Please note that you can leave a comment on any of our posts at our Facebook page.  Subscribers can also comment at length at our Angel's Corner Forum.

Our Angel's Corner archive is here.

AUGUST 31,  2016

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 9:55 P.M. ET: 

TRUMP TRIUMPHS – Donald Trump's surprising trip to meet the president of Mexico has gotten generally good reviews, except, of course, from the Democrats.  The visit went well, Trump was very scripted and presidential, and looked like a man of action.  Polls are tightening, and I believe today's visit will make them tighten more.  Meanwhile, Hillary made a speech to a veterans' group and sounded awkward, distant, and unlikable.  Her problem is that, whenever she opens her mouth, people realize why they don't much care for her.

FOX POLL CONFIRMS TREND – FROM THE HILL:    Hillary Clinton holds a 2-point lead over Donald Trump as the presidential race tightens, a new national poll finds.  A Fox News poll released Wednesday found that the Democratic nominee leads her GOP counterpart 41 to 39 percent, which is within the survey’s margin of error. Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson garners 9 percent, while Green Party nominee Jill Stein takes 4 percent.  Johnson and Stein siphon away more of Clinton’s support than Trump’s in a four-way contest. When it’s a two-way race, Clinton’s lead expands to 6 points, 48 to 42 percent.  Clinton’s lead has shrunk compared to the same poll from earlier this month that had her up by 10 points. That survey came after the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia late last month and Trump’s feud with the Muslim parents of a slain U.S. soldier.  The poll confirms the general trend – support for Trump is up, Hillary down.

YEAH, HE SAID IT – FROM TOWNHALL.COM:   Speaking from Bangladesh Tuesday morning, Secretary of State John Kerry suggested members of the media stop covering (Islamic) terrorism so people won't "know what's going on." Kerry attempted to preempt his statement by implying media coverage creates copy cats and promotes more terrorism.  "If you decide one day you’re going to be a terrorist and you’re willing to kill yourself, you can go out and kill some people. You can make some noise...perhaps the media would do us all a service if they didn’t cover it quite as much. People wouldn’t know what’s going on," Kerry said.  While the copy cat, attention seeker argument may be true in a handful of cases, the media ignoring terrorism as the Obama administration has arguably chosen to do for nearly a decade, isn't going to make terrorism go away.  Hard to believe he said it, but he'll only be secretary of state until January 20th.  Then Huma Abedin can take the job.

August 31, 2016       Permalink

WEIRD, MAN – AT 10:48 A.M. ET:  Donald Trump, who isn't even president yet, is going south today to meet with the president of Mexico, a man who compared Trump to Hitler and Mussolini.  You gotta give Trump credit – he knows how to create a headline.  From LifeZette: 

GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump will travel to Mexico on Wednesday to meet with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, LifeZette has confirmed.

Sources including Mexican officials involved in the planning of the visit, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, stated the meeting would cover a broad variety of topics ranging from trade to security to immigration and the contentious issue of border enforcement.

A serious, substantive, and respectful meeting with Peña Nieto also offers Trump the chance reassure skeptical undecided voters of his presidential temperament.

It's a masterstroke.  Trump is starting to look like an almost-president.

It is expected that Trump adviser and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus and Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, along with high-ranking Mexican officials, will attend the meeting.

The meeting will occur despite concerns from both Mexican security services and the U.S. Secret Service.

Officials expect the two leaders to make some statement following the meeting, but do not expect a full press conference.

The trip is particularly historic for Trump in that no previous non-incumbent presidential nominee of a major party has ever traveled to Mexico as part of his campaign.

COMMENT:  I'm sure the Mexican authorities have been advised about the trends in the polls.  Trump will be treated with respect if they think he has a chance of winning.

There is no word on whether Hillary will rush down as well, or just send Anthony Weiner.

August 31, 2016       Permalink

IF BLACK LIVES REALLY MATTER... – AT 9:57 A.M. ET:  A new survey shows growing discontent with President Obama among American blacks.  This could affect turnout on election day.  From the Washington Examiner: 

The well-being of black Americans, which began to surge at the end of the Bush administration and reached a high in 2010, has plummeted ever since while white Republicans, Asians and Hispanics have thrived, according to a new Gallup index.

The survey said that blacks who describe themselves as thriving has dropped from near 60 percent in 2010 to 53.2 percent, the lowest of the four racial categories tested.

Gallup blamed the drop on other survey results that indicated African Americans don't believe President Obama has done enough for them during his second term, which they helped to deliver.

Said Gallup, "blacks' life evaluations have waned in Obama's second term, averaging below 54 percent each year since 2013 and now registering below that of whites and Hispanics. These results dovetail with blacks' collective sentiment that Obama has not done enough to improve black Americans' standard of living."

COMMENT:  So, it would appear that Donald Trump does have, theoretically, an opening.   Apparently his campaign is aware of it, and Trump is vigorously pursuing the black vote, something Republican candidates rarely do.  If he can dent the overwhelming majorities Democrats rack up among blacks, it could conceivably swing the election in his favor.

That's a big "if."  The black establishment is pulling out all stops to portray Trump as the racist enemy.  It's up to Trump to crush that narrative.  He must find a way, as Reagan did, to speak above the establishment and the media, directly to black voters.  He'll be addressing a major black church congregation in Detroit this week. 

August 31, 2016       Permalink

HILLARY SINKING – AT 9:32 A.M. ET:  It's fast becoming the new narrative, that Hillary Clinton's troubles are increasing at exactly the wrong time.  The scandals surrounding her are having their impact.  Remember that a switch in the polls of five or six points can reverse a presidential election.  From The Hill: 

Hillary Clinton’s image is at its lowest point with Americans in her 25 years of public service, according to a new poll.

Fifty-six percent of U.S. adults view the Democratic presidential nominee unfavorably in The Washington Post/ABC News survey released Wednesday.

Forty-one percent see her favorably instead.

July’s edition of the same poll had Clinton earning a 42 percent favorability rating.

Clinton’s previous benchmark for unfavorability, meanwhile, was a 55 percent ranking in June’s version of survey.

Wednesday’s results found Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, remains even more unpopular.

Sixty-three percent view Trump unfavorably, while 35 percent consider the real estate tycoon favorably instead.

The Washington Post/ABC News conducted its latest sampling of 1,020 adults via cell and landline telephone interviews from Aug. 24-28. It has a 3.5 percent margin of error.

Both Clinton and Trump have received low favorability ratings from voters throughout the 2016 general presidential election.

COMMENT:  Clinton is also slipping in the matchup polls against Donald Trump.  As we reported last night, the latest Reuters survey has the race tied.

This is a case where we wait for the other shoe to drop.  There are more Clinton e-mails to be published.  And her health seems to be growing as an issue.  From The Hill:   "President Obama’s former physician said that he believes Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton should have a neurological examination due to her history of brain injury.  During an interview on CNN, Dr. David Scheiner argued that Clinton’s note from her doctor isn’t enough. The letter details that Clinton had follow-up testing in 2013 that showed a full recovery from a concussion and that she tested negative for clotting disorders."

Stand by.  The formal campaigns start officially on Tuesday.  The first debate is September 26th.

August 31,  2016     Permalink

AUGUST 30,  2016

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:55 P.M. ET: 

STUNNING – The Reuters tracking poll now shows the race between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump to be tied.  Only last week the poll showed Clinton up by as much as 12 points.  Is the poll accurate?  I can't say, but there does seem to be an overall tightening of the race, not only nationally, but in some battleground states.  Hillary's ethics problems continue, the linking of her name with that of the FBI can't help, and Trump is improving as a candidate.  Also, Hillary and company may be going too far in calling Trump a racist.  It's backfiring.

PRIMARY VICTORIES – There were some important primaries today.  John McCain won the Republican nomination for a sixth term in the Senate.  He faces a tough re-election battle in Arizona in November, and his fate may be affected by how well Donald Trump does in the state.   Marco Rubio won a decisive primary victory in Florida for another term in the Senate.  Should he be re-elected in November, and should Trump lose the presidential race, Rubio would be a top contender for the GOP presidential nomination in 2020.  Had he been the nominee this year, I believe he would have easily defeated Hillary Clinton. 

WOMEN AND GUNS – FROM THE DAILY SIGNAL –  A study by the Crime Prevention Research Center earlier this month found concealed-carry permits have boomed nationally, but particularly among women and minorities. “In eight states where we have data by gender, since 2012 the number of permits has increased by 161 percent for women and by 85 percent for men,” the report says.  I really don't find that shocking.  Gun rights go along with other rights, and modern women are exercising those rights.

August 30,  2016     Permalink 

A GOOD QUESTION FOR TRUMP – AT 11:35 A.M. ET:  Many Republicans are frustrated by Trump's failure to exploit the mess that is the age of Obama.  Symbolic of that mess is the continuing collapse of Obamacare, presumably Obama's "signature" domestic achievement.  (I wouldn't want my signature on that.)  From Byron York at the Washington Examiner:   

Obamacare is in deep trouble. The exchanges created by Barack Obama's signature achievement are attracting millions fewer customers than predicted. The makeup of the system's risk pool is older, sicker and costlier than anticipated. Some of the largest insurers in the nation have pulled out of the exchanges. Premiums are going up and expected to jump right before November's election. Perhaps more burdensome, deductibles have soared so high that some Americans who purchased coverage through the system are essentially self-financing their care.

Politically, Democrats own Obamacare, lock, stock and barrel. That includes Hillary Clinton, who is running on a pledge to "defend and expand the Affordable Care Act."

And...

These days, for a large part of the non-Medicaid population buying insurance on the individual market, Obamacare has become a very troubling presence. There could hardly be a better issue for a Republican presidential candidate to use against the Democrat seeking to succeed Barack Obama.

Yet Donald Trump remains virtually silent on Obamacare. Look at Trump's last 10 speeches — the number since Trump began delivering prepared-text teleprompter remarks. All came during a period of bad news about Obamacare. But, according to the texts released by the campaign, one Trump speech didn't mention Obamacare at all, while several others devoted just a few — really, a few — words to the subject.

And...

Trump has devoted a good deal of time to a quixotic mission to appeal to black voters. He has clumsily searched for a way to re-work the deportation part of his immigration policy. And, as usual, he has spent a lot of time doing TV interviews about all sorts of things.

And yet on an absolutely critical issue, one that cuts across health care and economic concerns, and one in which Trump has solid ground on which to attack Clinton, the GOP presidential candidate has spent virtually no time attacking a glaring Democratic vulnerability.

At one point, Republicans made opposition to Obamacare the centerpiece of their attacks on Democrats. Now that the system is actually coming apart, the GOP presidential nominee says virtually nothing at all.

COMMENT:  Those are good points, and York gives good advice.  What say you, Mr. Trump?  What would you do to battle the mess in Obamacare?   Voters want to know.

August 30, 2016       Permalink

TRAGEDY – AT 10:46 A.M. ET:  The tragedy of black America continues.  A tragedy of underachievement and lack of educational stimulus.  Groups like "Black Lives Matter" concentrate only on creating tensions between African-Americans and everyone else.  But the real sadness is that, every day, black kids are falling short of their potential.  From the College Fix:   

As the percentage of graduating students who take the ACT college entrance exam goes up, their collective performance is going down.

Only 38 percent hit the “college-prepared benchmark” on at least three of the four core subject tests, down from 40 percent last year. The tests are reading, English, math and science. The composite score of all four tests dropped just two-tenths of a point.

But these overall results don’t tell the deep divides in performance by race, the Associated Press reports:

Forty-nine percent of white test-takers met the three-or-more benchmark, compared with 11 percent of African-Americans and 23 percent of Hispanic test-takers. But the gaps between the groups haven’t shifted that much, for better or worse, in the past four years.

Just as “alarming,” says ACT’s Paul Weeks, is that 1 in 3 students didn’t meet any benchmark this year, meaning they are “likely to struggle with first-year courses and end up in remedial classes that will delay degree completion and increase college costs.”

Also of note: Fewer ACT test-takers want to go to traditional college.

In the past four years, the proportion of students saying they would like to pursue vocational/technical and two-year degrees increased by 2 percent. The proportion aspiring to higher levels of education dropped by 6 percent.

COMMENT:  Well, that last fact might not be bad news.  We have probably, and vastly, overrated the value of a traditional college education.  There is nothing wrong with a technical school.  The country needs technicians a lot more than it needs ethnic-studies majors. 

Do you think I'll be arrested for that last statement?

August 30, 2016       Permalink

TRUMP MOVEMENT? – AT 10:06 A.M. ET:  Well, maybe.  We've seen plenty of elections where "movement" is reported toward a guy who then loses in a landslide.  Are we seeing the same today?  We'll find out soon.  But there is some "movement."  From The Hill:

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are tied in Ohio, while Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, leads her GOP rival in Michigan and Pennsylvania, according to new polls that find tight races in three crucial Rust Belt states.

Three Emerson College polls released Monday found that Clinton and Trump each have 43 percent support in Ohio, while she leads him by 5 points in Michigan, 45 percent to 40 percent, and by 3 points in Pennsylvania, 46 to 43 percent.

Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson received 10 percent support in Ohio and 7 percent in Pennsylvania and Michigan. Green Party nominee Jill Stein got 3 percent support in Michigan and 2 percent in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Trump is doing better among independents in all three states, pollsters found. He has a 17-point margin over Clinton among those voters in Ohio but has a much more narrow lead in Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Both Clinton and Trump face negative favorability ratings in all three states.

Clinton leads among female voters by double digits, and Trump has an edge among male voters.

Clinton is also leading among young voters in Ohio and Pennsylvania, but Trump holds a 12-point lead for voters between the ages of 18 and 34 in Michigan.

COMMENT:  I'm actually surprised that Trump is doing so well, given a year of self-inflicted wounds, but his relatively high numbers, in comparison with Hillary, may reflect her vast unpopularity and recent improvements in his campaign.  In order to squeeze out a victory, he will have to continue those changes, find a way to speak over the media to the American people, and actually come up with programs Americans like.  It's possible, but Trump is fighting tough odds.

August 30,  2016     Permalink