After the debate: Notable moments and reactions

                                                AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

◼ In wide field, it’s Romney vs. Perry
◼ Gingrich Slams Moderators, Media For Trying To Create Infighting - Real Clear Politics

◼ Why the Reagan Library GOP debate sucked - Michelle Malkin

Readers want to know who I thought “won” the GOP debate at the Reagan Library last night.... My answer: Twitter.

◼ Notes from the Spin Room – perils of the “P-word” (Ponzi, not Perry) - Roger L. Simon at Pajamas
◼ Perry vs. Romney - Redstate

◼ GOP Debate Transcript - Pajamas Media

NBC News - Politico 2012 Presidential Candidates Debate - Watch it here!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

◼ Live Streaming Video
◼ A Politico link that seems to be working

If the embed, or the link above isn't working - try this link: ◼ September 7th GOP Debate Live Stream at CDNews

LIVE BLOGGING:
◼ Protein Wisdom
◼ HotAir
◼ Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion
◼ Ace of Spades

We'll post the recorded version as soon as it is available.

YOUNG REPUBLICANS ORGANIZING MEETING SCHEDULED

Humboldt County’s Republican Central Committee will conduct an orientation and organizational meeting for a new chapter of the California Young Republicans Federation.

The meeting will take place at 6 p.m., Monday, September 12 at Republican Headquarters, 311 Fifth Street, Eureka. All Republicans between the ages of 18 and 40 are invited and are eligible to join the YR unit. Refreshments will be served.
###
◼ YOUNG REPUBLICANS ORGANIZING MEETING SCHEDULED

DEBATE TONIGHT!

◼ POLITICO-NBC News Republican Candidates Debate details

WHEN: Begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Wednesday, Sept. 7.

WHERE TO WATCH: POLITICO will be livestreaming the debate online – with a pre-debate show from the Library beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET and post-debate analysis immediately following. Watch it at: politico.com/reagandebate or on the POLITICO iPad app. The debate will also air live on MSNBC and re-air on CNBC and Telemundo.

DEBATE LOCATION: At the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, as a part of the Reagan Centennial Celebration.

MODERATORS: POLITICO Editor-in-chief John F. Harris and NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams, with questions from Telemundo's Jose Diaz-Balart.

QUESTIONS FROM READERS: POLITICO has been soliciting questions from readers for the last few weeks and will incorporate them into the debate.

COMPLETE COVERAGE: ◼ At politico.com/2012 and ◼ on Twitter, #reagandebate.

It will be Rick Perry’s first Presidential candidates debate. The eight candidates taking part in the debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California are Mitt Romney, Jon Huntsman, Michelle Bachman, Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul.

◼ MSNBC Preps for Republican Debate - Mediabistro (image source)

MSNBC has also moved some of its programming to California for the week, including “Hardball,” which will air live editions at both 5 and 7 PM ET.

Following the debate around 9:45 PM ET, MSNBC’s primetime anchor lineup of Rachel Maddow, Ed Schultz and Lawrence O’Donnell will host a post-debate analysis roundtable until 12 AM ET.

The decision is an interesting one. The debate itself is sponsored by NBC News, with “NBC Nightly News” anchor Brian Williams co-moderating, but it is airing first on MSNBC, which has moved toward opinion programming in primetime. The current programming lineup will effectively have a non-partisan debate flanked on either side by partisan programming.

◼ Debate presents crucial GOP test - Politico

Jon Huntsman's new ad: #1 v #47

Huntsman has already unveiled his economic and jobs plan, and he is the first to do so before Obama’s speech on Thursday. This 12-page plan was lauded by the Wall Street Journal, which described it as “better than anything so far from the GOP field.”
__________________
Jon Huntsman

See? It is a lack of “political skills” — a failure attributed to Obama personally – that liberals identify as an excuse, rather than daring to think the unthinkable: Obama is failing because liberalism doesn’t work.

◼ They can’t allow themselves to think that, because if they did, they wouldn’t be liberals anymore. - The Other McCain

NBC's Chuck Todd: "Our Pollsters Are Concerned" With Obama Approval

◼ link - Real Clear Politics
◼ Discussion at Lucianne

Sound Familiar?

Barack Obama has lost the Hamptons.

◼ Over the Labor Day weekend, I went to a number of events in the Hamptons. At all of them, Obama was discussed. At none of them — that’s none — was he defended. That was remarkable. After all, sitting around various lunch and dinner tables were mostly Democrats. Not only that, some of them had been vociferous Obama supporters, giving time and money to his election effort. They were all disillusioned. - Richard Cohen/Washington Post

Frankly, I was surprised. The Hamptons are a redoubt of New York liberalism. It is to campaign money what the Outer Banks are to fishermen. I expected more than a few people to defend the president. No one did. Everyone — and I do mean everyone — expressed disappointment in him as a leader.

How Obama protects the Teamsters

◼ Michelle Malkin's column today sheds light on the longstanding bromance between Barack Obama and the Teamsters. I especially want you to have all this information handy when Obama complains on Thursday about all the infrastructure that’s still not getting built despite the $230 billion in porkulus money set aside for construction projects.

California taxes away jobs while Texas adds them

◼ So why are businesses flocking to Texas and fleeing California? Well, as a recent headline from The Economist put it, in California "They paved paradise and put up the parking taxes."

"Texas created 129,000 new jobs in the last year -- over one-half of all the new jobs in the U.S. In contrast, California lost 112,000 jobs during the same period," according to "Texas vs. California: Economic growth prospects for the 21st Century," a new report by the Texas Public Policy Foundation released in October.

Texas is home to 64 Fortune 500 companies -- more than any other state in the union. (California has 51 and New York has 56.) For five years in a row, Texas has topped Chief Executive magazine's poll of the best state to do business.

Meanwhile, California is ranked dead last in the Chief Executive's survey. California state treasurer Bill Lockyer even went so far as to pen a Dec. 20 op-ed in the Los Angeles Times denying "the claim that we have a hostile business climate."

Networks Ignore Religion Ban at Ground Zero Ceremony

◼ The major news networks love 9/11 stories. But there's one 9/11 story they won't touch: the exclusion of any religious participation from the Ground Zero memorial service during the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. - Newsbusters

Mayor Bloomberg has vetoed the presence of religious speakers at the site of Ground Zero during the memorial ceremony on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, provoking a firestorm of criticism among religious leaders. But the three mainstream news networks - ABC, CBS, and NBC - have completely ignored the story.

Rush: Obama's Jobs Speech Will Be Just Another Campaign Attack on GOP

◼ " I haven't bothered you with them but I've got Obama sound bites from the Hoffa thing yesterday and he was on a roll, boy, he was out there ripping into Republicans left and right and how they're obstructionists and we're gonna find out who's in this for who, we're gonna find out what Republicans are willing to work with me on putting Americans back to work and all that. "

You know, Republicans will be lucky if Obama doesn't call them names during this speech. The whole purpose of this speech is for Obama to ream the Republicans as obstructionist. I haven't bothered you with them but I've got Obama sound bites from the Hoffa thing yesterday and he was on a roll, boy, he was out there ripping into Republicans left and right and how they're obstructionists and we're gonna find out who's in this for who, we're gonna find out what Republicans are willing to work with me on putting Americans back to work and all that.

"I just don't believe this guy anymore, and it's become almost painful to listen to him."

◼ He's lost Matt Taibbi. - Obama and Jobs: Why I Don't Believe Him Anymore - Rolling Stone

"...it was either sit underneath a full-volume broadcast of our fearless president bellowing out his latest hollow promises, or the hellish alternative: retreat to gates full of screaming five year-old children... I ended up choosing the screaming children."

Bachmann shakes up campaign staff

◼ Ed Rollins steps down from day-to-day duties - CBS

Herman Cain's new ad

__________________
Herman Cain

Obama ratings sink to new lows as hope fades

◼ More than 60 percent of those surveyed say they disapprove of the way the president is handling the economy and, what has become issue No. 1, the stagnant jobs situation.

Rush: Obama's Jobs Speech Will Be Just Another Campaign Attack on GOP

◼ " I haven't bothered you with them but I've got Obama sound bites from the Hoffa thing yesterday and he was on a roll, boy, he was out there ripping into Republicans left and right and how they're obstructionists and we're gonna find out who's in this for who, we're gonna find out what Republicans are willing to work with me on putting Americans back to work and all that. "

You know, Republicans will be lucky if Obama doesn't call them names during this speech. The whole purpose of this speech is for Obama to ream the Republicans as obstructionist. I haven't bothered you with them but I've got Obama sound bites from the Hoffa thing yesterday and he was on a roll, boy, he was out there ripping into Republicans left and right and how they're obstructionists and we're gonna find out who's in this for who, we're gonna find out what Republicans are willing to work with me on putting Americans back to work and all that.

DNC Chairwoman Wasserman Schultz's 'Civility'?

Texas Governor Rick Perry: Fires Have Destroyed 1,000 Homes

◼ Will miss Debate - HotAir

Polls show voters prefer GOP Hill majority

◼ (B)uried in the Journal/NBC poll is a contradictory nugget: Registered voters, by a 47 percent to 41 percent spread, would rather have Republicans in charge of Congress. That’s the highest level of preference for Republican control since the question was first posed 15 years ago. - Politico

“Nothing that exists in the public record today represents the kind of numbers or momentum Democrats would need to pivot and take control of the House,” said Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies, whose firm teamed with Hart Research to conduct the Journal/NBC poll.... The control-of-Congress result could be a blip, an anomaly. Or, it could end up being a data point that helps explain a Republican victory in the 2012 congressional elections.

GOP to Obama: Let's meet

◼ House Republican leaders are asking President Obama to convene a bipartisan meeting at the White House ahead of his Thursday address on job creation. - Kara Rowland/Washington Times

In a letter to Mr. Obama Tuesday, House Speaker John A. Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor said such a meeting would allow both parties to move beyond the rhetoric of bipartisanship and actually work together on measures that would spur job growth.

"Obviously achieving bipartisan agreement on these and other initiatives requires more than just one side declaring a proposal to be 'bipartisan,'" the Republicans wrote. "It requires that we work together. As such, we would suggest that prior to your address to Congress you convene a bipartisan, bicameral meeting of the congressional leadership so that we may have the opportunity to constructively discuss your proposals."

Poll illustrates California voters' anger

◼ Nearly 3 in 4 say the country is on the wrong track, and nearly half favor slashing government spending — a potentially dismal finding for President Obama, who will unveil a jobs plan this week. - Shane Goldmacher, Los Angeles Times

With California unemployment mired at 12%, the electorate is clearly dissatisfied with the status quo. Nearly 3 in 4 voters say the country is on the wrong track, up sharply from the 55% who felt that way in November 2009.

"We're going to hell in a handbasket, what can I say," said Esther Morales, 68, a Republican poll respondent who lives in a retirement community in Indio. She scoffed at the term "retirement," however, pointing out that most of her neighbors still have to work odd jobs to make ends meet: "We're on the fast track to nowhere."

Dissatisfaction with the nation's trajectory topped 60% across every age range, party, region and level of education, and among women and men. But sharp disagreements remain over how the federal government should guide the country away from the recent recession. And neither side wants to give ground.

Ron Paul: Trust

__________________
Ron Paul

Too many politicians are simply addressing the economic symptoms instead of fighting the underlying disease. The path forward is through reform. . . . In the meantime, good union brothers and sisters, don’t let Hoffa tell you what to do. He doesn’t represent the real interests of working men and women. He’s not doing you any favors. He’s just living off your paychecks.

◼ Sarah Palin Shows Her Union Card - The Other McCain
◼ On Facebook
__________________
Sarah Palin

LABOR LEADER CALLS FOR WAR ON REPUBLICANS

Hoffa: 'President Obama, this is your army. We are ready to march. Let's take these son of bitches out '...

◼ WH: No Comment...
◼ DNC CHAIR AVOIDS...

◼ Jake Tapper grills Carney: Why isn’t it fair to blame Obama for Hoffa’s remarks? - HotAir
◼ White House refuses to condemn Hoffa's violent rhetoric - Real Clear Politics

Obama's job approval rating has sunk to a low of 44 percent, a 3-point drop since July. His handling of the economy stands at a low of 37 percent. And only 19 percent believe the country is headed in the right direction

◼ Obama hits all-time lows, according to NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll - MSNBC via Drudge

Catastrophic fires burn thousands of acres, force evacuations across Central Texas

◼ Fires in Bastrop County, Spicewood, Steiner Ranch, Pflugerville, others driven by wind and dry conditions. - Statesman.com

◼ This is the current Texas wildfire situation. - redstate

◼ At last minute, Perry pulls out of DeMint forum - Byron York/Washington Examiner

According to several sources familiar with events, the chairman of Perry's campaign in South Carolina, former Republican party chief Katon Dawson, called organizers this morning to say that Perry needs to return to Texas to deal with quickly-spreading wildfires.

On Labor Day, we take time to celebrate centuries of American hard work and ingenuity.

◼ RNC Chairman Priebus Labor Day Statement

“On Labor Day, we take time to celebrate centuries of American hard work and ingenuity. Since our country’s earliest days, the American people have been innovators and entrepreneurs, building the most powerful economy in the history of the world.

“Our workforce drives our economy and makes us great. As we reflect today on the success of the American way of life, we know that our best days are still ahead as long as we promote America’s greatest resource: our people.

“But this Labor Day, far too many Americans are out of work and struggling to make ends meet. We must commit ourselves to helping job creators hire the rich talent forced to the sidelines in this economy. While the President champions regulations, mandates and tax hikes, Republicans across the country have stood up for American workers by supporting pro-growth initiatives.

“With the right priorities, we will get Americans back to work and restore the American Dream.”

DeMint's Palmetto Freedom Forum: Grilling the GOP Candidates

◼ Jim DeMint, Steve King, and Robert George want to get to first principles. - National Review

For most of the GOP presidential field, Labor Day this year will be a grilling day. But instead of flipping some burgers in the backyard, the candidates will face grilling of another sort: tough, serious questions at the Palmetto Freedom Forum in South Carolina.

The event, the product of a partnership between conservative kingmakers Sen. Jim DeMint (R., S.C.) and Rep. Steve King (R., Iowa), is designed to prod the candidates into going beyond their standard sound-bite responses....

◼ DeMint's Candidate Forum - Ace of Spades

Best part of this 3 questions in? Questions actual Republicans care and think about.

◼ Palmetto Freedom Forum VIDEO – Sept. 5, 2011
This video has been posted in 8 parts. You can start viewing with the first segment, and following segments will load automagically. (No embed available yet)

LABOR LEADER CALLS FOR WAR ON REPUBLICANS

◼ Jimmy Hoffa: 'President Obama, this is your army. We are ready to march. Let's take these son of bitches out ' - Real Clear Politics

Obama addressed the crowd shortly after Hoffa.

SARAH PALIN IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

◼ Robert Stacy McCain has has updates throughout the day...
◼ Fear and Loathing in Manchester: Palin Offers No Sympathy for the Media Devil
◼ Palin, not even in the race, draws double the size crowd as Romney - Sarah B. Boxer/CBS

◼ Yesterday: Sarah Palin runs half-marathon incognito in Iowa - Robin Abcarian/LA Times

◼ Labor Day Weekend–Sarah Palin parts the clouds - tygrrrrexpress.com

◼ Despite torrential rains, Sarah Palin lit up the Iowa sky and lit into the failed Obama presidency. - Eric Golub at the Washington Times

◼ Watch Governor Palin in New Hampshire (Update: link to full speech has been added) - students4palin.com

◼ http://sarahpac.com/
◼ Her Official Statement

Closed primaries and “radicalization”

◼ In what is probably a healthy development, we seem to be moving toward a somewhat more standardized system of primaries rather than caucus arrangements. - HotAir

(Democrats will have 37 primaries next year and Republicans 42.) But the other question which is still clearly in flux is whether those primaries should be open – allowing independents, or even members of the opposition, to participate – or closed to party members only.

◼ How closed primaries further polarize our politics - Mark A. Siegel/Washington Post

The hybrid model used in New Hampshire allows registered independents, who often determine general election outcomes, to participate in the Democratic or Republican primary while protecting each major party from crossover by the other. If expanded to all states, such a system could moderate American politics: It would produce candidates who would fare better in general election contests and elected officials who are more flexible and willing to compromise across party lines. This simple change could help restore civility to our politics, perhaps creating room for bipartisan solutions to our country’s great problems, and revive faith in the American political system.

Barone: Speech fiasco an 'audacity of weakness'

◼ Democrats have criticized Obama on the speech scheduling flap. James Carville said he was "out of bounds." Salon.com's Cent Uygur sensed "the audacity of weakness." It reminds me of a phrase describing a character in the 1980s TV series Dallas" -- "blustering, opportunistic, craven and hopelessly ineffective all at once." - Michael Barone/Washington Examiner

Not such a big deal, some people are saying. I disagree. I think it illustrates several of the weaknesses of this presidency....

Before last week, presidents and congressional leaders always agreed privately on scheduling presidential addresses to joint sessions before any public announcement was made. But it appears that no such agreement was made here, just a brusque announcement that had to be retracted.

Another weakness on display was contempt for public opinion. White House press secretary Jay Carney said it was just "coincidental" that the president wanted to speak at the same time as the Reagan Library debate. It was just "one debate that's one of many on one channel."

...A third Obama weakness is his propensity to charge his political opponents with playing politics when he is doing exactly that himself. In previewing this latest jobs-and-the-economy speech, Carney said that Obama will make the case "that politics is broken, and that politics is getting in the way of the very necessary things we need to do."

This from the president who has brushed aside one bipartisan initiative after another... An excellent piece, well worth reading in its entirety

Lauren Bush walks down the aisle in dress designed by father-in-law Ralph Lauren in sunset nuptials overlooking Rocky Mountains

◼ The first details of the details of the nuptials, joining two of America's iconic families, emerged, as the guests prepared to celebrate the marriage this evening with a rodeo.
The bride, who becomes Lauren Bush Lauren, wore an intricately embroidered Victorian-style gown designed by her father-in-law Ralph Lauren. - Daily Mail

Maureen Dowd: "The days of spinning illusions in a Greek temple in a football stadium are done. The One is dancing on the edge of one term... The White House team is flailing — reacting, regrouping, retrenching. It’s repugnant."

◼ One and Done? - Maureen Dowd, New York Times

Obama is still suffering from the Speech Illusion, the idea that he can come down from the mountain, read from a Teleprompter, cast a magic spell with his words and climb back up the mountain, while we scurry around and do what he proclaimed.

◼ Can a president truly become irrelevant? - HotAir
◼ A President Adrift - The Daily Beast

Robert Redford on Obama: 'Like So Many Others I'm Beginning to Wonder Just Where the Man Stands'

◼ Barack Obama's Hope and Change ether appears to be wearing off on Robert Redford. - Newsbusters

In reality, what Americans from all walks of life are learning - even Hollywoodans! - is the man they fell in love with despite his record or lack thereof really has no core beliefs or deeply-held positions.

For Sarah Palin, the game is still on

◼ Sarah Palin gives a rousing non-campaign campaign speech in Iowa - LA Times

Today, Saturday, Sept. 3, is three years to the day from Palin's rousing speech at the 2008 Republican National Convention, which launched her into national prominence. As on that night, Palin opted for a light-colored top. But in Iowa, it was not an oyster-colored silk designer jacket, but a rib-knit cream sweater. And if you didn't know Palin hadn't yet announced, you'd be forgiven for thinking she's knee-deep in the race.

◼ Sarah Palin Talks About Her ‘Plan’ but Does Not Announce in Iowa - ABC
◼ Palin says ‘room for more’ in GOP race
◼ For Sarah Palin, the game is still on - Politico (image source)
◼ Sarah Palin’s Appearance in Iowa Leaves Supporters Exhorting Her to Run - Bloomberg
◼ Sarah Palin Rallies Tea Party Supporters - C-SPAN (video starts automatically)
◼ Sarah Palin Fires Up Crowd At Tea Party Rally: ‘Polls Are For Strippers And Cross-Country Skiiers’ - Mediaite
◼ Sarah Palin Lays Out Her Views in Tea Party Speech, Without Formally Announcing 2012 Candidacy - International Business Times






◼ The threat of her candidacy, itself, is something which conservatives should relax and enjoy fully, until such time as she declares that phase concluded - Smitty at The Other McCain

◼ Transcript: Sarah Palin's Iowa speech - Charlie Spiering/Washington Examiner

The Obama administration has turned out to be a bitter disappointment, and Democrats aren’t taking it well.

◼ THE DEMOCRATS AREN’T TAKING IT WELL - Powerline

An ardent Obama supporter said yesterday, “why doesn’t he just fight” and that about says it all. The latest kerfuffle over the timing of what is supposed to be a major speech on jobs broke down into a sandbox spat.

The idea that Obama isn’t “fighting” is the current meme on the Left. In fact, he has been furiously jamming a left-wing agenda down the throats of the American people for the last 2 1/2 years, and is now starting to back off only because he hopes to have some chance of being re-elected by an increasingly hostile electorate.

...to conclude, let’s just focus on CBS News’s claim that Obama’s new proposals–whatever they may turn out to be–are “too important to wait another day.” If those proposals are so important, where have they been for the last 2 1/2 years? Or, to be more cruel, where were they last week when Obama was vacationing on Martha’s Vineyard? “Too important to wait another day?” Tell that to the president.

◼ Memo to Dems: Dump Obama before it’s too late - Daily Caller

Perry’s ‘loser pays’ is an economic winner

◼ New Texas law expected to reduce unjustified lawsuits - Washington Times

Sadly, the fact that zero jobs were created last month is only fitting for this administration, which is led by a President with zero leadership, zero plans, zero results and zero understanding of basic economics. And the American people are worse off because of it.”

◼ Herman Cain Responds to August Job Numbers

“We learned today that not a single job was created during the month of August in the United States of America. In the land of endless opportunity and abundant freedom, the very promise that has inspired generations of industrious and innovative people seems to be dwindling away.

After trillions in government spending and empty promises, 14 million American workers are unemployed, with millions more underemployed. These are people, not statistics. They are families struggling to put food on the table, send their kids to school and keep the lights on. They are our family members, friends and neighbors.

Sadly, the fact that zero jobs were created last month is only fitting for this administration, which is led by a President with zero leadership, zero plans, zero results and zero understanding of basic economics. And the American people are worse off because of it.”


Herman Cain ________________________________
Other responses:
◼ Marco Rubio
◼ Rick Perry

What a difference four years makes:

◼ ‘Lots of Talk, No Action’ - Ed Driscoll at Pajamas Media

Inquiring minds want to know: Why did green-jobs bust Solyndra get a gigantic federal loan?

◼ The White House insists it didn’t intervene with DOE on Solyndra’s behalf, but - HotAir

House investigators said they have uncovered evidence that White House officials became personally involved in an Energy Department review of a hot-button $535 million loan guarantee to the now-failed California solar company Solyndra…

“We have learned from our investigation that White House officials monitored Solyndra’s application and communicated with [Department of Energy] and Office of Management and Budget officials during the course of their review,” the letter says… ◼ More at National Review
◼ Teapot Solyndra - Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion

Welcome Eureka's new City Attorney, Cyndy Day-Wilson.

◼ Cyndy Day-Wilson, an attorney out of Bonita in San Diego County, penned the contract with the city earlier today, a hire which will be confirmed by the City Council next Tuesday. - Humboldt Sentinel

White House already lowering expectations for the big speech on Thursday

◼ Everyone’s going to be watching as he finally rolls out the big plan! Except … he isn’t, it turns out. He’s only going to roll out part of it. - HorAIR

Aides say Thursday’s speech will be part of a bigger plan the White House will roll out throughout the fall with the president hitting the road for speeches and town hall appearances. Aides have already confirmed that Obama will be traveling to California, Colorado, and Washington state for one three-day swing later this month that will include economic events as well as some fundraising.

What'a happening with Chicago Republicans...

◼ chicagogop.com ...it's a fun site.

Job Growth: ZERO

◼ Economy Gains No Jobs in August, Rate Holds at 9.1% - CNBC via Drudge
◼ US economy created no job growth in August, data show - First time since 1945 that government has reported net monthly job change of zero - MSNBC
◼ Job growth grinds to a halt in August - Yahoo
◼ Employers Add No Net Jobs in Aug.; Rate Unchanged - ABC
◼ Obama: No comment, off to presidential retreat... - Politisite
◼ Dow Drops 200, Led by BofA, After Jobs News - CNBC

◼ ‘Missed It By That Much, Chief’ - The Other McCain
◼ Herman Cain Slams Obama on Jobs: ‘Zero Leadership, Zero Plans, Zero Results and Zero Understanding of Basic Economics’ - The Other McCain
◼ Santelli blasts Obama on weak jobs report: ‘Shame on him’ - Daily Caller

Amazon.com has put forth a plan to avert the referendum to overturn a new tax law that is ready to qualify for the next election.

◼ Despite Amazon’s Move, History Says We’re in for a Ballot Brawl - Fox&Hounds

RedState: The Horserace for September 2, 2011

◼ Let’s go through all the candidates today. All of them.

"It's not going to be a 'Morning in America' campaign, it's going to be a darkness at midnight campaign about the Republicans."

◼ Fineman: Dems Tell Me Campaign Will Be A "Down And Dirty" Attack (Video) - Real Clear Politics

"It's not going to be a 'Morning in America' campaign, it's going to be a darkness at midnight campaign about the Republicans. it's going to be about the fact that the Republicans in Congress pushed Paul Ryan's bill Medicare, about how they pushed Cut, Cap and Balance. It's about how Republicans wanted to dismantle Wall Street reform. It's going to be about how the Republican presidential candidates have embraced the Tea Party."

"Those are going to be the two central messages of a campaign that's mostly going to be about attack. I think this is -- just like 2008 was in some respects an uplifting campaign, from both sides, this one is going to be down and dirty from the beginning from both sides."

Shocking: Secret Document: Only 4% of NEA Dues Dollars Dedicated to ‘Improve Teaching’

◼ (A) secret union document reveals that the NEA’s commitment to “improv(ing) teaching and learning” works out to a paltry $7.44 per member every year. - Kyle Olson at Breitbart's Big Government

‘Obama Clock’ climbs iPhone reference app chart

◼ An “Obama Clock” app is jockeying for position with National Geographic’s World Atlas atop the iTunes app store’s reference best-seller list, partly because conservatives are eager to monitor President Barack Obama’s skidding approval numbers and shrinking calendar, says the app’s designer. - Yahoo
◼ Get The App (No Android version yet)

Poll: 65% Give Obama Thumbs Down On Economy

◼ Just 28% Of Americans Polled Say Things Are Going Well - CNN Political Unit

"...Two-thirds of Democrats continue to approve of Obama's economic record, but seven out of 10 independents disapprove. Not surprisingly, more than nine out of 10 Republicans also disapprove of how Obama is handling the economy..."

NBC News to Huntsman: Are Perry and Bachmann ‘Too Far Right to Beat Obama?’

◼ After indulging Huntsmann in his usual cookie-cutter “I’m the moderate choice” responses Guthrie decided to cut to the chase and ask one of those biased questions that don’t actually require a response, because the actual intent of the journalist is to communicate a message to the audience - Larry O'Connor at Big Journalism

◼ Top Huntsman aide departs during N.H. trip - Politico

Democrats Distancing Themselves From Obama

◼ they are increasingly calculating how close is too close to an unpopular President Obama - National Journal

The president’s dismal poll ratings, should they continue into next year, could sink Democratic hopes for reclaiming ground in the House and retaining control of the Senate -- especially in battleground states and swing districts.

The Important Stuff: White House working to avoid clash with NFL's opening game

◼ The Associated Press reported that White House officials were working on the precise timing of the speech in hopes of avoiding a conflict. - NFL.com

Carney: Obama Recognizes "There Are Things He Can Do Without Congress And He Will Do Them"

◼ with video - Real Clear Politics

◼ Carney: Obama's New Jobs Plan Would Put Unemployment Below 9% - Real Clear Politics

◼ New White House analysis: Unemployment should stay above 9% all next year - HotAir

Discover The Networks: Identifying George Soros’s Agendas

◼ GUIDE TO THE GEORGE SOROS NETWORK

Each year, George Soros’s Open Society Institute donates scores of millions of dollars to left-wing advocacy groups. Discover The Networks has identified, with specificity, the major agendas that Soros and these organizations together promote.

◼ Organizations Funded Directly by George Soros and his Open Society Institute

In addition to those organizations that are funded directly by George Soros and his Open Society Institute (OSI), there are also numerous "secondary" or "indirect" affiliates of the Soros network. These include organizations which do not receive direct funding from Soros and OSI, but which are funded by one or more organizations that do.

Herman Cain: Recent Democratic Attacks on Tea Party 'Desperate,' Take Race Card to a 'New Low'

◼ It was despicable. It was disgusting. And it was desperate. You see, the Democrats have no results to run on. They have no plans that are working. The president doesn't have any plans that working. He's broken a lot of promises. Herman Cain talks to Greta on FOX

Perry 44% Obama 41%; President Leads Other GOP Hopefuls

◼ For the first time this year, Texas Governor Rick Perry leads President Obama in a national Election 2012 survey. Other Republican candidates trail the president by single digits. - Rasmussen

Sarah Palin’s Gift

◼ It’s one of the reasons why the Republic primary campaign, which has the better part of a year to run, would be richer and more exciting were the Alert Alaskan to enter the fray, pressing for an approach to the issues on the basis of what she calls commonsense constitutional conservatism. - Editorial of The New York Sun

In our long newspaper life, we have covered a lot of brands of conservative — paleo-conservatism, neo-conservatism, supply-side-conservatism, Christian-conservatism, social conservatism, libertarian conservatism, compassionate conservatism. Even as we've been more enthusiastic about some than others, all of them have made important contributions. At the end of the day, though, we have yet to sense a more open and civil way for resolving our differences than in the idea of repairing for guidance to the constitutional contract that established our republic.

This is what we sometimes call Sarah Palin’s gift to the GOP. By branding as her own the phrase constitutional conservatism, the former governor of Alaska has opened up an approach to a host of issues facing our country in a way that pays homage to our deepest and noblest traditions. And in ways that may yet lead to adjustments by both sides, on questions as diverse as, say, immigration, monetary policy, gay marriage, the deficit, the war, education, regulation, and crime, to name but a few of the issues on which the country is divided and on which the constitution contains language that may steer us to tranquil shores.

No doubt other Republicans can also bow this violin, meaning they have either marked some of the constitutional points or are capable of doing so. We comprehend that some — Governors Perry and Romney, among them — have greater governmental experience than Mrs. Palin. But it has been Mrs. Palin who has brought the idea of constitutional conservative to the fore. She has done this through the Tea Party, through her bus tour, through her speeches, and her postings at Facebook. We are not making an endorsement here, merely saying that the race — our country’s politics — would be enriched were she to throw her hat into the ring as a candidate.

‘There is no secret, brilliant strategy. This White House is in a bubble.’

◼ We’ll see what Obama offers on Thursday night, but many of us feel like we’ve heard it all before - Jim Geraghty/National Review Online

We’ll see what Obama offers on Thursday night, but many of us feel like we’ve heard it all before: “I inherited this,” “prevented another Great Depression,” “saved or created,” “green jobs,” “repair our crumbling roads and bridges,” “winning the future,” “we can’t afford not to invest in” blah, blah, blah. Never mind that just weeks ago, Obama was promising a “very specific plan.”

Gov. Jon Huntsman's jobs plan: 'Straightforward and common sense'

◼ Republican former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman jumped to the front of the line and issued his jobs plan. - LA Times

Another former governor, Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, will soon be issuing his. And after some fumbled negotiations in public, House Speaker John Boehner and the Obama White House agreed last evening that 137 weeks into his administration, the president will speak to a joint session of Congress with his latest plan to create jobs.

If the past nearly 32 months are any indication, none of them will pass, work or matter. Unemployment, which was supposed to stay beneath 8% if we threw $787 billion in stimnulus money at it, is now 9.1%. Consumer confidence has tanked. Economic growth is virtually stagnant.

Except for jobs plan speechwriters. They are in huge demand. This morning we have here first some excerpts from Huntsman's speech Wednesday.

Minutes after his Sept. 8 address to Congress is set, Obama bashes both houses

◼ Within minutes of agreeing with congressional leaders Wednesday night on an address to a joint session next week, President Obama flashed out an email to millions of supporters criticizing the chambers, their members and vowing to pressure them to enact his as yet unspecified job creation ideas. - LA Times (photo source)

"It's been a long time since Congress was focused on what the American people need them to be focused on," the Democrat charged in an email with the subject line: "Frustrated."

It's not exactly clear how long "a long time" Obama was thinking of. But until midterm voters produced a historic House turnover to Republicans last November, Obama's Democratic Party controlled both houses with substantial majorities and gave him vast spending, reform and healthcare programs.

It was, at least in part, voter reaction to such legislation that produced the divided government in D.C. now.

Valerie Jarrett, Slumlord's Grove Parc Gets Fed $

◼ Bailing out past mistakes with more of our dwindling taxpayer dollars. - Anne at Backyard Conservative

Jobs are not a commodity that can be manufactured by the government, to be showered upon a deserving populace as gifts. The Obama Administration always speaks of them in such terms, discussing “job creation” as if the government need only add a bit more water and fertilizer to make the American garden bloom with lush and vital employment.

◼ Why Would You Hire Someone? Jobs are a relationship, not a commodity. - John Hayward at Human Events

Jerry (Moonbeam) Brown's Bizarre Take on Taxes

◼ The frustration with the lack of success is pushing Brown to make more bizarre statements and propose more unfeasible ideas, and California continues to struggle with its ongoing bad policies. - Jarrett Stepman at Human Events

The fall of California and the breakdown of both its government and economy have been well-documented over time. The failed policies continue, and these days California Gov. Jerry Brown is using strange insults to get his high-tax agenda through the state legislature.

In an appearance he made in Las Vegas on Tuesday, Brown stated that he believes the Republican Party’s resistance to infrastructure projects and taxes is ridiculous.

Brown said, “It's dangerous, it's shortsighted. But it's a product of this notion that taxes are like some kind of a sexually transmitted disease, and government is all the problem.”

Obama and the Burden of Exceptionalism

◼ Post-'60s liberals, with the president as their standard bearer, seek to make a virtue of decline. - Shelby Steele for The Wall St. Journal

This is the piece Rush was talking about.

America seems to be facing a pivotal moment: Do we move ahead by advancing or by receding—by reaffirming the values that made us exceptional or by letting go of those values, so that a creeping mediocrity begins to spare us the burdens of greatness?

As a president, Barack Obama has been a force for mediocrity. He has banked more on the hopeless interventions of government than on the exceptionalism of the people. His greatest weakness as a president is a limp confidence in his countrymen.

Gibson Guitars CEO on DOJ bullies: “[S]macks of something from an Orwell novel”

◼ Gibson Guitars CEO on DOJ bullies: “[S]macks of something from an Orwell novel” - Michelle Malkin

One last detail of note: The article opens by observing that Gibson’s past alliances with left-wing enviro groups like Greenpeace didn’t stop the eco-nitwits from going after the company.

There’ an object lesson here for other businesses small and large: Don’t delude yourself into thinking you can buy permanent immunity from Big Green or Big Government. You can’t.

Don’t think of it as the federal government but as your “federal family.”

◼ FEMA'S use of term 'federal family' for government expands under Obama - PalmBeachPost

“Under the direction of President Obama and Secretary Janet Napolitano, the entire federal family is leaning forward to support our state, tribal and territorial partners along the East Coast,” a FEMA news release declared Friday as Irene churned toward landfall.

-25

◼ 19% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as president. Forty-four percent (44%) Strongly Disapprove, giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -25 - Rasmussen