The current issue of The New Yorker, Oct. 1, has the best article I’ve read to date on the of the mind and of the career of Mitt Romney.

I recommend Transaction Man: The Mind of Mitt Romney to all, whether you are for or against him, whether you like or dislike him, whether you support Barack Obama, etc. I suspect you will come away from the somewhat lengthy article knowing more than prior to reading it.

At least I did.

The author, Nicholas Lemann, dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia has written what seems to me simply the most objective and fair profile of Mitt Romney that I know of this campaign season. If you start it, read it all the way through.

Two articles I found particularly interesting and worthy of readers’ time in this morning’s NY Times lead to questions for both President Obama and Candidate Romney.

Assuming that generally both articles can be taken largely as valid, then what occurs to me are the questions below:

1. Mr. President, in David Firestone in his Sunday Observer NY Times article “Don’t Tell Anyone, But the Stimulus Worked,” he asks why you and the Democrats have not discussed this success. I would add that you also (in your convention speech) did not give much mention to your other successful accomplishment – The Affordable Health Care Act (“Obamacare” ).

Thus, my questions: Mr President: If these are indeed true successes, why have you not let the country know about them? Why have you not told these stories?

1. Mr. Romney, in David Leonhardt’s Capital Ideas NY Times column this morning (Do Tax Cuts Lead to Economic Growth?), he repeats a question he asked prior to the convention to Mr. Ryan: “Why a cut in tax rates would work better this time than last time?” Then, in his final paragraph, he writes: “But when you dig into Mr. Romney and Mr. Ryan’s proposals and you consider recent history, the fairest thing to say is that, so far at least, they have laid out a plan to cut taxes. They have not yet explained why and how it is also an economic-growth plan.”

Thus, my questions: Mr. Romney: Specifically, why do you believe your tax cuts will have different consequences than any of the ones in the recent past? How is your plan to cut taxes in any way an economic-growth plan?

As always, I invite (thoughtful?) responses from MillersTime readers too.

For me, the 2012 Presidential Election is a no brainer.

(I know. I know. Some of my good friends will say it’s because I don’t have a brain. There, I said it before some of you had the chance to remind me.)

Aside from my being in love with Michelle, and aside from being disappointed with some of the actions Pres. Obama has taken and has not taken, there is no doubt in my mind that he is the better choice for the country of the two candidates in this election. (Disclosure: I voted for him in 2008. Probably not a surprise to many of you.)

Despite the title of this posting, however, I’m not going to list my reasoning (tho I reserve the right to do so at a later date), but instead, I refer you to an article I read this morning in the Oct. 2012 issue of Vanity Fair magazine by Michael Lewis.

Obama’s Way is a profile Lewis wrote after having unusual access to the President. For me, it captures many of the qualities I thought I saw in candidate Obama in 2008, with the added perspective of what he has learned from three and a half years of being in office.

See what you think.

Update – 9/15: There has been a bit of ‘inside the Beltway’ discussion about Michael Lewis’s access to the President and his agreement to allow the President the right to approve all quotes. The NYTimes wrote about this the other day in a blog post A Journalist With Rare Access to Obama Had to Play by Quote Rule.

Five new ones for your reading pleasure:

1. Bionic Brains and Beyond, Danilel H. Wilson, The Wall Street Journal, June 1, 2012.

This article comes thanx to my brother-in-law who writes it’s about “inserting tiny devices in one’s brain in the future to make us smarter, better leaders, and hopefully more Republican.” Oh well, I’m not responsible for my in-laws, but the article is of interest.

(Length: Short)

2. In Praise of Misfits, The Economist, June 2, 2012.

In this Schumpeter column, the author says business needs people with Asperger’s syndrome, attention-deficit disorder, and dyslexia. Disorganization man replaces the organization man?

(Length: Short)

3. The Facebook President Is in Need of New Friends, Edward Luce, The Financial Times, May 20, 2012.

Luce writes, “The president needs to convince (people) he is running a viable enterprise that knows where it is going and which can deliver on performance.” So far, Luce argues, he hasn’t done so.

(Length: Short)

4. Prep School Predators: The Horace Mann Schools’ Secret History of Sexual Abuse, The NY Times Magazine, Amos Kamil, June 6, 2012.

The Jerry Sandusky trial is in the news, and it seems there may be much more to come along this line. In the Horace Mann article, posted first I think on line, it’s now one of the prestigious private schools that must face what it has allowed to occur on its campus. Additionally, this article has spurred school alumni to gather on line to tell more stories of occurrences at Horace Mann. And a further controversy may be brewing on why the Times focused on the male abuse and did not write about what was happening to females, even though they had been told about it.

(Length: Long)

5. All the Single Ladies, Kate Boleck, The Atlantic Monthly, Nov. 2011.

There have been a number of articles and books recently about the single woman. Here is one I read last year that I think is worthy of your time if the subject is of interest to you.

(Length: Long)