Scott Horsley

Scott Horsley is a White House correspondent for NPR News. He reports on the policy and politics of the Obama Administration, with a special emphasis on economic issues.

The 2012 campaign is the third presidential contest Horsley has covered for NPR. He previously reported on Senator John McCain's White House bid in 2008 and Senator John Kerry's campaign in 2004. Thanks to this experience, Horsley has become an expert in the motel shampoo offerings of various battleground states.

Horsley took up the White House beat after serving as a San Diego-based business correspondent for NPR where he covered fast food, gasoline prices, and the California electricity crunch of 2000. He reported from the Pentagon during the early phases of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Before joining NPR in 2001, Horsley was a reporter for member station KPBS-FM, where he received numerous honors, including a Public Radio News Directors' award for coverage of the California energy crisis.

Earlier in his career, Horsley worked as a reporter for WUSF-FM in Tampa, Florida, and as a news writer and reporter for commercial radio stations in Boston and Concord, New Hampshire. Horsley began his professional career as a production assistant for NPR's Morning Edition.

Horsley earned a bachelor's degree from Harvard University and an MBA from San Diego State University.

Pages

8:39am

Mon October 29, 2012
Election 2012

After Election, Winner Will Face Economic Hurdles

Originally published on Mon October 29, 2012 11:29 am

Credit Win McNamee / Getty Images

Later this week we'll get another snapshot of the U.S. job market: the last unemployment report before next week's presidential election.

Forecasters expect another sign of slow but steady job growth. Whoever is in the Oval Office next year will have to cope with a sluggish U.S. economy and confront some urgent policy decisions.

Read more

5:17am

Thu October 25, 2012
Presidential Race

'Fired Up' Obama Makes Appeal To Early Voters

President Obama barnstormed from Iowa to Las Vegas and L.A. on Wednesday, before taking a red eye back east.

3:30pm

Tue October 23, 2012
Presidential Race

Obama Hits Battleground States In Final Blitz

Originally published on Wed October 24, 2012 2:18 am

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Melissa Block.

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

I'm Audie Cornish, and we begin this hour with a sprint. The 2012 presidential debates are now history and today, President Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney begin the two-week race to Election Day. Mr. Obama is widely considered the winner of last night's foreign policy debate, but he didn't spend much time crowing today.

Read more

2:47pm

Mon October 1, 2012
Solve This

Obama, Romney On Taxes: Similar Plans, Few Details

Originally published on Mon October 1, 2012 4:20 pm

Credit Tim Boyle / Getty Images

Here's something President Obama and Mitt Romney agree on: America's tax system is too complicated. Both men have outlined changes that are broadly similar, but with some important differences.

The Problem:

Today's tax code is like a department store, where the price tags are high, but there are lots of coupons, sales and weekend specials. That creates some inequities. Just as shoppers can pay different prices depending on which day they buy, taxpayers with the same income can pay very different rates depending on which deductions they qualify for.

Read more

3:35am

Sun September 23, 2012
Presidential Race

As Candidates Battle From Afar, Key Phrases Stick

Originally published on Sun September 23, 2012 10:43 am

Credit Scott Olson / Getty Images

President Obama and his Republican rival, Mitt Romney, seem to have switched places in recent days.

The incumbent president is promising to change Washington from the outside. Meanwhile, Romney, who made his fortune turning businesses around, says he wants to work within the existing political system.

The contrast was on display Saturday in Wisconsin, where Obama held one of the biggest rallies of his re-election campaign.

Read more

3:07pm

Tue September 18, 2012
Presidential Race

Romney Conflated Different Groups With '47 Percent'

Originally published on Tue September 18, 2012 5:09 pm

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

And I'm Audie Cornish. Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney admits he could've used more elegant language, but he's not backing down. Romney was secretly recorded speaking at a fundraiser in May and his comments were publicized yesterday by the liberal magazine, "Mother Jones." Here he is telling wealthy backers that President Obama has a built-in base of support.

(SOUNDBITE OF VIDEO)

Read more

2:03pm

Sat September 15, 2012
Politics

Obama Polishes His 'Regular Guy' Image With Beer

Originally published on Sat September 15, 2012 3:48 pm

Credit Joshua Roberts / Getty Images

There's an old shorthand for likeability in politics: "Which candidate would you rather have a beer with?"

Read more

1:31am

Tue September 11, 2012
Presidential Race

Rhetoric Aside, Few Details Of Romney's Tax Plan

Originally published on Tue September 11, 2012 1:59 pm

Credit Charles Dharapak / AP

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney's proposal to overhaul the tax code continues to draw scrutiny.

Romney says it is possible to cut tax rates without driving the government deeper into the red, and that he can make up for the lost revenue by closing tax loopholes. But analysts have had a hard time testing Romney's claim because he hasn't offered many specifics.

When he was pressed by NBC's David Gregory this weekend to give an example of a loophole he would close, Romney didn't offer much detail.

Read more

3:17am

Mon September 10, 2012
Election 2012

Who's Responsible When A Business Succeeds?

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

A recurring debate in the American presidential contest is who is responsible when a business succeeds. Campaigning in Virginia this weekend, Mitt Romney repeated his assertion that it's individual entrepreneurs.

MITT ROMNEY: I've been impressed by the American spirit of people who are can-do and take-charge, want to start and build things. And by the way, they do build it themselves.

(SOUNDBITE OF CHEERING)

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Read more

4:23am

Tue September 4, 2012
Around the Nation

On Campaign Break, Obama Tours Louisiana Storm Damage

Originally published on Tue September 4, 2012 10:38 am

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And I'm David Greene.

Having spent much of the summer hammering Mitt Romney, President Obama is working to sell his record this week. Yesterday, administration spokesmen insisted that Americans are better off than they were four years ago.

INSKEEP: That's a change from the previous day's message, when key Obama backers would not make that claim. Yesterday, the president himself pointed to a success story.

Read more

Pages