SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 9:41 P.M. ET:

OBAMA NO LONGER GALLUPING – Gallup, which had Obama seven points up over Romney at the end of the Dem convention, now has him only one point up, 47-46%.  Also, Obama's approval rating in the Gallup poll is down to 49%, as opposed to 45% disapproval, again placing an incumbent president below the crucial 50% mark. 

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER TAPE – So the Dems found a tape portraying a less-than-artful Romney talking about how many Americans are dependent on the government, and how that's not his natural constituency.  The mainstreamers, especially CNN, went nuts about that tape today, declaring it a prelude to the end of civilization.  I don't think it will help Romney, but he had the sense today to refuse to disavow the basic sentiment on the tape – that he doesn't want a country where people are dependent on the government.  At the same time, an old tape of Obama has surfaced on which he expresses his support for redistribution of wealth, not exactly a favored theme among most Americans.

DISTRESS – Several polls now show Elizabeth Warren ahead of Scott Brown in the difficult Massachusetts Senate race.  This may reflect the bounce Warren got from her speech at the televised Democratic National Convention.  It's a miracle that Scott Brown, a Republican, even got elected from the very blue state of Massachusetts in 2010, to finish out the term of the late Ted Kennedy.  Now we've got to get him elected to a full term, and keep Liewatha out of Washington.  I think Brown can make up the gap in the polls, as he has substantial independent support.

AN UNHAPPY RECORD – The number of Americans receiving federal disability payments has reached a new high, with 8,786,049 people receiving payments in September.  Then there's this, from CNS.news:   "Also in August, according to the BLS, only 63.5 percent of the civilian population (those over 16, who were not in the military or in an institution) participated in the labor force. That was the lowest level of labor force participation in 31 years. To participate in the labor force a person must either have a job or at least be actively trying to find one."  Great economy.

September 18, 2012