Traditionally, Labor Day is the kickoff to the "real campaign season." This implies that none of what has gone before really made much of a difference, and that the American people will now give each of the candidates a fresh look as people slowly turn their focus to politics after the summer season is done.

Maybe that was true once, but quite obviously we've been in the midst of the general-election campaign season for most of this year already. There was no drama or mystery about who would become the major parties' nominees -- Donald Trump and President Joe Biden had the primaries wrapped up before they even began. And then the most dramatic event of the general election campaign happened midsummer, as Biden decided to end his candidacy (after a disastrous debate performance with Donald Trump). In other words, plenty has already happened this election season, and so we've got to look at the remaining two months as nothing more than the homestretch.

The most dramatic and (quite possibly) impactful event of the campaign is slated to take place next Tuesday, when Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are set to debate each other. Since this could be the only time the two face each other on a stage, it's going to be watched by millions of Americans. Most will be partisans who have already made up their minds, who will be watching in hopes that the other side's candidate will wind up in a trainwreck. This wish came true for Republicans in the Biden debate, but it seems a lot more likely that Democrats are going to get to see an epic meltdown from Trump this time.

Some in the mainstream media are now actually openly admitting that Donald Trump can't put a coherent thought together if his life depended on it. After slamming Harris for weeks for "not being detailed enough on policy," they all collectively noticed that Trump can't even complete a sentence when asked about policy specifics, much less give cogent details (which don't exist). One of his responses was so incomprehensible that even Fox News had to point out his utter incoherence.

Trump was addressing a very serious crowd this week (instead of a MAGA rally, in other words): the Economic Club of New York. Which is the type of event a politician would be expected to either roll out new policy ideas or at least defend the ones they've already taken. Trump was asked, by a panelist, exactly the type of question you'd expect at such an event: "If you win in November, can you commit to prioritizing legislation to make child care affordable and if so, what specific piece of legislation will you advance?"

His answer was, well... incoherent. Which (finally!) brought some headlines like "Following Trump's Train Of Thought As It Derails On A Child Care Question." This article took the time to parse Trump's word salad of an answer, and did a pretty good job of deconstructing Trump's thought processes (such as they are). Trump tried to frame the whole thing with some flimflam -- he'd raise tariffs and everyone would be happy and the U.S. government would have so much money that child care would somehow be taken care of -- Hey, presto! But even that's being charitable. Here is just one random excerpt from his actual answer:

But I think when you talk about the kind of numbers that I'm talking about, that -- because child care is child care. It's, couldn't -- you know, it's something, you have to have it. In this country, you have to have it.

That's not even the worst bit, it's just one paragraph taken randomly. Here was how he concluded (Hey, presto!):

We're going to make this into an incredible country that can afford to take care of its people and then we'll worry about the rest of the world. Let's help other people. But we're going to take care of our country first. This is about America first. It's about: Make America great again. We have to do it, because right now we're a failing nation. So we'll take care of it. Thank you. Very good question.

Got that? "We'll take care of it." Just, y'know... trust him. Somehow it'll get taken care of, and it'll be incredible. Next question.

Trump did roll out one absolutely insane policy idea this week, but the mainstream media mostly yawned and failed to point out exactly how insane this truly would be. Trump's going to give Elon Musk the power to "audit" the government to identify waste, so they could cut trillions from the federal budget. Republicans have always had a fantasy that if they just got into power they could cut something like one-third of all federal spending and nobody would notice and things would be great. But when they actually do get in power, they never actually follow through, because this is complete fantasy, not reality.

Musk, however, is just as much of an unhinged wrecking ball as Trump. And he's proven how viciously he can cut a budget, eviscerating what used to be called Twitter to the point that his investors in the takeover have lost 70 percent or more of the money they put up (due to "X" being worth a tiny fraction of what it used to -- due to Musk destroying it).

This isn't a deal-killer for Trump, of course, since he's an expert at making wealth vanish himself. Shares of the parent company of "Truth Social" -- Trump's own pet imitation of Twitter -- have fallen over 73 percent since their peak. Trump will be able to legally cash his own shares out in a few weeks, which could depress the selling price even further. So, birds of a feather and all, Trump sees Musk as just as much of a business genius as he is.

Is anyone else out there looking forward to next week's debate as much as we are? Because Kamala Harris won't have the time to point out every idiocy Trump parrots as his "policy agenda," but she'll surely zero in on a few of them and eviscerate Trump's positions. Especially if the past week is any indication of how Trump's "debate prep" sessions are going. The only real question is how much she'll get under Trump's skin and how spectacular the meltdown will be, as far as we're concerned.

Harris kicked off the week as politicians traditionally do on Labor Day -- by visiting with Labor leaders and workers to show their support. Trump took the day off and didn't appear anywhere. Harris appeared in Pittsburgh for a joint appearance with Joe Biden, which was significant not only because it was their first rally together (after Biden dropped out), but also because Biden introduced Harris. Usually presidents top any bill they speak at, but this was a smart thing for the Harris campaign to do. Both Harris and Biden expressed their position that the takeover of US Steel by a Japanese company should be blocked, which was a pretty popular position to take in Pittsburgh.

New numbers are out, and the Harris campaign raised almost triple what the Trump campaign did in August, which is good news indeed (and shows where the momentum in the race continues to be). Harris got some high-powered Republican endorsements, as the son of the late John McCain endorsed her, as well as both Liz Cheney and her father Dick Cheney. They'll all be voting for Harris this year. This will mean that no living Republican former vice president will be voting for their party's nominee, which is a pretty astounding thing to say. Here's what the elder Cheney had to say today:

In our nation's 248-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump. He tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters had rejected him. He can never be trusted with power again.

Liz Cheney is also already not mincing her words to express her disgust with the candidates her own party has nominated:

Every opportunity Donald Trump gets to show the American people who he is, he pretty clearly -- and his running mate is doing this too -- this is my diplomatic way of saying it: They're misogynistic pigs. And I think that will become clear.

Hoo boy. And that's just where she's starting from, so we certainly expect to hear some more slashing quotes from her in the near future as well. Trump, as if to prove her point, held a rambling 45-minute press event today where he called all the women who have ever accused him of sexual assault liars, but then refused to answer any questions from the press.

Harris continues to hold her edge in the polls, including a rather enormous gap with young voters. A new NBC poll shows that 60 percent of young voters who say they are almost certain to vote this year are going to vote for Harris. A big part of this is abortion, of course. And Harris's clear edge on the issue is showing up in other polling as well, in all kinds of demographics. Abortion rights will directly be on the ballot in 10 states this year, meaning it could become the most determinative issue in the whole election.

And just to close on an amusing note, one of the "I Voted" sticker designs in Michigan is already going viral. Drawn by 12-year-old Jane Hynous, it depicts a werewolf howling and ripping his shirt off. In the online voting (which featured almost 500 design entries), it beat out every other submission by 2,000 votes. We have to say, it's a pretty cool drawing for such a young artist, and (so far, at least) wins the award for: "Best 'I Voted' sticker of 2024!"

Which brings us to our own awards....

Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to the federal tax evasion charges he was facing this week, which will avoid a public and very messy trial that was about to begin. This was, as we mentioned earlier in the week, a very selfless act (seeing as how he did not get a plea deal beforehand and is facing many years in prison). But somehow we can't bring ourselves to even award an Honorable Mention, since after all he is pleading guilty to multiple federal felonies. But we felt we should at least mention it in passing.

Instead, we are going to give the Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week this week to none other than President Joe Biden.

As sort of a side-effect of Biden dropping out of the presidential race, he has become the lamest of lame ducks imaginable. He has all but disappeared from the national political stage. Even appearing to introduce his own vice president at a rally didn't have much of any impact.

But this brings with it a political benefit. Because the voters are already thinking of Biden's presidency in the past tense, he is getting -- very early on -- the same sort of bump in his poll numbers that presidents usually get during the first year after they leave office. In fact, he's charting his best numbers in years:

A new USA Today/Suffolk University poll released Tuesday shows Biden's approval rating rising from 41 percent in late June, shortly before his fateful June 27 debate with Donald Trump, to 48 percent today. While Biden was more than 15 points underwater in his approval back then, his approval rating is now nearly even with his disapproval rating (49 percent).

Those are Biden's best numbers in Suffolk polling since he was inaugurated in January 2021.

That's just one poll, but Biden has been showing gains in others as well (although, to be fair, not in all of them -- some haven't seen this bump).

Again, this is entirely normal. People usually look back at past presidents with at least some degree of nostalgia, so this may be just the usual such bounce. But then again, it may be linked to Biden's selfless decision to stand down from the presidential race for the good of the country and his own party.

That's been the most consequential political decision he's made all summer, so it shouldn't be too surprising if the public is showing their support for this decision in the polls. But whatever the reason, Biden's job approval polling has been pretty dismal for a long time now, so a turnaround happening is indeed impressive, no matter what. Which is why President Joe Biden is this week's Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week.

[Congratulate President Joe Biden on his White House contact page, to let him know you appreciate his efforts.]

What exactly is going on in the state of New York?

An aide to two New York governors (Andrew Cuomo and the current Governor Kathy Hochul) was arrested this week and charged with being a Chinese spy.

And that wasn't even the only bad news for prominent Democrats in the Empire State. New York City Mayor Eric Adams saw not just one but five of his top officials get raided this week as well:

On Wednesday, federal agents seized the phones of the city's police commissioner, first deputy mayor, schools chancellor, deputy mayor for public safety and a senior adviser, and searched at least one of their homes.

The nature of the investigations, by the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, is unclear, but it appears that one is focused on the senior City Hall officials and the other involves the police commissioner. The investigations are distinct from the same office's ongoing inquiry into the mayor and his campaign finances.

Separately, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York is pursuing an investigation that in February prompted federal agents to search two houses owned by the mayor's director of Asian affairs.

It seems it is time for us to provide a plug for an effort we've always supported, the Museum of Political Corruption, in the state capitol of Albany. As for us, we're going to award both Governor Hochul and Mayor Adams this week's Most Disappointing Democrat Of The Week, for hiring some very questionable people.

[Contact New York Governor Kathy Hochul on her official contact page, and New York City Mayor Eric Adams on his official contact page, to let them know what you think of their actions.]

Volume 765 (9/6/24)

A mixed bag this week, and we even sort of snuck in an extra one (on Trump's book review). So let's get right to them, shall we?

   Ready for the debate!

I realize this runs counter to conventional political wisdom, which states that expectations should be lowered just before a debate, but what the heck....

"Are you ready for the debate? I am! Kamala Harris is an experienced prosecutor and knows full well how to question a hostile witness. Donald Trump seems to be losing whatever thin grasp he had on reality... or perhaps 'sanity' is a better word. Did you hear his gibberish on child care policy recently? I mean, there wasn't a coherent sentence in the entire thing! Trump is going to attempt his usual blustery schtick during the debate, but my prediction is that Harris will be fully capable of shooting it all down as it happens. So I don't know about you, but I am definitely looking forward to next Tuesday!"

   An elegant takedown

Trump just put out another book. It's mostly random pictures (of course), and has very little text, which is exactly what you'd expect from Trump. Most of the media just flat-out ignored it (which is precisely what it deserved) but one reviewer took the time to elegantly ridicule it with such style that we had to include it as a talking point. We actually had two to choose from, but decided this one was even better than: "North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, who periodically threatens to lob nuclear weapons at the United States, appears in an astonishing spread of 10 adoring pages that look as if they were designed by a high school yearbook staff in Pyongyang." Because this one was even better, and was just priceless:

Although the accrual of these images is offered as a chronology of success, their numbing redundancy serves as a kind of repudiation of time: Trump as the beginning and the end, the first and the last, alpha male and omega male. He claims that Save America "is a MUST HAVE on U.S. History," but the tone is so onanist that the book should really be left alone to enjoy itself in private.

   Racist Republican on the ballot in Montana

In Montana -- a state where Native Americans are six percent of the population -- Republican Senate candidate Tim Sheehy was caught being about as racist as you can get towards this important group of voters.

"So the Republican nominee for Senate in Montana thinks making 'drunken Indian' jokes is somehow funny. I apologize for using the term myself, but it is probably the term Tim Sheehy would prefer. Sheehy, a cattle rancher, was speaking about branding cattle on the Crow Reservation, asserting that it was, quote, 'a great way to bond with all the Indians out there, while they're drunk at eight a.m.,' unquote. So far, no prominent Republican has condemned this vile and racist remark, which is about par for the course these days since the GOP has now fully embraced what can only be called a 'Make America Racist Again' philosophy."

   Speaking of racist...

Texas, of course, stands alone in the racism category.

"There's an ongoing outrage happening in the state of Texas, as people (including a Democratic candidate for office) are being woken up early in the morning by police raids of their houses, on the flimsy excuse that somebody somewhere told them there was some voter fraud going on. They search the whole house, confiscate phones and computers, and then never actually file any charges. This is disgusting, since pretty much everyone who has been raided is either Latino or trying to get Democrats to register to vote. I sincerely hope President Kamala Harris appoints a much more robust attorney general, since this is the type of thing which really should have trigged a federal civil rights investigation by now. Texas should not be allowed to get away with such blatant -- and racist -- voter intimidation."

   Sacred ground

Trump continues to insist that he did nothing wrong at Arlington National Cemetery, and that (his new line) no confrontation even happened. He is wrong, on so many levels. The best commentary on Trump's visit came from Admiral Mike Mullen, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Here's part of what he had to say about it:

But no part of Arlington -- or any veterans' cemetery for that matter -- should ever play host to partisan activity. These cemeteries are sacred ground. They represent the final resting places of our best, our brightest, our most unselfish citizens.

Our fallen and departed veterans did not serve, fight or die for party. They fought and died for country, for each other, for their families and for us. They served in a military that defends all Americans -- regardless of creed, color, race and, yes, voting habits.

Politics has no place in the ranks. And it absolutely has no place in our national cemeteries.

   Coming soon to a theater near you!

This was good news.

"The biopic The Apprentice will be released in American theaters in early October, roughly one month before Election Day. This movie chronicles the early years of Donald Trump's celebrity, and I would encourage all women to go and see it, since it depicts Trump raping one of his wives (which was sworn to in court during the divorce proceedings). If anyone has forgotten who Donald Trump is and how he treats women, this is the movie to see."

   Liz is right

Rinse and repeat, as often as necessary.

"You know what? Liz Cheney's right. Donald Trump and JD Vance are nothing more than a pair of misogynistic pigs. How any woman could vote for them is beyond me."

-- Chris Weigant

Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant

Cross-posted at: Democratic Underground