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President Obama’s approval rating, “the highest mark of his second term, and matching his best at any time since his first year in office,” according to a new CNN/ORC poll finds.
Donald Trump’s strategy in this campaign has been fairly clear from the beginning: Drive up Republican support among white voters in order to compensate for the GOP’s shrinking share among the growing nonwhite portion of the electorate. And Trump has succeeded in overperforming among a certain slice of white voters, those without a college degree. … But overall, the strategy isn’t working. Trump has a smaller lead among white voters than Mitt Romney did in 2012, and Trump’s margin seems to be falling from where it was when the general election began.
44Number of Afghan troops visiting the United States for military training who have gone missing in less than two years, presumably in an effort to live and work illegally in America, according to Pentagon officials, Reuters reports. Although the number of disappearances is relatively small – some 2,200 Afghan troops have received military training in the United States since 2007 – the incidents raise questions about security and screening procedures for the programs.
45% to 36%
Hillary Clinton’s lead over Donald Trump nationally, with Gary Johnson at 11%, according to a new Fairleigh Dickenson Public Mind poll finds. Said pollster Krista Jenkins: “The post-presidential debate landscape is clearly favoring Clinton. Trump’s continued weight shaming of a former Miss Universe and the weekend disclosure of his 1995 tax returns are but a sample of difficult news coverage for the Republican candidate.”
67%
Of Americans said it is “selfish” for a presidential candidate to pay no taxes, while 61% said it is “unpatriotic,” according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll. “At the same time, the results showed some respect for a candidate who can figure out how to reduce their tax bill. Some 46% of Americans, including 35% of Democrats and 62% of Republicans, thought a presidential candidate who pays no taxes is ‘smart.’”
48%
Of those who watched the vice presidential debate thought Gov. Mike Pence performed better while 42% said they thought Sen. Tim Kaine won, according to a new CNN/ORC poll.
You know what? The fact that somebody can dot the i’s and cross the t’s on a foreign leader’s geographic location then allows them to put our military in harm’s way.
— Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson, defending his lack of knowledge of world affairs and suggesting that foreign policy expertise, or even an understanding of where international leaders are from, is what leads to military conflict, Politico reports.
1/3
Of Americans say they care a great deal about climate change, according to a new Pew Research poll. “Among them, 72% are Democrats and 24% are Republicans; both numbers include independents who say they generally lean toward one party. … On other questions on climate change, Americans remain starkly divided: Nearly 7 out of 10 Democrats believe climate change is mainly a result of human activity; less than a quarter of Republicans believe that.”
I see a straight line from the announcement of Sarah Palin as the vice-presidential nominee to what we see today in Donald Trump, the emergence of the Freedom Caucus, the tea party, and the shift in the center of gravity for the Republican Party.
— President Obama, in an interview with New York Magazine.
Political operatives and strategists are going to study this week for generations as the textbook case of self-sabotage.
— Democratic strategist Mo Elleithee, quoted by the Washington Post, on Donald Trump’s disastrous week.
