THURSDAY’S MINI-REPORT…. Today’s edition of quick hits:
* New claims for unemployment benefits continue to soar. Today’s numbers were the worst in seven years, and the second worst since 1992.
* The markets did not respond especially well to the awful employment news, with the Dow falling nearly 350 points.
* As campaign slogans go, “Life isn’t fair” sounds kind of whiny.
* Three House members — two Republicans and one Democrat — who voted against the bailout/rescue package on Monday indicated today they would support it tomorrow.
* Does McCain want Bush to veto the bailout that he just voted for?
* In case you missed it, the national debt hit $10 trillion this week. Oh my.
* Obama’s campaign manager, David Plouffe, told reporters today that Sarah Palin “is one of the best debaters in American politics.” The journalists, quite literally, started laughing out loud. He protested: “No, she is!”
* The Senate approved the administration’s nuclear trade deal with India last night. For an administration with very few foreign policy achievements, I’m sure the president was thrilled.
* The Palins are worth more than $1.2 million.
* Steven Waldman, John Green, and Dan Gilgoff have released a fascinating study on American politics and religious identity: “The Twelve Tribes of American Politics in the ’08 Election.”
* Might Ted Stevens get a mistrial? It looks like prosecutors screwed up in a pretty big way.
* This satirical conversation between Couric and Palin may not be true, but it is hilarious.
* If one does not tell the “100%, absolute truth,” he/she should not claim to tell the “100%, absolute truth.”
* Palin thinks the media has been “censoring” her? Seriously?
* Palin believes in a right to privacy. In 1987, McCain didn’t. I wonder what McCain thinks now.
* And McCain told a national television audience this morning, “I’m not a rich man.” Big mistake.
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
