemberg, the founder of Staples. Allred was there with Stemberg's ex-wife, Maureen Sullivan Stemberg, and what the two want made public is Mitt Romney's testimony from the nasty divorce trial. Romney, as he often boasts, helped Stemberg create Staples when he Romney was running Bain Capital, and TMZ has reported that anonymous sources say that Romney, in that testimony, lowballed the value of Staples stock. In court, Allred noted that she has a copy of Romney's testimony, but she has yet to say what's in it. (The Boston Globe is also asking the court to lift the gag order that was placed on the parties to the divorce.) The judge, according to the live-tweeting of David Bernstein, a reporter for the Boston Phoenix, recessed the hearing until tomorrow. Atypically, Allred left the courthouse without saying much.

It seems that Maureen Sullivan Stemberg has been trying to get her story told—including the Romney angle—for several years. Four years ago, Dragon-Lion Media, a movie production company based outside of Los Angeles, announced it was making a documentary about her, with her cooperation. It issued a press release noting that this "first-time tell all tale of the interweaving relationships and strange bedfellow[s]" in her life would feature Romney, without specifying what role he would play. But Edmund Druilhet, the founder and CEO of Dragon-Lion Media, tells Mother Jones that Stemberg had discussed with him her belief that Romney had testified falsely to help Tom Stemberg during the trial. "She told me all about that," he says. And Sadi Ranson-Polizzotti, who was tapped to be the writer on the documentary, says that when she was working with Maureen Sullivan Stemberg she read the Romney testimony and that Romney on the stand said that Staples at that time was just "a dream," and that stock in the company was not worth much. "That really stood out to me," Ranson-Polizzotti recalls. Maureen, according to Ranson-Polizzotti, firmly believed that Romney had lied on the stand to benefit her ex-husband.

The press release indicated Maureen Sullivan Stemberg was bitter about her divorce settlement, noting the film would expose the "injustice" of the Massachusetts court system.

Here's the press release:

DRAGON-LION MEDIA's Edmund Druilhet has just announced the production of "The Maureen Sullivan Stemberg Story: A Portrait In Courage", a true-life documentary film based on factual events from her childhood up to today. Maureen the first wife and inspiration for Staples which Tom Stemberg founded in 1985. Prior to 1985 he was out of work for almost three years. Tom Stemberg, served as CEO and drove the company through its growth from infancy to what is now a worldwide superstore based on the idea of a home-office. Maureen Sullivan Stemberg ran her own very successful interior design business from just such a home-office. She also designed Trump Penthouses at the Plaza. Over the past 20 years, Maureen Sullivan Stemberg has proven to be one of the most talented Interior designers in the industry. She has owned and operated successful design firms in both Boston and palm beach, taking on upscale clients with the most discriminating taste. "Her ability to transform any room into a timeless masterpiece has boosted her reputation as a visionary with inpeccable attention to detail" —Traditional Homes Magazine 1985.

In Sullivan Stemberg's own words: "I am so proud to say I was born in South Boston, came home to live with my siblings and parents in a two bedroom project. My family, valued cultural learning and discussed politics at the breakfast table. It was reading, writing and the knowledge of the world around me -- a greater knowledge than my own backyard was instilled in me from a very early age and I've learned to carry that torch with me wherever I have gone since then: shining my flashlight in hidden corners, highlighting those things that I feel require some attention on my part, be it the arts, child abuse and all the way to certain medical issues that are under-reported. I was taught to speak-up, and I do, and I am proud of my parents for teaching me this and proud of my own ability now to stand up for what I believe in. This is why I am humbled, grateful and pleased to have my story be told in this film documentary."

Maureen Sullivan Stemberg will provide an in-depth account in this first-time tell all tale of the interweaving relationships and strange bedfellow that business has made in her life. Such luminaries include former Governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney - who was the former Republican nominee in the 2008 Presidential campaign, as well as one of the first major investors for Staples while he was employed by Bain Capital, Boston, MA. This story will include the injustice of the Mass. Probate Justice system. Other heavy hitting names have yet to be released in this as of yet untold story including Dola Davis Hamilton Stemberg.

The documentary will feature Ms. Stemberg, interior designer and social advocate, whose design work has been featured in such places as House and Garden, House Beautiful, and The New York Times as well as Who's Who in Interior Design: One Hundred Top Designers (published by Rizzoli), among others. Notably, Ms. Sullivan Stemberg was selected by Who's Who Woman of Distinction for 2006, featured for her design work, and most notably for her charitable social endeavors, and most importantly to her, her work with abused children. Sullivan Stemberg is also recognized for her charitable work and advocacy for people with autoimmune diseases and conditions.

The documentary will also feature writer Sadi Ranson-Polizzotti who will be interviewing various people involved throughout her life, past and present. Anyone discussed in the documentary will be contacted for their response.

The documentary is to be sourced to Lifetime Television as well as broadcasting companies throughout the United States, Europe, and worldwide.

Sadi Ranson-Polizzotti has been named as the writer and editor of the documentary. Ranson-Polizzotti is a full-member of the national PEN America Foundation.

Clearly, Maureen Sullivan Stemberg has been seeking attention for a while. Though the movie never went into production, she may now receive an audience with this attempt to cast Romney in a starring role.

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Obama Schools Romney

The president showcased his national security achievements at the final debate, while Romney played it conspicuously safe.

—By David Corn

| Mon Oct. 22, 2012 11:47 PM PDT

barack obama mitt romney presidential debate

The final presidential debate did not resolve much, but it showed, yet again, that Mitt Romney will say just about anything to win the White House.

The current president had two tasks to accomplish at Debate 3: Foreign Policy Edition. First, Barack Obama had to tout his overseas achievements and beat back the right-wing attack that he is weak and feckless. Second, he had to knock Romney on the defensive and, once again, raise overarching questions about the Republican candidate's credibility and capabilities. Romney's mission was more simple: look reasonable and commander-in-chief-ish. A high school debate coach would probably award the match on points to Obama, who was commanding and vigorously described his national security actions. Both candidates met their key goals, but Obama more so than Romney, who accomplished his mission by repeatedly ducking confrontations and often endorsing the president's own actions—even if that meant Romney was jettisoning his previous stances.

Obama opened by blasting Romney on numerous fronts, charging that Romney has often shifted policies (on Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, and more) and has invested in companies that offshore jobs to China and elsewhere. "Your strategy…has been all over the map," he told Romney. He added: "Governor, when it comes to your foreign policy, you seem to want to import the foreign policies of the 1980s, just like the social policies of the 1950s and the economic policies of the 1920s." He pummeled Romney for supporting the war in Iraq and for opposing a nuclear arms treaty with Russia that 71 senators voted for.

[Read the full article]

2 Minutes With David Corn: The Foreign Policy Debate

—By Dana Liebelson and David Corn

| Mon Oct. 22, 2012 8:22 AM PDT

On Monday night, President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney will face off on foreign policy. Some pundits say that the election is so close, the outcome could very well pivot on this debate, where the candidates will grapple over issues like the terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya. But according to Mother Jones Washington Bureau Chief David Corn, Obama's strong advantage on foreign policy probably won't move voters one way or the other:

Here's an excerpt:

As we get closer to the election there are a lot fewer undecided voters. So there's less room to move [and] fewer people to persuade. This is now the third debate. In some ways you could see it as the rubber match. Mitt Romney did quite well in the first one, Barack Obama did better than Romney in the second one. But I don't think people are looking at this like a play-off series, 2 out of 3 wins the day. I think each candidate has given their supporters what they needed to give them in the first two debates, and [because] the third one is about foreign policy, supposedly exclusively, [it's] going to be something that may not move a lot of voters who have yet to be moved.

Ouch! "Salt Lake Tribune," Citing Romney's 47-Percent Rant, Endorses Obama

—By David Corn

| Fri Oct. 19, 2012 3:16 PM PDT

Mitt Romney is in no danger of losing Utah to President Barack Obama. But this has to hurt: on Friday the Salt Lake Tribune endorsed Obama over the quasi-adopted son of the Beehive State. The editorial starts off fine for Romney:

Nowhere has Mitt Romney’s pursuit of the presidency been more warmly welcomed or closely followed than here in Utah. The Republican nominee’s political and religious pedigrees, his adeptly bipartisan governorship of a Democratic state, and his head for business and the bottom line all inspire admiration and hope in our largely Mormon, Republican, business-friendly state.

But it was Romney’s singular role in rescuing Utah’s organization of the 2002 Olympics from a cesspool of scandal, and his oversight of the most successful Winter Games on record, that make him the Beehive State’s favorite adopted son.

Then the Tribune slams him as an opportunistic and untrustworthy shape-shifter:

From his embrace of the party’s radical right wing, to subsequent portrayals of himself as a moderate champion of the middle class, Romney has raised the most frequently asked question of the campaign: "Who is this guy, really, and what in the world does he truly believe?"

The evidence suggests no clear answer, or at least one that would survive Romney’s next speech or sound bite. Politicians routinely tailor their words to suit an audience. Romney, though, is shameless, lavishing vastly diverse audiences with words, any words, they would trade their votes to hear.

It gets worse. The paper ridicules his refusal to provide specifics for his tax plan. And it ends with Romney's 47-percent rant:

If this portrait of a Romney willing to say anything to get elected seems harsh, we need only revisit his branding of 47 percent of Americans as freeloaders who pay no taxes, yet feel victimized and entitled to government assistance. His job, he told a group of wealthy donors, "is not to worry about those people. I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."

Where, we ask, is the pragmatic, inclusive Romney, the Massachusetts governor who left the state with a model health care plan in place, the Romney who led Utah to Olympic glory? That Romney skedaddled and is nowhere to be found.

They say you're never a hero in your own hometown. But here's a case in which Romney is pummeled by those who know him well and who yearn for the Romney they once saw. That Romney is long gone.

Obama Strikes Back—With "47 Percent"

The president put Romney on the ropes with a fiery debate performance, slamming Romney's remarks about 47 percent of American voters.

—By David Corn

| Tue Oct. 16, 2012 10:46 PM PDT

Here's a thought experiment: Imagine where the presidential race would be if the Barack Obama of Debate Two had appeared at Debate One.

Obama entered the second of three rounds with many tasks to accomplish. He had to display vim and vigor—at least look as if he wants to be president and fight for that privilege. He had to offer a passionate defense—or explanation—of his presidency to date, outlining his accomplishments in what-it-means-for-you terms. He had to convince voters he has a strong idea of what he will do in the next four years to build on the improvements of the past four. He had to cast the election as a stark choice between this vision and Mitt Romney's back-to-Bush intentions. And he had to call out the say-anything Romney on several fronts: being out of step (or touch) with the priorities and needs of middle- and working-class Americans, and refusing to own his policies and positions.

Romney had a much simpler task: repeat his charge that Obama has not done enough to bolster the economy and proclaim "I can do better." Romney demonstrated in the first debate that he would not be burdened by any of his inconvenient or mathematically challenged stances. He could toss them aside, just like dumping a bad stock.

As I've noted before, this was always the fundamental dynamic of the race. Obama would have to explain (his record, his agenda, and his opponent), and Romney would merely have to stick to his mantra: This fellow had his shot, he came up short, and I'm the white knight riding to your rescue. Romney has had the easier path, and if recent polls are any indication, Romney, after months of cloddish campaigning and weeks of 47 percent troubles, finally succeeded in selling this proposition—hire me to be the CEO of the United States—at the first debate, especially to white women voters. His PowerPoint came home.

On Tuesday night, at the town-hall-style debate at Hofstra University, a fierce and passionate Obama put a dent in that presentation. He challenged Romney repeatedly: on Romney's tax plan (whatever it may be), on Romney's crass effort to politicize the attack on US diplomats in Libya, on Romney's past investments in firms outsourcing in China. In one early exchange, Obama rolled Romney's opposition to the auto bailout, his record at Bain Capital, and his proposed tax cuts for the wealthy into one answer—merging Romney's various liabilities into a single, integrated assault. Four times Obama said to Romney, "That's not true." In one critical exchange, moderator Candy Crowley felt compelled to back up the president, when Obama challenged Romney's assertion that it took him a fortnight to declare the Benghazi attack an act of terrorism. The president had labeled it as such the day afterward.

[Read the full article]