SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 6:32 P.M. ET:

BOUNCE CONTINUES – Obama's bounce from the convention continues, but a careful study of the contrast between Rasmussen's results and Gallup's reveals a Gallup bias toward the Dems.  Gallup showed no bounce for Romney after the GOP convention, but Rasmussen did, showing Romney up two.  Gallup shows a substantial bounce for Obama now, with Obama up a full four points over Romney.  Rasmussen has Obama up only two points.  Please note that these surveys were taken before yesterday's devastating jobs report.  Rasmussen notes that it normally takes almost a week for the full impact of a jobs report to show up in public opinion.

GUN SALES ARE BOOMING – There is a boom for gun sales in the United States.  Another boom followed Obama's election in 2008.  Both Smith&Wesson and Sturm Ruger, major American manufacturers, report huge demand and supply backlogs.  Most observers believe the boom is triggered, so to speak, over fears of new anti-gun regulations that will come down if Obama is re-elected.  There is also a fear of rising crime rates that could be tied to economic stagnation, people without jobs.  What is happening in Chicago could happen elsewhere.  I think both fears are entirely justified by history and events.

THE CULTURE GAP – Evidence continues to grow that, for many Americans, this election is about culture more than anything else.  Ann Romney, during a radio interview yesterday, was asked about...birth control and gay marriage.  The Hill reports that some Democrats are anguished by the prospect of Hillary Clinton leaving public life because there is no obvious female successor.  Aside from the obvious insult to women that this mentality represents, you'd think we'd be talking about the great issues this country confronts and which candidates, female or male, are best equipped to deal with them.  Increasingly the Democratic Party and its allies are becoming retrograde, returning to the culture of the 1960s.

September 8, 2012