SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:57 P.M. ET: 

SOUR NATION – From Glenn Harlan Reynolds at USA Today:   According to a recent Associated Press poll, the public lacks confidence in government. And by “lacks confidence,” I mean “really lacks confidence.” Specifically, “More than 6 in 10 respondents expressed only slight confidence — or none at all — that the federal government can make progress on the problems facing the nation in 2016.”  And this isn’t just Republicans in a sour mood after seven years of Obama. As the AP noted, “Perhaps most vexing for the dozen or so candidates vying to succeed President Barack Obama, the poll indicates widespread skepticism about the government's ability to solve problems, with no significant difference in the outlook between Republicans and Democrats.”  Maybe people are wising up.  Of course, when kids get to college they'll learn that government is the answer to every problem.  It will take them until 50 to unlearn that.

NO CREDIT – From CNBC:  Have you made mistakes regarding your credit in the past? That could haunt you ... for a long time.  A whopping 68 percent of Americans make at least one major financial mistake, or "credit fumble," before turning 30, leading to a negative mark on their credit report, according to a Credit Karma survey.  These mistakes include overspending on credit cards, missing payments, defaulting on a loan or having an account sent into collections, the survey found.  The greater the offense, the longer it will reflect on your credit report, said Bethy Hardeman, chief consumer advocate at Credit Karma. In fact, it usually takes consumers seven to 10 years to erase negative marks from their credit, thanks to the Fair Credit Reporting Act.  That 68 percent figure is awful.  Either young people are horribly squeezed by the Obama economy, or they're grossly irresponsible.  Parenting is involved. 

WE HOPE – From Daily Caller:   Chairman of the Benghazi Select Committee Trey Gowdy says the results of the Committee will be “eye-opening” and “surprising.”  Appearing on the Hugh Hewitt Show on Monday, Hewitt asked Gowdy, “Do you believe the question has been asked and answered adequately, yet, as to whether or not assets were proximate and available that night to come to the assistance to the people under attack in Benghazi?”  “Hugh, I will tell you this. When we issue our report, and hopefully, it is coming sooner rather than later, I think that part of our investigation is going to be the most eye-opening, the most surprising, and frankly, will dwarf the other two tranches of Benghazi in terms of what we have been able to find,” Gowdy claimed.  That better be correct because Gowdy and his committee flopped big time in their open hearing, which was long, boring, and seemingly aimless.  We'll give Gowdy a second chance to get it right.

January 25,  2016