Mitt Romney

 A conversation with former Maryland congressman and NAACP president Kweisi Mfume.

We check in on the Republican National Convention, in its third day and after speeches by Ann Romney and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Tuesday night. With Dave Schwartz, Maryland State Director of Americans for Prosperity, Heather Olson, 2nd Vice Chair of the Prince George's County Republican Central Committee and Jill Homan, incoming RNC national committeewoman for Washington, DC who is attending the convention.

With so much media attention on GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s taxes, a closer look at what exactly “effective tax rate” means, why Romney reportedly paid a 15 percent rate while President Obama and Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan paid 20 percent, and what average Americans pay on their income. Also, documents recently obtained and published online by Gawker.com show that Bain Capital used an aggressive tax strategy to save its partners more than $200 million in income taxes and more than $20 million in Medicare taxes, a strategy that that some tax attorneys say is illegal.

We take a look at the results of yesterday’s Republican and Democratic primaries.

Baltimore is having 15 of the historic buildings it owns appraised–for possible sale or private partnership. We talk with architect and architectural historian Charlie Duff about how those buildings could be used if the city decides to sell.

Orioles Opening Day is Friday. Johns Hopkins Voice Center director tells Tom Hall how to cheer without giving yourself a nodule on your vocal cord, and what professions are most at risk for voice health problems.

A look at the latest in national and regional political news with David Schwartz, Maryland director of Americans for Prosperity, and Brian Wendall Morton, political columnist, Baltimore City Paper.

The Republican presidential contest has narrowed to a small-field slugfest. So, what happened to long-time favorite Mitt Romney and why has he slipped to middle of the pack? Some of the answers rest with the South Carolina voters who gave former House Speaker Newt Gingrich a big victory in last Saturday’s primary. But Romney and his team are clearly wondering what went wrong and trying to fix it.  We’ll ask my guests.

We look at the function of private equity funds in the U.S. economy and Mitt Romney's legacy as a founder of Boston-based Bain Capital. The leading Republican presidential candidate has been skewered as a "predatory capitalist" and "vulture capitalist" by his rivals in the approaching South Carolina primary. Former House speaker Newt Gingrich describes the Bain model as "leverage the game, borrow the money, leave the debt behind and walk off with all the profits." Is that an accurate portrayal of venture capitalism in corporate acquisitions?