AS HIGH NOON APPROACHES – AT 11:21 A.M. ET:  The first debate is a day away, and the race is getting tighter.  Several polls now suggest that Donald Trump is regaining the momentum after dropping the ball a few weeks ago by once again bringing up the Obama birthplace issue.  From the Morning Consult:

Donald Trump leads Hillary Clinton by 1 percentage point among likely voters who were polled a few days ahead of the much-anticipated debate between the two presidential candidates. The debate will take place Monday evening.

The ratings for the televised matchup between the two candidates are expected to be at record highs. Two-thirds of registered voters say they expect to watch the debate, with 41 percent saying they are “very likely” to watch it.

In a nationwide poll of 1,712 likely voters taken Sept. 22 through Sept. 24, 39 percent of respondents chose Trump, while while Clinton was the choice for 38 percent. The difference between the two candidates is within the margin of error. The other candidates in the race continue to trail behind the leaders, with Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson at 9 percent and Green Party candidate Jill Stein at 4 percent; 10 percent of respondents say they don’t know or have no opinion.

In a head-to-head matchup without the third-party candidates, Clinton edges out Trump by 2 points among likely voters, 44 percent to 42 percent, within the margin of error.

COMMENT:  A new Washington Post poll, just out, also shows an exceptionally tight race.  I'm not sure what may have caused this new Trump surge.  Maybe it's Hillary's own weakness.  Maybe it's resentment at the viciousness of the attacks on Trump.  Maybe it's the rioting in Charlotte and the terrorist attacks in New York and New Jersey.

We'll be watching the TV rumble tomorrow night.

September 25,  2016