We are entering the homestretch of the presidential election, and who is going to win is anybody's guess. Polling is no real help since it shows many battleground states either perfectly tied or within a point or two. Both candidates are out there campaigning hard, but neither has a clear edge over the other one. It's going to go right down to the wire, that's about the only thing which seems certain at this point.

But that's the sort of thing you've been getting sick of reading, right? Horserace reporting whose only focus is predicting the outcome of the race is rampant at the moment, which seems a little odd after the mainstream media had such a hissy fit over the supposed lack of policy debates between the candidates. Currently, both candidates are announcing new policies (mostly on taxes) almost daily, promising voters things which may or may not ever become reality. Just today Donald Trump promised he'd wave a magic wand and allow hurricane victims to completely write off the purchase of electrical generators, after earlier promising to make interest on car loans deductible as well. Earlier in the week, Kamala Harris promised to make Medicare cover at-home care for seniors, and her campaign put out a fact sheet saying she'd also support Medicare covering vision and hearing benefits -- something Bernie Sanders has been championing for a while.

Agree with them or not, these are actual policy proposals. So where are all the stories comparing the two? Where is an investigative report that lists all the promises from both candidates and then dives into how many people would benefit from the ideas, and by how much? If stories like that are out there, they're certainly hard to find. Which proves all that pearl-clutching a few weeks ago over "the voters want to hear solid policy ideas" was nothing but virtue posturing from the pundits. When given policy ideas, the reporting retreats back to the familiar state-of-the-horserace stories. 'Twas ever thus.

Both campaigns are desperately trying to reach out to new groups who might be persuaded to vote for them. Kamala Harris is wooing disaffected Republicans, promising to name a Republican to her cabinet and have more of them as top advisors as well. Donald Trump is going to hold a townhall just for women, since he is doing so dismally with them right now.

We did read one interesting suggestion for Harris this week, from a pundit at Politico, sharing what he thinks Harris needs to do to seal the deal:

Which leads to me suggesting an even more daring gambit: [Kamala] Harris ought to consider preemptively naming Mitt Romney as her secretary of State.

Don't even do it in exchange for his support. It would be more powerful if she says she'll name him to the post without the perception of a Trumpian quid pro quo.

This is the cabinet position Romney really wanted Donald Trump to name him to, remember. And it is an interesting idea because of who it could convince to vote for Harris:

How do you think that would go over with the Mormon voters of Nevada and Arizona, particularly those already appalled at Trump's scapegoating of migrants?

That could work....

Trump, on the other hand, seems to have realized that a whole bunch of women are just not going to vote for him. And there's new data to back this up:

Abortion has eclipsed inflation as the top concern among young female voters, according to a new poll published Friday.

About 39 percent of female voters under the age of 30 said abortion is their top issue, followed by inflation, at 28 percent, according to a survey from KFF. In June, nearly half (48 percent) of female voters under 30 said inflation was their top issue, and only 20 percent said abortion, according to KFF.

Add to this the fact that JD Vance wants to defund Planned Parenthood and you can see why Trump's in serious trouble with women voters (especially younger ones).

So Trump is going to hold an event to turn things around. We are just going to paste in the report we read about this event without any commentary, because sometimes the jokes just write themselves:

Former president Donald Trump is set to participate in a Fox News town hall next week in Georgia that is targeted at female voters.

The Tuesday event in Cumming will be moderated by Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner and include an "audience entirely composed of women," the network said. The one-hour town hall will air at 11 a.m. the following day on Faulkner's show.

But we have to admit that we are looking forward to hearing what all the late-night comics have to say next week about choosing that particular location to talk to women.

Locker-room humor aside, there were other developments out on the campaign trail. Donald Trump continues to spew a storm of lies about hurricane response, even after getting pushback from everywhere. This isn't a new thing for Trump -- he's always lied about disaster response, and as president he politicized disaster response in exactly the way he is now falsely accusing President Joe Biden of doing. Trump has now been joined in this whirlwind of lies by Elon Musk, who never met a conspiracy theory he couldn't believe in.

FEMA has been fighting back, by calling Trump out on his lies and providing a fact-checking page to debunk all the harmful rumors. Republicans who actually represent people affected by the hurricanes are also bravely pushing back on Trump (although they don't always call him out by name). Biden is pushing back as hard as he can on the cyclone of misinformation as well:

The White House is juggling the response to two devastating storms in the past two weeks while rebutting misinformation from [Donald] Trump and some of his allies, something that [President Joe] Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have tried to counter in recent days.

"They've got to stop this," Mr. Biden said. "I mean, they're being so damn un-American with the way they're talking about this stuff."

Mr. Trump has claimed falsely that FEMA told victims of recent natural disasters they would receive only $750. Speaking directly into the camera, Mr. Biden implored Mr. Trump to "get a life, man. Help these people."

Trump isn't just out there lying about hurricanes, he's out there lying about all kinds of things. He keeps saying at his rallies that schools are somehow spiriting children away to have gender reassignment surgery without their parents' consent. This is, in a word, insane. It is a lie -- it is not happening, it has not happened, and it is never going to happen. But that doesn't stop Trump from trying to fearmonger about it.

Things have gotten so bad that the media has actually woken up and realized that something's just not right. The New York Times ran an article this week with the headline: "Trump's Speeches, Increasingly Angry And Rambling, Reignite The Question Of Age." Here's how this article started:

Former President Donald J. Trump vividly recounted how the audience at his climactic debate with Vice President Kamala Harris was on his side. Except that there was no audience. The debate was held in an empty hall. No one "went crazy," as Mr. Trump put it, because no one was there.

Anyone can misremember, of course. But the debate had been just a week earlier and a fairly memorable moment. And it was hardly the only time Mr. Trump has seemed confused, forgetful, incoherent or disconnected from reality lately. In fact, it happens so often these days that it no longer even generates much attention.

He rambles, he repeats himself, he roams from thought to thought -- some of them hard to understand, some of them unfinished, some of them factually fantastical. He voices outlandish claims that seem to be made up out of whole cloth. He digresses into bizarre tangents about golf, about sharks, about his own "beautiful" body. He relishes "a great day in Louisiana" after spending the day in Georgia. He expresses fear that North Korea is "trying to kill me" when he presumably means Iran. As late as last month, Mr. Trump was still speaking as if he were running against President Biden, five weeks after his withdrawal from the race.

He also recently referenced the governor of Maine throughout an entire phone call to supporters as "he" -- even though she's actually a woman. A different New York Times article fact-checked a stump speech from Harris and one from Trump. They found Harris got things wrong six times, while Trump got things wrong (or flat-out lied about them) sixty-four times in one speech.

HuffPost had an even better headline than the Times did: "'He's Not Well': Trump's Bizarre Off-Topic Ramble Raises Alarm Over 'Mental Capacity'."

More of this sort of reporting is needed. The media needs to give Donald Trump the same treatment it gave Joe Biden after his disastrous debate. They need to ask the question, over and over again: "If he's like this now, what will he be like four years from now?"

Let's see, what else is going on out there? Remember those wildly-overpriced Bibles Trump is selling? And all of Trump's empty bluster about China and the economy? Well, it turns out Trump's Bibles are actually printed in China -- yet another example of his hypocrisy when there's a fast buck to be made.

Back when COVID tests were first being made available and were severely rationed so that the most-vulnerable could get them first, Donald Trump sent some test kits to his buddy, Vladimir Putin. So much for "America first," eh? Trump denied the report (from Bob Woodward's new book), but the Kremlin shrugged and admitted it was indeed true.

Apparently NBC has a documentary ready to go which exposes Trump's child separation policies and the harms they caused, but for some reason they are going to wait until December to air it -- a month after the election happens. This is sheer editorial cowardice, plain and simple.

The Republican Senate candidate in Minnesota apparently posted on social media what can only be termed "pro-Nazi statements." Here is Royce White's take on the second world war: "The bad guys won in WWII. There were no 'good guys' in that war."

Again, so much for "America first"....

And finally, one amusing story caught our eye. Trump was interviewed by a podcaster this week, but he didn't get quite the reaction he was looking for. Trump was spouting yet another lie about Kamala Harris (that somehow she never worked in a McDonald's) before claiming that Democrats get to lie while he walks the straight-and-narrow of full honesty: "They can say what they want. I have a hard time doing it to them, because I am basically a truthful person."

The podcaster "at that point... started laughing hard."

That's precisely what Trump needs a whole lot more of -- someone laughing in his face when he lies.

We did consider giving the Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week to Kamala Harris, for her media blitz this week (appearing on 60 Minutes, The View, the Call Her Daddy podcast, and both Howard Stern's and Stephen Colbert's shows). The more the public sees of Harris the better, and this was a week of lots of free media exposure for her.

But instead we're going to give the MIDOTW award to Barack Obama. Obama just began campaigning for Harris, making an appearance in Pittsburgh after stopping by the local Harris/Walz campaign office.

Obama is making a direct plea to Black male voters, but he's also making a wider plea to everyone who still has fond memories of his time in office as well, which is a much bigger demographic. Obama urged Black voters to go out and cast their votes, telling them:

On the one hand, you have somebody who grew up like you, knows you, went to college with you, understands the struggles and pain and joy that comes from those experiences. [With Donald Trump] you have someone who has consistently shown disregard, not just for the communities, but for you as a person... and you are thinking about sitting out?

Later at his rally, he hammered the point home again: "Get off your couch and vote. Put down your phone and vote. Grab your friends and family and vote."

Obama hit Trump in various different ways, the most interesting of which was to compare him to how Fidel Castro wound up in his declining years: "ranting and raving about crazy conspiracy theories, the two-hour speeches, word salad." That's a pretty valid comparison, actually.

He also lit into Trump's lies about the hurricane recovery:

"Donald Trump, at a rally, just started making up stories about the Biden administration withholding aid from Republican areas and siphoning off aid to give to undocumented immigrants," he said. "Just made the stuff up."

"Everybody knew it wasn't true," he said. "Even local Republicans said it was not true."

Mr. Obama said Mr. Trump's allegations carried grave consequences because the claims could discourage people from seeking help.

"The idea of intentionally trying to deceive people in their most desperate and vulnerable moments," he said, "and my question is: When did that become OK?"

Barack Obama continues to be the most popular Democratic politician alive. People listen to what he has to say. They respect him. All of which makes him the perfect campaigner for Kamala Harris right now.

In fact, we sincerely hope we'll be seeing a whole lot more of Obama out there holding rallies for Harris. We kind of wonder why it took so long, but now that Obama has hit the campaign trail we hope he continues speaking to large adoring crowds right up to Election Day. Which is why we decided to give Barack Obama the Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week this week. We have just two words for Obama:

"More, please."

[Barack Obama is now a private citizen, and our standing policy is not to provide contact information for such people, so you'll have to look it up yourself if you'd like to let him know you appreciate his efforts.]

The next shoe has dropped, up in New York City. The widening investigation and prosecution of both Mayor Eric Adams and his top aides continues, and this week brought more news of wrongdoing:

Federal prosecutors charged a former City Hall official with witness tampering and destruction of evidence Tuesday in relation to investigations into New York City Mayor Eric Adams' administration and 2021 campaign.

Mohamed Bahi, who resigned Monday night from his role as a senior liaison in the mayor's community affairs unit, is accused of instructing others to lie to federal agents and deleting evidence that might have implicated him in a crime from his personal devices.

Bahi allegedly got the owner of a business to use four of his employees as "straw donors" (which is illegal) to funnel more money into the Adams campaign. When the feds started investigating, Bahi instructed everyone to lie to the F.B.I. and then he deleted an encrypted messaging app from his phone right before his own house was searched.

There's really not a whole lot to say about this sordid mess that we haven't already said, so we'll just hand over this week's Most Disappointing Democrat Of The Week to Mayor Eric Adams and all his fellow indictees.

This isn't going to get any better, at least not until Adams does the right thing and resigns.

[Contact New York City Mayor Eric Adams on his official contact page, to let him know what you think of his actions. Mohamed Bahi has already resigned, so he is a private citizen now.]

Volume 770 (10/11/24)

Another mixed bag of a week, as we get closer and closer to Election Day. Or maybe the theme of most of these should be: "Republicans behaving badly," just in a generic sort of way....

   The good news finally sinks in

If this trend continues, it could tip the entire election.

"As more and more good economic news keeps getting posted, more and more people are feeling better and better about the economy. Inflation has been tamed, wages are up, tons of new jobs are being created, and gas prices are down. This is all great news for the American consumer. All Donald Trump is promising is to slap tariffs on everything -- a national sales tax, in effect -- and to cut taxes for billionaires once again. Neither one of which is going to help average Americans sitting around their kitchen tables. The choice is pretty obvious -- continue the economic good times or bring them screeching to a halt. People feeling better about the economy is the best reason for them to cast a vote for Kamala Harris."

   In-home care

This is a lot bigger than the media wants to admit.

"Kamala Harris is proposing to make Medicare cover the costs of in-home care for seniors. This would be a huge change that would improve the lives of millions of Americans who are caught between trying to live their own lives and having to be there for an aging parent who can't afford the in-home care they need. Making Medicare cover the costs would lift an enormous burden off of millions of American families. If you have ever cared for an elderly relative or fear you might have to in the near future, then you'll already know why this is an excellent reason to vote for Kamala Harris."

   Ron DeSantis shreds the First Amendment

This is downright unconstitutional.

"Ron DeSantis has apparently decided that only political ads he approves of should be allowed to air on Florida television stations. His health department sent threatening letters to more than one television station warning them to pull down an ad in favor of the abortion rights amendment Floridians will be voting on in November. Insultingly, he's trying to use a law that is normally used to regulate overflowing septic tanks to try strong-arming the stations to take down the ad. That's disgusting enough, but what's really disgusting is that political speech is the most protected speech there is, when it comes to the First Amendment. This is precisely the sort of thing the First Amendment was written to prevent, in fact -- a governor deciding who can and cannot speak to the people about an issue they're about to vote on. Why is it that Republicans stomp all over the Bill of Rights and the U.S. Constitution, every chance they get?"

   Republicans don't want overseas servicemembers to vote!

This is equally disgusting.

"Remember way back when Republicans actually supported our men and women in uniform? Yeah, those were the good ol' days, weren't they? Now Republicans have filed lawsuits in three swing states to try to throw out the votes of people serving this country overseas. In North Carolina, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, Republicans aren't even waiting until the election happens to file lawsuits -- lawsuits that will no doubt be ready to go after the election, should the GOP lose. Remember when Republicans denounced laws passed to deal with the COVID pandemic as 'changing the rules at the last minute'? Well, now they're trying to do exactly that -- change rules that have been in place for decades. So if you know someone serving his or her country overseas, warn them that the Republicans want to take away their right to vote. Because they are completely shameless and don't care who they disenfranchise. This is about as un-American as you can get, folks."

   Where, exactly, should she go back to?

This is where the Venn diagram circles for "racism" and "stupidity" intersect.

"During a bipartisan candidates' forum this week in Idaho, a Republican told a member of the Nez Perce Tribe to, and I quote, 'go back where you came from.' This charming bit of racism is usually directed at people seen as foreigners, especially recent immigrants and people of color, of course. But how stupid do you really have to be to tell a Native American to 'go back' anywhere? I mean, seriously... where exactly is she supposed to 'go back' to? Her tribe has been in Idaho for 11,500 years. If anyone were to 'go back where you came from' in this scenario, it would have to be him, not her. I mean... his racist stupidity is just off the charts, folks."

   Do not believe Donald Trump about anything

FEMA could have just sent a tweet....

"FEMA has had to set up a website to debunk all the lies being told about their hurricane recovery efforts, due to Republicans trying to scare the living heck out of everyone for no particular reason. So here's a quick rule of thumb for everyone to follow: If Donald Trump said it, do not believe it. It is a lie. He wouldn't know the truth if it came up and bit him on the ass. Don't get your disaster response information from this con man. Check the facts. Because the truth of the matter will be the exact opposite of what Trump is telling you."

   Are you insane?!?

Speaking of whoppers Trump tells....

"Donald Trump appears to have gone insane. That's the only conclusion I can make, after hearing him try to scare parents with a completely insane lie. According to Trump, schoolchildren merrily go off to school in the morning and when they come home their parents are shocked that the school itself has somehow managed to perform gender-reassignment surgery on them. Are there any parents here? Those who are know full well the hoops you have to jump through even to get your kid an aspirin while in school. Plus there's the fact that surgery of any kind is not cheap -- so where are the schools getting the budget to shell out tens of thousands of dollars on this? The idea is so ridiculous that it just falls apart if you even think about it for two seconds. But that doesn't stop Trump from lying about it. Personally, I think he's just gone completely around the bend. Because the idea that schools are performing surgery of any kind on children without parental approval is just flat-out insane."

-- Chris Weigant

Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant

Cross-posted at: Democratic Underground