SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:56 P.M. ET:

BLUNDER – The president is in France in part to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I.  He was scheduled to go to Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial near Paris, but canceled due to bad weather and logistical difficulties.  The cancellation has created an appropriate uproar, including a denunciation from Winston Churchill's grandson.  They point out that the cemetery is only an hour's drive from Paris.  If the presidential helicopter was considered unsafe in poor weather conditions, the limo could have been used.  Aides to former presidents note that there is always a rain alternative on official trips.  The story has gone viral.  The White House owes the American people a full explanation, and the president owes an apology.  Of course, there could be another explanation – illness – and that must be addressed as well.  A bad show by the White House.  We call 'em as we see 'em here.

ARIZONA – As the vote recount in Arizona continues, our Martha McSally continues to lose ground.  She is now down by 29,000 votes, and it appears that most of the votes still to be counted are in Democratic areas.  I think we can cautiously assume that Arizona is lost.  It is dismaying.  Martha's opponent,  Kyrsten Sinema is, as you all know, the snowiest of the snowflakes, the whackiest of the whackjobs.  But she is a skilled actress, and she has protrayed herself as a moderate, and a fine example of Arizona values.  The Arizona voters bought it.   It proves once again that there's no business like show business.  The loss in Arizona would be the second GOP Senate loss for this election, the other being Nevada.  Republicans picked up seats in North Dakota, Indiana, Missouri and, if the recount goes our way, Florida.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARINES – FROM DAILY CALLER:  The U.S. Marine Corps turns 243 years old on Saturday, marking nearly two and and half centuries of protecting America at home and abroad.
Marines have fought in every major war in U.S. history — in fact, the Marine Corps is older than the country itself and traces its roots to the Continental Marines of the Revolutionary War period.  On November 10, 1775, the Second Continental Congress adopted a resolution to form “two battalions of Marines” to be led by Captain Samuel Nicholas, who is considered the first Commandant of the Marine Corps. Today, that date is regarded and celebrated by Marines around the world as the birth of America’s most iconic — and fearsome — fighting force.  But Marines don’t just protect America by deploying around the world in expeditionary forces. Sometimes they respond to emergencies at home, as they did in September, when Marines came to the aid of elderly citizens trapped in a burning apartment building in Washington, D.C.   Well done.

November 10, 2018