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

IT'S STARTING – FROM THE POLITICO:  A former Democratic National Committee chairman says President Barack Obama and the party’s congressional leaders should immediately come up with a process to identify a potential successor candidate for Hillary Clinton for the off-chance a health emergency forces her out of the race.  “Now is the time for all good political leaders to come to the aid of their party,” said Don Fowler, who helmed the DNC from 1995 to 1997, during Bill Clinton’s presidency, and has backed Hillary Clinton since her 2008 presidential bid. “I think the plan should be developed by 6 o’clock this afternoon.”  I doubt if he would have made that comment without considerable backing.

IS SHE SERIOUS? – FROM FOX:  Hillary Clinton defended herself Monday over her campaign's lateness announcing her pneumonia diagnosis, saying she's "already met a high standard of transparency" while looking forward to returning to the campaign trail.  The Democratic presidential nominee told CNN in a phone interview she did feel dizzy and lost her balance while attending a 9/11 commemoration ceremony in New York, but now is "feeling so much better."  "I was supposed to rest five days, that's what they told me on Friday, and I didn't follow that very wise advice," Clinton said.  She told CNN her campaign didn't make her diagnosis on Friday public because "I just didn't think it was going to be that big a deal."   Oh, I fully agree with our gracious queen.  Why would anyone be interested in the health of a presidential candidate? 

STATE OF THE RACE – FROM UPI:  The UPI/CVoter daily presidential tracking poll released Monday shows Donald Trump leading Hillary Clinton by about 3 percentage points.  The online poll shows Trump with 48.7 percent to Clinton's 45.8 percent in the seven-day polling period ending Sunday. Those responding with "others" were at 5 percent. "Others" in the poll are defined as respondents who decline to pick either Clinton or Trump.  The most recent data reflect a 0.8 percentage point shift toward Clinton compared to data collected a day earlier. Trump was at nearly 50 percent -- 49.1 percent -- compared with 45.3 percent for Clinton in the seven-day polling period ending Saturday. Trump's highest number since July 14 was 49.2 percent on July 24.   We stress that this is only one poll.  Others have Clinton slightly ahead.  And it's the races in individual states that will decide the election.  Overall, taking a number of polls into account, Hillary has a small lead in the battleground states, but it has been eroding.

September 12, 2016