A strong majority of Americans say that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's business record, including as head of Bain Capital, would help him make good decisions on economic issues if he were president, according to a USA Today/Gallup poll. The poll results come after President Barack Obama's campaign has, for months, spent much of its time and money attacking Romney's business record.

"Would Mitt Romney's business background, including as head of Bain Capital, cause him to make good or bad decisions as president in dealing with economic problems?" USA Today/Gallup asked 1,030 adults Thursday through Sunday.

Sixty-three percent answered "good decisions" while only 29 percent answered "bad decisions." The margin of error is plus or minus four percentage points. more >>

Spoiler Alert: Scenes from the film "The Dark Knight Rises" are discussed in this article.

Politics has collided with pop culture recently as commentators have drawn connections between Bane, the villain in the new Batman movie, "The Dark Knight Rises," and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Others, however, have said that Romney is more like the film's hero: Bruce Wayne, the billionaire who fights crime in a bat suit.

"It has been observed that movies can reflect the national mood," Democratic adviser and former Clinton aide Christopher Lehane told The Washington Examiner. "Whether it is spelled Bain and being put out by the Obama campaign or Bane and being out by Hollywood, the narratives are similar: a highly intelligent villain with offshore interests and a past both are seeking to cover up who had a powerful father and is set on pillaging society." more >>

President Barack Obama recently argued that business people rely on the help of government for their success. The Romney campaign called the remarks "insulting." Other conservatives say Obama mischaracterized the Republican position.

"If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you've got a business, you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen. ... The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together," Obama said at a campaign stop Friday.

He cited the Internet, fire departments, the G. I. Bill, the Golden Gate Bridge and the Hoover Dam as examples of government action that helps business owners. more >>

George Mason University's Mercatus Center has begun a project to better understand and report on the consequences of corporatism and cronyism. The research promises to speak to one of the main concerns of both the Occupy Wall Street and Tea Party movements: government favoritism for the privileged.

In a Wednesday interview with The Christian Post, Matthew Mitchell, senior research fellow at Mercatus, explained that Mercatus has been doing research on cronyism since the 1980s, but decided to place a more overt emphasis on the issue about six months ago for two main reasons.

First, Mercatus scholars noticed that even though the Occupy Wall Street and Tea Party movements represent polar opposites on the political spectrum, they both express concerns about cronyism and they both opposed the bank bailouts that followed the 2008 economic crisis. more >>

Mitt Romney stood before leaders and activists at the NAACP convention in Houston, Texas, this morning and attempted to strike an inclusive tone by stating why a Republican governor should be their choice in 2012. But not everyone in the crowd was pleased with Romney's agenda.

"With 90 percent of African Americans voting for Democrats, some of you may wonder why a Republican would bother to campaign in the African-American community, and to address the NAACP," Romney asked those gathered.

Romney also used his time behind the podium to lay the groundwork for a five-point plan to help middle-class voters, especially black voters, once again find a way to achieve the American dream. more >>

Through errors and fraud, the U.S. Department of Labor reports that it sent over $14 billion in unemployment benefits last year to people who did not qualify to receive the payments.

The most common reason for the overpayments: those who found a job continued to receive benefits. This represented nearly one-third (30.3 percent) of the $14.19 billion in improper payments.

The second most common reason, 21.3 percent, was the failure of employers or their health insurance administrators to provide adequate and timely information about their former employees. Failure of those receiving benefits to comply with the requirements to continue looking for a job was the third most common reason, 20.9 percent, for the overpayments. more >>