SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:20 P.M. ET:

CAREERIST – Well, at least we got one concession out of him.  Deputy National Security Adviser John Brennan conceded today that recent leaks of national-security information have done serious damage.  Of course, they've only done damage because they've been published by irresponsible news organizations.  Brennan, of course, immediately denied that any of the leaks came from the Obama White House, which pays his salary.  Of course not.  They came from the man in the moon.  Remember that the press will protect the leakers.  They notoriously protected the leaker in the Valerie Plame case – the case of the CIA agent who was "exposed," presumably by the Bush White House.  We later learned that the real leaker was Colin Powell's deputy of state, Richard Armitage. But the damage to other reputations was done before the truth came out.

REVULSION – You'd think the Obamans would be smarter.  There's revulsion tonight even by some members of the mainstream media over Obama's refusal to renounce the ad put out by a pro-Obama PAC, charging that Mitt Romney caused the death of a woman whose husband had worked at a company owned by Bain Capital.  The best the Obamans will do is deny that they were responsible for the ad, which has been greeted by dismay, almost across the spectrum.   Since denunciation would be the smart thing to do when dealing with such an ad, one must wonder whether the refusal suggests that the Obamans actually approved the spot, and are afraid to denounce it, fearing that someone will leak the truth to the press.

THOSE WONDERFUL THIRD WORLDERS – Many of our kids go to schools where they're taught to worship the (say it with soft reverence) "third world."  But in fact, most of the "third world" is a disgrace.  As partial proof we offer that fact that a Sudanese warlord is now virtually guarantee a seat on the UN's Human Rights Council, that farce that Barack Hussein Obama Jr. helped to bring back from the dead.  The International Criminal Court has issued a warrant for Omar Al-Bashir for crimes against humanity.  But his election to the Council has the backing, incredibly, of the African delegation.   It's like putting “Jack the Ripper in charge of a women’s shelter,” said Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch.  We doubt if the trendies in the media will take note.

OH, THAT PROBLEM AGAIN – The Congressional Budget Office now says that under Obamacare, formally known as the Affordable Care Act, 30 million non-elderly Americans will remain uninsured.  Gee, wasn't full insurance the purpose of the legislation?  Maybe I was misinformed.  The CBO estimates that, by 2022, only 23 million of the 53 million currently uninsured will be covered.  Not exactly a triumph of compassion, or competence.

August 8,  2012