SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 9:18 P.M. ET:

IS IT REAL? – Some U.S. intelligence officials have started to push back against the stories, which we've cited, about a possible terror attack timed for the 9-11 ten-year commemoration.   While remaining anonymous, they say that the plot may actually not exist, and that there's no real evidence to support the warnings.  Of course, these officials may well be right.  That's happened before.  But still, we've also been told that the source of the report has a record of accuracy, and has, reportedly, never been wrong.  Some have suggested that the source himself may have been fed inaccurate information by those who knew he was passing on intelligence to Washington.  We'll see.  Meanwhile, New York and Washington remain on high alert, which is the wise thing to do.

TROUBLING – Some 14,000 rounds of ammunition are missing from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the Army says.  Fort Bragg is known as the Army's paratrooper center.  No one is under suspicion.  Obvious, any missing ammo is cause for concern, especially as we worry about weapons falling into the wrong hands.  A lockdown of the relevant unit at Bragg failed to turn up any cartridges or information. 

GRAY HAIR FOR DEMS – Democrats are expressing increasing concern over President Obama's chances for reelection.  They see a weak economy growing even weaker.  And they feel the Republican field may be much stronger than they'd previously believed.  Both Rick Perry and Mitt Romney have executive experience and are centering their campaigns on job creation.  It is clear that the 2008 passion for Obama has evaporated, and that the most the president can hope for is an election victory based largely on scaring the public about the GOP.  Of course, such scare tactics often work in politics.

SILENCE WORKS – Political eyes are on New York's 9th Congressional District, where a special election will be held Tuesday to replace Congressman Anthony "Gypsy Rose" Weiner, whose online striporama forced him out of politics.  A Republican upset may actually happen, producing a political earthquake in New York.  But the national GOP, although supporting the Republican candidate, Bob Turner, with cash, is remaining otherwise silent.  Republicans openly acknowledge that their national brand doesn't play well in New York, or indeed, in most other places, and it is best not to remind voters that Turner is a Republican.  This is something the party had better work on.  Despite Obama's unpopularity, Republicans, as a group, often rank even lower in the polls.

September 10, 2011