The Commentariat -- October 22, 2016

Nicole Perlroth of the New York Times: "Major websites were inaccessible to people across wide swaths of the United States on Friday after a company that manages crucial parts of the internet's infrastructure said it was under attack. Users reported sporadic problems reaching several websites, including Twitter, Netflix, Spotify, Airbnb, Reddit, Etsy, SoundCloud and The New York Times. Dyn, whose servers monitor and reroute internet traffic, said it began experiencing what security experts called a distributed denial-of-service attack just after 7 a.m. Reports that many sites were inaccessible started on the East Coast, but spread westward in three waves as the day wore on and into the evening.... A spokeswoman said the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security were looking into the incident and all potential causes, including criminal activity and a nation-state attack." CW: Reality Chex -- and in fact all Squarespace-powered sites -- were down for hours Friday afternoon.

Presidential Race

Emily Stephenson & Chris Kahn of Reuters: "... Donald Trump gained on ... Hillary Clinton among American voters this week, cutting her lead nearly in half, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling released on Friday. The polling data showed Trump's argument that the Nov. 8 election is 'rigged' against him has resonated with members of his party.... Clinton led Trump 44 percent to 40 percent, according to the Oct. 14-20 Reuters/Ipsos poll, a 4-point lead. That compared with 44 percent for Clinton and 37 percent for Trump in the Oct. 7-13 poll released last week." ...

     ... CW: In the last few days, the tracking is moving toward Trump, despite the huge raps against him. Pundits are very overconfident in the intelligence of the American people. Are people right about the "rigged" polls? Yes. Rigged toward the stupid. ...

... BUT. Katie Glueck & Kyle Cheney of Politico: "For much of his campaign, Donald Trump has done more to repel voting women than he has to win them over. Now mounting evidence suggests they are already punishing him for it at the ballot box. In three crucial battlegrounds -- North Carolina, Florida and Georgia -- women are casting early ballots in disproportionate numbers. And in North Carolina, a must-win state for Trump with detailed early voting data available, it's clear that Democratic women have been particularly motivated to turn out or turn ballots in." CW: So far early voters represent only a tiny fraction of the total votes cast. However, the total early vote in 2012 was 32 percent. ...

... AND. Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "... while it's probably not a surprise that early vote tallies in several swing states show a shift to the Democrats since 2012, it still means that Clinton has a greater percentage of banked votes than President Obama did at this point four years ago." -- CW

Abby Phillip of the Washington Post: "Hillary Clinton's ... appeal [to Trump-leaning Ohio voters] is part of a broader strategy by Clinton's campaign to exploit what it says is a new opening in a state where she has long struggled to get a steady footing. According to a Clinton aide, her team thinks that after the presidential debates, Ohio -- one of Trump's best states -- is now winnable for her.... Clinton's stop at Cuyahoga Community College on Friday was just a taste of the renewed attention her campaign is giving to the state. Sen. Tim Kaine ... made two stops in Ohio on Wednesday. Vice President Biden is expected to make two stops Monday, and Chelsea Clinton will campaign in Ohio next week, making three appearances in the state." -- CW

Ken Thomas & Lisa Lerer of the AP: "Hillary Clinton's campaign is increasingly preparing for the possibility that Donald Trump may never concede the presidential election should she win, a development that could enormously complicate the crucial early weeks of her preparations to take office.... Campaign officials stress they are not taking the outcome of the election for granted.... 'I've got to figure out how we heal these divides,' she said in a Friday interview with a Tampa radio station WBTP. 'We've got to get together. Maybe that's a role that is meant to be for my presidency if I'm so fortunate to be there.'" -- CW

Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post: An ad "released by the Clinton campaign on Friday afternoon, features Khizr Khan telling his story again. It's a remarkably powerful ad, connecting Trump's rhetoric on Muslims to the real pain that such a pledge would inflict on Muslim Americans. Real people would be affected by all of [Trump's] proposals, the ad reminds us. It's not just words by Trump. The ad, according to the Clinton campaign, will rotate into swing states, including Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania":

Elliot Smilowitz of the Hill: "Hillary Clinton's Brooklyn campaign headquarters was evacuated Friday after receiving a letter with a suspicious white powder inside. The New York Police Department's Emergency Service Unit determined after testing that the powder was not hazardous, the New York Post reported." -- CW

Ashley Parker & Trip Gabriel of the New York Times: "Addressing a rally in Fletcher, N.C., in the more rural western part of the state, Mr. Trump offered a slightly more restrained version of his typically freewheeling speech, largely seeming to hew to his prepared remarks. Gone were his complaints of a 'rigged' and 'stolen' election ... and he did not, as he has recently, try to beat back accusations from 10 women who have come forward to accuse him of inappropriate sexual advances. Instead, Mr. Trump offered an unusually candid, if still self-congratulatory, assessment of his debate performances -- 'I think the first one was fine, I think we won, easily, the second one, and the third one was our best,' he said -- and acknowledged the possibility that he might not end up in the White House, after all.... Later, at a rally in Johnstown, Pa., Mr. Trump took the stage with a renewed vigor..., complaining of a 'rigged system'...." -- CW ...

... Jenna Johnson of the Washington Post: "As he took the stage [in Fletcher, N.C.,] Friday afternoon, Donald Trump was as subdued as the modest crowd that turned out to see him. He complained about the usual things -- the dishonest media, his 'corrupt' rival Hillary Clinton -- but his voice was hoarse and his heart didn't seem in it. He also promised to do all that he could to win, but he explained why he might lose. 'What a waste of time if we don't pull this off,' Trump said. 'You know, these guys have said: "It doesn't matter if you win or lose. There's never been a movement like this in the history of this country." I say, it matters to me if we win or lose. So I'll have over $100 million of my own money in this campaign.'..." -- CW ...

... Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump offered a new justification on Friday for attacking Bill Clinton's indiscretions and Hillary Clinton's handling of them: Michelle Obama did it first." You'll have to read the details to appreciate how Trump came up with this tenuous claim. -- CW ...

... Nolan McCaskill of Politico: "Donald Trump will have 'lots of options' to go after Hillary Clinton if he's elected president, he told supporters Friday. At a rally in Fletcher, North Carolina, Trump again dubbed his opponent 'the most corrupt politician ever to seek the office of the presidency,' a charged comment that sparked raucous chants of 'lock her up' from his supporters.... Based on his past rhetoric, Trump's options would include re-investigating the email controversy that has dogged Clinton's campaign and, as he said in March, appointing Supreme Court justices.... Perhaps unfamiliar with how the Supreme Court works, Trump said during the Republican primary he would 'probably appoint people that would look very seriously at her email disaster because it's criminal activity.'" -- CW

Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times looks into some ways Trump could challenge the election results, but he concludes that none would likely work.

Gail Collins: "There is nothing in the world that Donald Trump can't make worse.... [The Al Smith dinner] has been going on since 1945 without major incident, and it took Donald Trump to screw it up.... The reaction moved into flat-out booing, even before he offered them up the hilarious observation that Clinton was there 'pretending not to hate Catholics.'" -- CW

Tierney Sneed of TPM: "Donald Trump's calls for vigilante poll watchers ... has drawn attention to the consent decree the RNC signed in 1982 that banned the very sort of 'ballot security' measures Trump has encouraged from his supporters. If there's reason to believe the RNC was participating, it could be found in violation of the decree, which could keep the committee under its restrictions for another eight years.... The decree is set to expire in 2017." Despite a claim by Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway that "she is actively working with the national committee, the official party, and campaign lawyers to monitor precincts around the country," according to WashPo reporter Robert Costa, "the RNC has since denied to TPM any coordination on Trump’s supposed voter fraud prevention effort.... Costa told TPM via email that Conway called him back later to tell him she was mistaken about the RNC's involvement." -- CW ...

... BUT. Comrade Trumpski Has a Back-up Plan! Daniel Victor of the New York Times: "At least three American states have turned down Russian requests to monitor polling locations during the election on Nov. 8, as United States officials portrayed the overture as little more than a Russian public relations stunt. Russia's consul general in Houston, Alexander K. Zakharov, wrote letters dated in September to officials in Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma requesting that a Russian officer be present 'for a short period of time, when convenient,' with the 'goal of studying the U.S. experience in organization of voting process.'" -- CW

Meet Your Trump Supporters. Ulltra-conservative writer David French of the National Review outlines how many Trump backers have reacted since he un-endorsed Donald Trump. It's truly sickening. -- CW

A Skunk Cabbage by Any Other Name.... Caily Rizzo of Travel & Leisure: "Amidst reports that occupancy rates at Trump Hotels have slipped this election season, the company has announced that new brand hotels will no longer bear the Trump name. The newest line of luxury hotels, geared towards millennials, will be called Scion, the company said.... Although Trump Hotels has said the new name has nothing to do with the eponymous businessman's presidential campaign, empty rooms at the hotels have caused officials 'to reduce rates during the peak season,' according to New York Magazine." -- CW ...

... Digby in Salon: "The Trump brand has a problem and it's spreading beyond his consumer goods to his real estate holdings." -- CW

Crooked Foreigners Try to Influence U.S. Election (Okay, Hayek is a naturalized American, but you know that doesn't count):

     Nolan McCaskill of Politico: "Donald Trump told Richard Branson during their first encounter that he would spend the remainder of his life trying to destroy five people he had asked to no avail to aid him after his latest bankruptcy, the English business mogul wrote Friday. Branson, the Virgin Group founder who wrote in his blog last week that Trump would be a 'disaster' as president, described a tale of two lunches Friday, starting with his meeting with Trump.... He [went] on to compare his lunch with Trump to dining with Hillary Clinton. 'Here we talked about education reform, the war on drugs, women's rights, conflicts around the globe and the death penalty. She was a good listener as well as an eloquent speaker, Branson wrote." -- CW ...

     ... Adrian Carrasquillo of BuzzFeed: Actor "Salma Hayek claimed that Donald Trump pursued her while she had a boyfriend, asked her on a date, and then -- angry at being rejected -- planted a National Enquirer story about her being too short for him, in an interview on a nationally syndicated Spanish-language radio show that aired Friday." -- CW

Frank Rich on the presidential race (and whither the GOP post-election): "The GOP elites would have it that [Paul] Ryan is the great white hope (and I do emphasize white) of their party, the 'adult' who will inherit the Earth once the Trump fever has passed. But as [a poll of Republicans] shows yet again, the Republican base doesn't want Ryan any more than it wanted a Kasich (10 percent). It wants another Trump, a new and improved Trump: That's why the aggregate percentage in the poll for the base favorites of the GOP -- Pence, Trump, and Cruz -- is 70 percent as opposed to a total of 25 percent for Ryan and Kasich. So Pence is serving as a placeholder until the next shining demagogue comes along." -- CW

Senate Race

Kevin Robillard of Politico: "Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke has qualified for a televised debate in Louisiana's Senate race after a new poll showed him drawing 5 percent of the vote. Duke, a white supremacist, announced he was running late this summer, saying ... Donald Trump had inspired him and drawn more followers to his cause." CW: Congratulations, Louisiana!

Beyond the Beltway

Kaboom! Ted Sherman & Matt Arco of NJ.com: "In an emotional day of testimony, Bridget Anne Kelly ... [told] a jury she told Gov. Chris Christie in advance about the plan to close toll lanes at the George Washington Bridge in 2013, and had gotten his approval for what she thought was a legitimate traffic study.... And she asserted that other higher-ups in the governor's inner circle were all well-aware of what was going on in Fort Lee, long before it played out, and that no one seemed that concerned about it.... The author of the now-infamous message 'time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee' called what has long appeared to be the smoking gun in the case an innocent response to what she called a 'crazy plan' by David Wildstein, the admitted mastermind of the lane shutdowns. Kelly said Wildstein told her he wanted to realign local toll lanes to reduce travel time for commuters..., and wanted the governor's approval. She said she was parroting his language that the realignment would temporarily cause traffic problems in Fort Lee, and only wanted to let him know the governor had agreed to the plan." ...

     ... CW: Do read on. One nice touch: Christie got mad at Kelly about another matter & threw a water bottle at her, hitting her arm. He sounds like a great boss. ...

... Ryan Hutchins of Politico has more on Kelly's testimony. ...

... Kate Zernike has the New York Times' story: Kelly "... has yet to face cross-examination. And in her testimony, which will resume on Monday, she will have to explain an even more damning message, sent to Mr. Wildstein when he told her about the traffic problems on the first day of the purported study. 'Is it wrong that I am smiling?' she wrote." -- CW

Another Court Win for Women. CBS News: "A federal judge has blocked a Mississippi law that banned the state's Medicaid program from spending money with any health care provider that offers abortions. U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III ruled Thursday in a lawsuit filed in mid-June by two Planned Parenthood affiliates. The law took effect July 1. Jordan said every court to consider similar laws has found they violate the 'free-choice-of-provider' provision of federal law. Medicaid is paid by federal and state dollars." CW: Jordan is a Bush II appointee.

The Commentariat -- October 21, 2016

FYI. Ali Breland of the Hill: "A massive denial of service attack slowed major websites to a crawl Friday morning. DynDNS, a tool that helps helps users access websites via simple domain names like Google.com instead of by their IP addresses, suffered a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack that took down some of its services. Because of the attack, many sites that use Dyn — including Twitter, Reddit and Spotify — reportedly experienced latency or were not accessible.Dyn said Friday morning that has resolved the attack. The attack had primarily affected the U.S. East Coast, according the DNS provider’s status page." CW: If Donald Trump doesn't blame Hillary Clinton for shutting down his Twitter account, I'll eat my new Nasty Woman bumper sticker.

Presidential Race

Nate Silver: "Clinton Probably Finished Off Trump [Wednesday] Night.... Clinton went into the final presidential debate on Wednesday with a lead of about 7 percentage points over Donald Trump. And according to the only two scientific polls we’ve seen, voters thought that Clinton won the debate.... The morning headlines, which focused overwhelmingly on Trump’s refusal to say whether he’ll accept the election results, are potentially worse for Trump than the debate itself." -- CW ...

... Rasmussen Report: "The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey of Likely U.S. Voters [CW: which consistently, & often inaccurately, favors Republicans over Democrats] finds Trump with a 43% to 41% lead over his Democratic rival. Five percent (5%) favor Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson, while Green Party nominee Jill Stein earns three percent (3%) support. Another three percent (3%) like some other candidate, and five percent (5%) are undecided." -- CW ...

... The USC/Los Angeles Times' daily tracking poll, which has showed Trump leading in general election polling most of the time, has Trump up by one point today. ...

... The New York Times' Upshot, which tracks chances of each candidates' winning based on likely Electoral College votes, "suggests that Hillary Clinton is favored to win the presidency [by 93% to 7%], based on the latest state and national polls. A victory by Mr. Trump remains possible...." -- CW 

It's amazing I’m up here after Donald, I didn’t think he’d be OK with a peaceful transition of power. And Donald, after listening to your speech, I will also enjoy listening to Mike Pence deny you ever gave it. -- Hillary Clinton, at the Al Smith dinner, Thursday ...

... Hillary Clinton roast Donald Trump (and Rudy!) at the Al Smith dinner:

The president told me to stop whining, but I have to say the media is more biased this year than ever before. You want the proof? Michelle Obama gives a speech and everyone loves it, it’s fantastic, they think she’s absolutely great. My wife Melania gives the exact same speech and people get on her case. I don’t get it, I don’t know why. -- Donald Trump at the Al Smith dinner

     ... Whatever else Donald Trump said at the dinner is here (link fixed). ...

... Ben Kamisar & Harper Neidig of the Hill: "Donald Trump's appearance at Thursday night's charity event took a tough turn as the crowd repeatedly booed the GOP nominee for his sharp-edged jokes about his rival Hillary Clinton." -- CW ...

... Jenna Johnson of the Washington Post: Donald Trump's speech at the Al Smith dinner "might as well have been a eulogy for his presidential campaign.... At one point, he wondered aloud if the crowd was booing him or Clinton, to which someone in the crowd answered: 'You!'” -- CW ...

... Cristiano Lima of Politico: "Hillary Clinton's allies are blasting Donald Trump for attacking the Democratic nominee at New York's Al Smith dinner on Thursday night, an off-key speech that prompted a chorus of boos from those in attendance.... The white-tie charity dinner at the Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan, which benefits Roman Catholic charities, quickly devolved into an insult comedy special when Trump began ripping Clinton for being 'corrupt' and insinuating that she hated Catholics. The dinner is usually a light-hearted affair, but Trump used the occasion to let fly many of the attack lines he uses on the stump." -- CW ...

... For contrast, see 2012 remarks by Mitt Romney here & President Obama here.

Eric Geller of Politico: "Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta’s Gmail account was hacked by the same Russian intelligence-linked hackers that breached the DNC and the DCCC, researchers confirmed Thursday, spurring Clinton's team to immediately lash out at Donald Trump over his ongoing reluctance to blame Moscow for the spate of election-related hacks. The GOP nominee is now President Vladimir Putin's 'puppet,' said Clinton's top foreign policy adviser Jake Sullivan, who added that the latest findings are proof that the Kremlin 'is trying to help Donald Trump. It's time for Trump to tell the American people what he knew about these hacks and when he knew it,' Sullivan said." -- CW 

Paul Krugman writes a love letter to Hillary: "... let’s dispel with this fiction that Hillary Clinton is only where she is through a random stroke of good luck. She’s a formidable figure, and has been all along." CW: Krugman thinks voters would not have fallen for, say, Marco Rubio. Sorry, but enough of them fell for George W. Bush that, along with a little help from the Supremes, Bush the Ignorant beat Al Gore, who was nearly as policy-smart as Clinton. -- CW 

Farah Stockman of the New York Times: "In her debate on Wednesday with Donald J. Trump, Hillary Clinton for the first time emerged as the clarion-voiced advocate for women whom many liberal women had been longing for — especially the younger voters she had largely left cold throughout the Democratic primaries.... Perhaps the biggest boost she received, however, was one that neither she nor any army of political operatives could have engineered: when Mr. Trump interjected, 'What a nasty woman,' as Mrs. Clinton was discussing Social Security and taxes. Overnight, his insult became a battle cry for Mrs. Clinton’s partisans — including many whose passions she had not yet stirred." -- CW 

Washington Post Editors: "... it is time to point out another reason Ms. Clinton is winning: She is earning it. She and her campaign have remained disciplined and even-keeled through tempests large and small.... It is not easy to stand on a stage for 90 minutes and parry words with an opponent, moderators and town-hall invitees; still less is it easy to do so while keeping one’s cool amid sleazy provocations and unpredictable insults from Mr. Trump. Through it all, Ms. Clinton has stayed focused on issues, laying out a program for the country that we don’t accept in every particular but that is well within the broad mainstream of plausible policy alternatives. Perhaps most important, she has kept her rhetoric civil and inclusive, in the face of an opponent bent on trashing the norms of democratic discourse." -- CW...

...Ezra Klein explains the importance of Hillary Clinton's prep work and its effects on the debates by bedeviling "Donald". Pretty good. --safari

Krissah Thompson of the Washington Post: "... after a rousing speech last week in New Hampshire in which she passionately renounced Republican Donald Trump, and another in Arizona on Thursday making the case for Clinton’s vision for the presidency, [Michelle] Obama has demonstrated an ability to do what Clinton herself has struggled with for much of her campaign: explain why voters should vote for her.... The first lady has shown a willingness to pitch in wherever Clinton needs her — including a speech in the traditionally red state of Arizona, where Obama’s appearance reflected the campaign’s growing ambitions for a landslide victory on Nov. 8." -- CW  

When you try to sow the seeds of doubt in people’s minds about our elections, that undermines our democracy. You’re doing the work of our adversaries for them. -- President Obama, at a Miami rally, Thursday ...

By Driftglass... Alan Rappeport & Alexander Burns of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump insisted on Thursday that he would not cede the right to contest the outcome of the presidential election, even as Democrats and Republicans expressed concern that his position threatened to upend America’s tradition of peaceful power transfers. But in a small gesture of civility, he suggested that he would not dispute the result if the outcome of the race is clear. Mr. Trump’s reluctance to pledge absolutely that he would honor the election outcome follows a rocky performance in the third and last presidential debate.... On Thursday, Mr. Trump continued to rally his supporters with conspiracy theories about how the race was rigged against him, but he did make clear that there was one result that he would not challenge under any circumstance. 'I will totally accept the results of this great and historic presidential election — if I win,' Mr. Trump said to cheers at a rally in Delaware, Ohio." -- CW 

Hahahahahaha. Trump Allies Insist He Respects Democracy. Also, the world is flat. Nolan McCaskill of Politico: "Donald Trump’s allies are furiously trying to neutralize his nuclear statement that he may not accept the outcome of the presidential election, saying he simply wants to make sure there’s not blatant fraud, while claiming Hillary Clinton is the one undermining basic democratic principles. Drowning in headlines highlighting — and editorial boards rebuking — Trump's unprecedented refusal and reversal to say he will abide by political norms, his campaign all but ignored the menacing admission. 'Donald Trump clearly won the debate,' Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway declared in an interview with 'Fox and Friends.' 'With respect to the rigged system and the certification of results, he basically is saying that until he knows — you can lay out any hypothetical — until he knows the results, they’re certified and verified, he’s not going to completely concede an unknown.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Akhilleus: Soooo....he respects democracy, but democracy itself is some kind of unknown and he'll let us know later whether it passes the Trump Test (i.e., he wins no matter what). And...it's all Hillary's fault, whatever it is. Very adult. ...

... CW: If you know anyone who was shocked, shocked by Donald Trump's flouting of Constitutional principles & bedrock traditions, you may want to direct them to Charles Pierce: "It has been an article of faith for the entire Republican Party for a quarter-century now that any elected Democratic president is prima facie illegitimate. Trump is just putting a layer of narcissistic varnish on the bucket containing all the historical deplorables. Further, the history of the country is replete with efforts, some of them violent, by politicians to avoid 'respecting' the results of election.... Donald Trump is just being a little cruder about things than many of our television historians would like. Democracy is not a bedtime story, but the monsters within it are very, very real." -- CW 

Historian Eric Foner and profressor Eddie Glaude put Drumpf's rise into historical perspective and says he is the logical conclusion of the GOP's increasing extremism. They are one and the same.--safari

Tim Egan: Donald Trump's "debate-night threat, holding the validity of the election itself hostage, is no surprise. Trump is bereft of patriotism, and seems to hate the country he wants to lead. He’s been talking down this nation and its most cherished institutions throughout his campaign. Time and again, he would rather defend Russia than the United States." -- CW 

Josh Israel of Think Progress: "In Wednesday’s presidential debate, Donald Trump claimed that new videos proved that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama had 'hired people' and 'paid them $1,500' to 'be violent, cause fights, [and] do bad things' at Trump rallies. He was referring to videos released this week by conservative activist James O’Keefe that purport to show pro-Clinton activists boasting of their efforts to bait Trump supporters into violent acts. The videos offer no evidence that Clinton or Obama were aware of or behind the alleged dirty tricks.... Trump neglected, however, to mention ... [that his] own controversial foundation ... gave $10,000 to [O'Keefe's] Project Veritas. Trump, who claimed in the same debate that Hillary Clinton 'shouldn’t be allowed to run' for president 'based on what she did with e-mails and so many other things,' was funding a convicted criminal." -- CW 

By Driftglass.Around the Bend, Starring Donald Trump. David Taintor of NBC News: "Donald Trump accused Hillary Clinton of having advance notice of the debate questions, a claim for which he offered no evidence. 'Why didn't Hillary Clinton announce that she was inappropriately given the debate questions -- she secretly used them! Crooked Hillary,' Trump tweeted Thursday morning. Akhilleus: Trump offers no evidence for a whackadoodle fantasy claim? Nevah! What's next, she was using Jedi mind tricks to control Chris Wallace? (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

What this shows is Trump doesn’t know a damn thing about military strategy. -- Jeff McCausland, retired Army colonel & former dean at the Army War College in Carlisle, Pa. ...

... Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: "In Wednesday night’s debate, Donald J. Trump excoriated the American-backed Iraqi military offensive to recapture Mosul from the Islamic State, saying it had forfeited 'the element of surprise' and allowed militant leaders to slip away. 'Douglas MacArthur, George Patton spinning in their graves when they see the stupidity of our country,' Mr. Trump added, invoking two of the greatest American commanders from World War II. Actually, probably not, according to some military historians and senior officers, who said on Thursday that Mr. Trump’s armchair generalship revealed a fundamental lack of understanding of Iraqi politics, military warfare — and even some of the most famous campaigns commanded by MacArthur and Patton.... There are many good reasons to foreshadow an impending ground offensive, like Mosul, mainly to reduce civilian casualties, isolate the enemy and instill fear within its ranks, military scholars and retired commanders said." -- CW

Pam Belluck of the New York Times: "In the presidential debate Wednesday night, Donald J. Trump ... assert[ed] that under current abortion law, 'You can take the baby and rip the baby out of the womb in the ninth month, on the final day.' Doctors say the scenario Mr. Trump described does not occur. 'That is not happening in the United States,' said Dr. Aaron B. Caughey, chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at Oregon Health and Science University. 'It is, of course, such an absurd thing to say,' he said. 'I’m unaware of anyone that’s terminating a pregnancy a few days prior to delivery of a normal pregnancy.'” -- CW ...

... Meredith Isaksen, in a moving New York Times op-ed, relates her own & her family's agony over a late-term abortion necessitated after doctors discovered in her 20th week of pregnancy a severe abnormality in her unborn child. CW: Anti-abortion fanatics & opportunists must stop further torturing these families in crisis.

Laura Dimon and Larry McShane of New York Daily News: "Donald Trump’s latest accuser, with tears streaming down her face, charged the White House hopeful with a U.S. Open groping nearly two decades ago. Wellness expert Karena Virginia alleged Thursday that the billionaire tennis fan touched her breast after making a lecherous comment about her looks — to the entertainment of his male entourage. 'I was in shock,' she recounted at a Manhattan news conference about their 1998 encounter at the tennis championships. 'He said, "Don’t you know who I am?" I felt intimidated and powerless. I said, "Yes.’” Akhilleus. Et maintenant, le deluge. Wonder if Melania [Trump] is thinking about some kind of apology now. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

When Paul LePage Calls You Stoopid.... Madeline Conway of Politico: "Even Paul LePage, the controversial governor of Maine who has drawn comparisons to Donald Trump for his loud rhetoric and habit of disparaging the press, is harping on the Republican nominee for his refusal to commit to conceding if he loses the November election. 'Not accepting the results, I think, is just a stupid comment,' LePage said on a Maine radio station on Thursday, responding to Trump’s comments at the third presidential debate. 'I mean, c’mon. Get over yourself.'” -- CW ...

I didn't like the outcome of the 2008 election. But I had a duty to concede, and I did so without reluctance. A concession isn't just an exercise in graciousness. It is an act of respect for the will of the American people, a respect that is every American leader's first responsibility. — Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. ...

... The AP publishes statements made by some politicians regarding Donald Trump's refusal to say he would accept the results of the election unless he wins.

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Amy Chozick & Michael Barbaro of the New York Times: "In the third and final presidential debate, Mrs. Clinton outmaneuvered Mr. Trump with a surprising new approach: his. Flipping the script, she turned herself into his relentless tormentor, condescending to him repeatedly and deploying some of his own trademark tactics against him. The relatively subdued and largely defanged Republican nominee who showed up onstage at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, was a different figure from the candidate America has watched for the past 16 months. Mr. Trump was, for much of the night, oddly calm and composed. He minimized his name-calling. His interruptions were relatively rare for him." ...

... CW: Really?? Let's Ask Steve. ...

... ** Steve M.: The Times analysis looks like Chozick's "application for Maureen Dowd's job." The Times report doesn't reflect "... what happened. Trump was more subdued than expected, especially in the first twenty minutes or so of the debate, but then the tranquilizers wore off his temper resurfaced and he was his old self again. And Clinton is not like Trump. Clinton doesn't menace. Clinton doesn't try to intimidate. An opponent who was minimally socialized could have had an exchange with her that would have been called 'sharp' or 'heated' or 'barbed,' but wouldn't have descended into a pre-adolescent battle for dominance. Trump, however, always keeps it at the grade-school level." -- CW ...

     ... Read on. Steve explains part of what Trump means by a "rigged election": ... the election is rigged because the press publishes stories he doesn't like.... it's a rigged election because people who have died or moved are still on the voter rolls where they used to vote -- never mind the fact that there's no evidence that "millions" of people try to take advantage of this. And it's a rigged election because Hillary Clinton was allowed to run for president.... No election that includes Clinton could be fair. No election in which the press criticizes Trump could be fair." -- CW ...

...Here's the video I tried to link yesterday. Ari Berman of The Nation gives us a RealityCheck and points the finger of vote rigging at the Republican party. He paints a pretty comprehensive picture about their different strategies of disenfranchisment. Sorry Marie for the link trouble yesterday. Hopefully this one works. --safari

Annals of Journalism, Ctd. Brad Plumer of Vox: "... none of the [debate] moderators asked about global warming at all. Not in the first presidential debate. Not in the vice presidential debate. Not in the second presidential debate.... Not in the third presidential debate. Hillary Clinton name-checked the topic, occasionally, but that was it. Humanity is departing from the stable climatic conditions that allowed civilization to thrive, yet the most powerful nation on Earth can’t set aside five minutes to discuss." -- CW ...

... Joe Romm of Think Progress: Ditto.

(Today's Constitutional Question: Say, what happens if Trump -- who likes to sue everybody (including his underpaid, undocumented Polish workers) -- sues like 37 states for rigging their elections & the suits find their way to the Supreme Court? [Answer Help: Chief Johnnie Balls-and-Strikes does not get to break a tie.])

... AND John Schwartz of the New York Times plans a social-interaction test of Trump's debate tactic: "Today's experiment: During conversations with people around the office, I'll just spontaneously interject 'WRONG' and see how things go." -- CW

Stephen Battaglio of the Los Angeles Times: "Fox News anchor Chris Wallace landed a permanent place on the presidential debate highlight reel when ... Donald Trump said he would not commit to accepting the results of the election.... 'I have been covering Trump for a year and half,' Wallace said Thursday. 'I’ve learned to not be surprised by anything.' But the veteran Washington journalist and first-time presidential debate moderator knew that the magnitude of the response required him to frame the question a second time. 'I thought, "You need to put this in historical context," which is why I asked a follow-up question about one of the long traditions of democracy —  the idea of the peaceful transfer of power and that we accept the results of the election,' said Wallace. 'I wanted to put it in context so that it was clear that whatever Trump said, folks understood how unprecedented this would be.' For Wallace, it was one of the debate highlights that earned him near unanimous kudos on social media....” -- CW 

Alex Isenstadt of Politico: "Jim Murphy, Donald Trump’s national political director, is no longer playing an active role on the campaign, according to three sources briefed on the move – a troubling development for the Republican nominee coming just 19 days before the election. 'I have not resigned but for personal reasons have had to take a step back from the campaign,' Murphy said in a statement to Politico. He did not elaborate on the reasons for his departure. Several Trump aides said that Murphy has been conspicuously absent in recent days as the campaign mobilizes for the final push.... It’s the latest departure in a campaign rife with turnover." -- CW

Congressional Races

Philip Rucker & Robert Costa of the Washington Post: "As [Donald Trump] ... reeled from a turbulent performance in the final debate here in Las Vegas, his party’s embattled senators and House members scrambled to protect their seats and preserve the GOP’s congressional majorities against what Republicans privately acknowledge could be a landslide victory for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. With 19 days until the election, the Republican Party is in a state of historic turmoil, encapsulated by Trump’s extraordinary debate declaration that he would leave the nation in 'suspense' about whether he would recognize the results from an election he has claimed will be 'rigged' or even 'stolen.'” -- CW ...

... For Example. Kelsey Snell of the Washington Post: "Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) is eight points behind her Democratic rival, Gov. Maggie Hassan, in a race that could determine whether Republicans will retain control of the Senate, according to a poll from WMUR and the University of New Hampshire released Thursday.... Trump is trailing Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton by 15 points in New Hampshire, according to a WMUR poll released Wednesday." -- CW 

Greg Jaffe of the Washington Post: "With presidential pre-election polls heavily favoring Democrat Hillary Clinton, President Obama aimed his attacks Thursday at Sen. Marco Rubio and other Republican officials who have supported GOP nominee Donald Trump, despite his controversial campaign and derogatory remarks about immigrants and women.... Much of Obama’s speech was focused on questioning the honesty and ethics of Republican politicians who have condemned Trump but still back him. He was especially critical of Rubio (R-Fla.), who is in a tough battle for the state's Senate seat with Democrat Patrick Murphy." -- CW 

John Wagner of the Washington Post: "Bernie Sanders can still apparently pack a punch when it comes to fundraising. The senator from Vermont raised just shy of $2 million in two days online this week for 13 like-minded U.S. Senate and House candidates, according to his campaign committee." -- CW 

Other News & Views

Dara Lind of Vox: "... 'law and order' patriots don’t actually think legitimacy is inherent in American laws and government. It’s dependent on whether white people want to see it as legitimate or not. When government acts in accordance with their desires — when it helps them, and especially acts against nonwhites — 'rule of law' and 'law and order' become universal values, and nonwhites are being justifiably punished for violating them. But when government acts to protect nonwhite Americans, it’s seen as a reason to question the legitimacy of the government itself. It’s not really about law. It’s about power. And in America, that power has historically been white supremacy." -- CW 

Ben Kamisar of the Hill: "WikiLeaks has published several emails sent to and from then-Sen. Barack Obama in October 2008, just before he won his first presidential election. The emails sent to John Podesta, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman ... are from bobama@ameritech.net, a domain that has never been publicly linked to the president. The email dump is part of the massive hack of Democratic officials and its campaign apparatus.... The emails that include Obama are fairly mundane...." -- CW 

 

The emails that include Obama are fairly mundane: The correspondence includes some early discussions about his potential Cabinet as well as a memo about his possible participation in the G-20 summit if elected. Most of the emails are written by top aides, with Obama only briefly chiming in.

Burgess Everett of Politico: "Arizona Republican Sen. Jeff Flake has maintained for months that Republicans should take up Merrick Garland's Supreme Court nomination if it looks like the presidential contest is a lost cause for the GOP. It's looking about that time, Flake said in an interview on Thursday. 'I said if we were in a position like we were in in '96 and we pretty much knew the outcome that we ought to move forward. But I think we passed that awhile ago,' Flake said. 'If Hillary Clinton is president-elect then we should move forward with hearings in the lame duck. That's what I'm encouraging my colleagues to do." The political calculus is straightforward: Better to deal with Garland now and avoid swallowing a more liberal nominee from Hillary Clinton." -- CW 

Beyond the Beltway

Marc Tracy of the New York Times: "The University of Louisville on Thursday confirmed that the N.C.A.A. had formally charged current and former staff members in its men’s basketball program, including Coach Rick Pitino, with major rules violations related to a scandal in which a university employee provided prostitutes who performed sexual acts with players and recruits." -- CW 

Way Beyond

Turing's Law. Sewell Chan of the New York Times: "Decades after homosexuality was decriminalized in Britain, the government announced on Thursday that it would posthumously pardon thousands of gay and bisexual men who were convicted, in essence, of having or seeking gay sex. Since 2012, men with such convictions who are still alive have been able to apply to have their names cleared. The law providing for the pardons ... is named for Alan Turing, the mathematician who made a major contribution to Britain in World War II by cracking Germany’s Enigma coding machine and was a central figure in the development of the computer. Turing was convicted on charges of homosexuality in 1952 and committed suicide in 1954. The government apologized in 2009 for its treatment of him, and in 2013, Queen Elizabeth II formally pardoned him." -- CW 

Phillipines' Own Donald Trump Obsequiously Sidles up to China. Katie Hunt, et al., of CNN "Rodrigo Duterte left no room for doubt about where his allegiance lies. In a state visit aimed at cozying up to Beijing as he pushes away from Washington, the Philippine President announced his military and economic 'separation' from the United States. 'America has lost now. I've realigned myself in your ideological flow,' he said at a business forum in Beijing on Thursday. 'And maybe I will also go to Russia to talk to [Vladimir] Putin and tell him that there are three of us against the world: China, Philippines and Russia. It's the only way.' Akhilleus: Anyone wondering what America under Trump might look like, Duterte offers a good clue. A lawless, undisciplined, ignorant, self-aggrandizing, authoritarian thug. Trump will no doubt play Duterte's entreaties to China as yet another of his favorite dictators who doesn't like America. Damn! (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

The Commentariat -- October 20, 2016

Afternoon Update:

Hahahahahaha. Trump Allies Insist He Respects Democracy. Also, the world is flat. Nolan McCaskill of Politico: "Donald Trump's allies are furiously trying to neutralize his nuclear statement that he may not accept the outcome of the presidential election, saying he simply wants to make sure there's not blatant fraud, while claiming Hillary Clinton is the one undermining basic democratic principles. Drowning in headlines highlighting -- and editorial boards rebuking -- Trump's unprecedented refusal and reversal to say he will abide by political norms, his campaign all but ignored the menacing admission. 'Donald Trump clearly won the debate,' Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway declared in an interview with 'Fox and Friends.' 'With respect to the rigged system and the certification of results, he basically is saying that until he knows -- you can lay out any hypothetical -- until he knows the results, they're certified and verified, he's not going to completely concede an unknown.'" ...

     ... Akhilleus: Soooo....he respects democracy, but democracy itself is some kind of unknown and he'll let us know later whether it passes the Trump Test (i.e., he wins). And...it's all Hillary's fault, whatever it is. Very adult. ...

Around the Bend, Starring Donald Trump. David Taintor of NBC News. "Donald Trump accused Hillary Clinton of having advance notice of the debate questions, a claim for which he offered no evidence. 'Why didn't Hillary Clinton announce that she was inappropriately given the debate questions -- she secretly used them! Crooked Hillary,' Trump tweeted Thursday morning. Akhilleus: Trump offers no evidence for a whackadoodle fantasy claim? Nevah! What's next, she was using Jedi mind tricks to control Chris Wallace?

Laura Dimon and Larry McShane of New York Daily News. "Donald Trump's latest accuser, with tears streaming down her face, charged the White House hopeful with a U.S. Open groping nearly two decades ago. Wellness expert Karena Virginia alleged Thursday that [Trump] ... touched her breast after making a lecherous comment about her looks -- to the entertainment of his male entourage. 'I was in shock,' she recounted at a Manhattan news conference about their 1998 encounter at the tennis championships. 'He said, "Don't you know who I am?" I felt intimidated and powerless. I said, "Yes."'" Akhilleus. Et maintenant, le deluge. Wonder if Melania [Trump] is thinking about some kind of apology now.

Philippines' Own Donald Trump Obsequiously Sidles up to China. Katie Hunt, et al., of CNN "Rodrigo Duterte left no room for doubt about where his allegiance lies. In a state visit aimed at cozying up to Beijing as he pushes away from Washington, the Philippine President announced his military and economic 'separation' from the United States. 'America has lost now. I've realigned myself in your ideological flow,' he said at a business forum in Beijing on Thursday. 'And maybe I will also go to Russia to talk to [Vladimir] Putin and tell him that there are three of us against the world: China, Philippines and Russia. It's the only way.' Akhilleus: Anyone wondering what America under Trump might look like, Duterte offers a good clue. A lawless, undisciplined, ignorant, self-aggrandizing, authoritarian thug. Trump will no doubt play Duterte's entreaties to China as yet another favorite dictators who doesn't like America.

*****

Presidential Race

John Merline of Investor's Business Daily: "After more than a week of blistering attacks from Democrats, celebrities and the press, Donald Trump has managed to pull ahead of Hillary Clinton by a 1.3 percentage point margin -- 41.3% to 40% -- in a four-way matchup, according to the new IBD/TIPP poll released today. Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson got 7.6% and Green Party candidate Jill Stein got 5.5%. The results are the first in the IBD/TIPP presidential tracking poll." CW: This is not some nutty poll devised by Steve Bannon. Nate Silver determined that IBD/TIPP had the most accurate 2012 presidential polling. If this isn't an outlier, it appears Stein is killing Clinton.

Chris Megerian of the Los Angeles Times: "After the debate, Hillary Clinton made a beeline for a campaign event in North Las Vegas..., where more than 5,000 supporters had been watching her spar with Donald Trump on a massive screen in an open-air amphitheater. ''We are a better country than Donald Trump is,' Clinton said after taking the stage with her husband. Clinton was introduced in Spanish by Mexican singer Vicente Fernandez, and she urged the largely Latino crowd to help her defeat Trump.... Bill Clinton joined his wife onstage, and they put their arms around each other. 'I want you to know that our family will support your family,' Hillary Clinton said." -- CW

Nolan McCaskill of Politico: "'Just landed in Ohio. Thank you America- I am honored to win the final debate for our MOVEMENT,' Trump tweeted, citing unscientific polls like Drudge that showed the GOP nominee crushing Democrat Hillary Clinton. CNN'S poll showed that a majority of viewers said Clinton won." -- CW

By Driftglass.Patrick Healy & Jonathan Martin of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump said on Wednesday that he might not accept the results of the presidential election if he felt it was rigged against him -- a stunning statement from a major party nominee and one that Hillary Clinton called 'horrifying' -- in a final debate that swung wildly between civil and caustic.... Mr. Trump, under enormous pressure to halt Mrs. Clinton's steady rise in opinion polls, came across as frustrated and sarcastic at several points.... He lashed out repeatedly, saying that 'she's been proven to be a liar on so many different ways' and that 'she's guilty of a very, very serious crime' over her State Department email practices. And by the end of the debate, when Mrs. Clinton needled him over Social Security, Mr. Trump lost his cool and snapped, 'Such a nasty woman.' Mrs. Clinton was rarely rattled, and made a determined effort to rise above Mr. Trump's taunts while making overtures to undecided voters.... The debate felt less like an argument between equals than a last-ditch attempt by a fading candidate, Mr. Trump, to save himself." -- CW

Jose DelReal & David Fahrenthold of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump refused to say whether he would accept the results of November's presidential election if he lost -- a startling break with American democratic tradition, and the most striking moment of Wednesday night's final presidential debate. Trump, who came into the debate trailing badly in polls, said that he believed the system was rigged, blaming the news media for 'poisoning' minds against him and the FBI for not recommending charges against rival Hillary Clinton for her use of a private email server to handle government business while she was secretary of state. When the moderator, Fox News' Chris Wallace, asked whether Trump would accept a loss and allow for a peaceful transfer of power, Trump replied: 'I will tell you at the time,' meaning after Election Day on Nov. 8. 'I will keep you in suspense.'" -- CW ...

... New York Times Editors: "Donald Trump turned, in the third and final presidential debate, from insulting the intelligence of the American voter to insulting American democracy itself. He falsely insisted there were 'millions of people' registered to participate in the election who did not have the right to vote and declared he would not commit to honoring the outcome.... 'He is talking down our democracy,' Mrs. Clinton warned.... The presidential debate was another exercise in narcissism, bombast and mendacity by Mr. Trump. One could only hope that this might be the last grand display of his gross unfitness to be president.... His trashing of the democratic process, in service of his own ego, risks lasting damage to the country, and politicians of both parties should recoil from him and his cynical example." -- CW

... Gail Collins: "O.K., Donald Trump won't promise to accept the results of the election. That's truly ... good grief.... Hillary Clinton noted that Trump tends to presume that whenever he loses anything, the system was rigged: 'There was even a time when he didn't get an Emmy for his TV program three years in a row and he started tweeting that the Emmys were rigged.' 'I should have gotten it,' Trump retorted. This is obviously what we should have known was coming when the host of 'The Celebrity Apprentice' wound up as a presidential nominee. But jeepers, people, this is serious. Trump was refusing to acknowledge it was even possible for him to lose a fair fight. At one point, he announced the election was rigged because Hillary Clinton was in it. ('She should never have been allowed to run for the presidency based on what she did with emails.')" -- CW ...

... A Long, Long Time Ago. Neetzan Zimmerman of the Hill: "A 1993 letter written by George H.W. Bush on his last day in office wishing Bill Clinton well has resurfaced following the final presidential debate. Asked Wednesday night if he would accept the results of the election irrespective of the outcome, Donald Trump told debate moderator Chris Wallace that he will wait for the outcome before deciding. The response sparked outrage on both the left and right.... 'A long, long time ago, in a land far far away, politics had grace. George H.W. Bush's letter to Bill Clinton on leaving office: pic.twitter.com/bJn6ojWRS4' [tweeted]-- Saba Gul. 'I wish you great happiness here,' Bush wrote in the note dated January 20, 1993. 'You will be our President when you read this note.'" -- CW

Absolute Proof Clinton Leading Global Conspiracy to Rig U.S. Election:

During the third presidential debate, Hillary Clinton, in cooperation with the mainstream media controlling the cameras, Chris Wallace & the Presidential Debate Commission, subtly reminded her fellow conspirators to rig the election.

Washington Post Editors: "... the policy discussion was clarifying also, exposing as it did Mr. Trump's ignorance of -- or is it distaste for? -- facts and policy. He again insisted that the North American Free Trade Agreement has sucked jobs from the country, when economists have found otherwise. He indicated the debt would take care of itself under his economic plan because 'we will have created a tremendous economic machine,' which is pure snake oil. Incoherently, he attacked Ms. Clinton for favoring open borders but also favoring a border wall. In another striking moment, Mr. Trump denied that the Russian government has been meddling in this election, refusing to accept the judgment of the country's intelligence community.... [These lapses] fade to the status of trivia in the face of an opponent who will not accept the basic rules of American democracy." -- CW

Dana Milbank: Donald Trump "set the tone for the last debate by inviting President Obama's half brother, a Trump backer, to the debate, along with the mother who accuses Clinton of murdering her son in Benghazi and a woman who just accused Bill Clinton of sexual assault.... At first -- and probably because [Chris] Wallace chose to begin the debate with substantive issues of policy — Trump was uncharacteristically mild, even as Hillary Clinton tried to needle him.... Gradually, with Clinton's baiting, Trump began to rumble.... Gradually, [Trump's] interruptions increased. 'Wrong!' he said when Clinton justifiably said he had been cavalier about nuclear weapons. 'Wrong!' he said when Clinton correctly noted that he mocked a disabled reporter. When Clinton tried to 'translate' something Trump had said, he blurted out: 'You can't!'... Trump, rather than taking the race in a new direction, decided to do what he's done before when his back is to the wall: lash out with fury." -- CW ...

No puppet! No puppet! You're the puppet. -- Donald Trump, answering Clinton's claim that he was a puppet of Vladimir Putin's

This has to be the most infantile rebuttal in the history of formal debates. I don't mean just presidential debates. I'm talking 8th-grade practice debates. If Clinton were more of "a nasty woman," I believe she could actually have gotten Trump to this. Really -- Constant Weader

... Maureen Dowd: "At the final debate tonight in Las Vegas, Donald Trump once more showed how easily egged on he is.... Hillary Clinton baited Trump into a series of damaging nails-in-the-coffin statements. And it was so easy.... Trump tried to stay calm, but he can never let go of a slight.... He defended himself on groping charges by saying, 'Nobody has more respect for women than I do.' But he ended up, after Clinton's hazing -- 'Donald thinks belittling women makes him bigger' -- blurting out as she talked about entitlements: 'Such a nasty woman.'... He was so unnerved, he said one of the most shocking things ever heard in a debate, putting his ego ahead of American democracy.'" -- CW ...

... Shane Goldmacher of Politico zeroes in on the moment Hillary took control of Little Donnie. -- CW

Politico: "Donald Trump cut in 67 times during Wednesday night's presidential debate -- but Hillary Clinton still out-talked him by six minutes in the final meeting between the two candidates." -- CW

Helaine Olen of Slate: "Trump's Defense of His Tax Avoidance Is Getting Even More Brazen." He is blaming Hillary Clinton for a law passed (CW: at his request, BTW) when she was first lady. "And what about now? Clinton is now advocating a plan that would limit developers taking advantage of something called like-kind exchanges -- that's when they avoid paying taxes on profits by taking the money and buying another property -- to $1 million a year. As for Trump, who conveniently didn't say whether he thinks his income tax avoidance was a problem, even though he's criticized much less fortunate Americans for doing the same: His tax plan, according to many analysts, would actually increase the tax breaks available to real estate honchos like himself. Deplorable." -- CW

Can This Marriage Be Saved? (Not That We Care.) Katie Zezima of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump said he didn't apologize to his wife after the release of a video in which he bragged about kissing and groping women without their consent and allegations that he sexually assaulted nine women.... In an interview Monday on CNN, Melania Trump said her husband apologized to her." -- CW

Jennifer Agiesta of CNN: "Hillary Clinton won the final presidential debate, topping Donald Trump by a 13-point margin according to a CNN/ORC poll of debate watchers, giving Clinton a clean sweep across all three of this year's presidential debates. But Wednesday's debate watchers were closely divided on which candidate they trusted more on the issues most important to them.... Half of voters (50%) who watched Wednesday's debate said Clinton agreed with them more on the important issues, while 47% thought Trump did, but by wide margins, they thought Clinton had the better understanding of the issues, 61% to 31%, and was better prepared to handle the presidency, 59% to 35%." -- CW

Here are the debate highlights. CW: Good thing for me because I missed the whole debate when my cheap computer went down:

Aaron Blake of the Washington Post provides an annotated transcript of the debate. ...

... OR you can read Driftglass's liveblog.

New York Times reporters are liveblogging the presidential debate. -- CW

Dave Weigel of the Washington Post: "Scott Foval and Robert Creamer, two little-known but influential Democratic political operatives, have left their jobs after video investigations by James O'Keefe's Project Veritas Action found them entertaining dark notions about how to win elections. Foval was laid off Monday by Americans United for Change, where he had been national field director; Creamer announced Tuesday night that he was 'stepping back' from the work he was doing for the unified Democratic campaign for Hillary Clinton." -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Peter Sterne of Politico: "Leslie Millwee, a former reporter for local Arkansas TV station KLMN-TV, has accused former president Bill Clinton of sexually assaulting her three times in 1980, while Clinton was the governor of Arkansas, Breitbart News reports. Millwee told Breitbart that she interviewed Clinton about 20 times publicly and met with him in KLMN-TV's editing room, which is where she said he allegedly groped her and rubbed his genitals on her. She also said he once gave her half of his tie and wrote his name on her reporter's notebook, and that he once tried to visit her apartment but left after she did not let him enter. After Clinton came to her apartment, she told Millwee, she decided to quit her job at the station." -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Max Fisher & Amanda Taub of the New York Times: "Mr. Trump's foreign policy is not a foreign policy at all, but rather a vessel for reaching voters on a purely ideological level.... Mr. Trump has tapped into what scholars call conservation values. People who hold those values prioritize security, conformity and tradition. They also tend to fear physical threats and people they see as outsiders, whether that means foreigners or those of different races or religions. And they often express those values as a particular set of 'hawkish' foreign policy views..., characterized by a desire to shut out the world, ruthlessly promote American interests, reject cooperation and meet threats with overwhelming force.... Supporters do not primarily hear a policy agenda, but a promise: that Mr. Trump understands their fears and will protect them." -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... That Was Then, This Is Fear-Mongering. Oliver Darcy of Business Insider: "Donald Trump had a starkly different tone about globalization in a 2013 op-ed published on CNN's website.... [Trump], writing about how Europe was a 'terrific place' for investment, argued at the time that the 2008 recession had made it clear 'the global economy has become truly that -- global.' Trump wrote that 'cultures and economics are intertwined' in today's society, and that it was necessary to 'work with each other for the benefit of all.... In this case, the solution is clear. We will have to leave borders behind and go for global unity when it comes to financial stability.'... [He] concluded ... that the future of the US and Europe 'depends on a cohesive global economy.'" -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Ed Kilgore of New York: "In an atmosphere poisoned by Donald Trump's constant claims that the presidential election has been or will soon be 'stolen,' there are actually some real threats to the integrity of our voting system worth worrying about between now and November 8. These do not include the 'massive voter fraud' chestnut far too many Republicans love to talk about in one of the more obvious racial dog whistles of this and other recent campaigns.... But above and beyond these campaign-generated disruptions, our rickety and radically decentralized system for casting, recording, and reporting votes -- not much improved since the 2000 fiasco -- could fail us or prove an irresistible target for malicious hackers, domestic or foreign.... And consider this: What if the objective of a certain foreign power is less to elect their favorite U.S. major-party presidential candidate than to reinforce said candidate's arguments that this country is in such a state of decay and decline that we cannot even hold an honest election? Yeah, such concerns could make you as jumpy as a Bolshoi ballerina." --safari ...

... Lauren Smiley of the New Republic: "In fact, however, the U.S. election system really is vulnerable -- though not in the way Trump claims.... In July and August, Russian intelligence services hacked voter registration systems in Illinois and Arizona. But as menacing as foreign agents meddling with U.S. databases may seem, the biggest threat to the sanctity of the vote is the voting machines themselves. Like so much of America's crumbling infrastructure, the systems we rely on to tabulate our votes fairly and accurately are in dire need of an overhaul. In thousands of precincts, the outcome of the election rides on equipment that's outdated, prone to errors, and difficult or impossible to repair" --safari.

David Mack of BuzzFeed: "Ivanka Trump once told a gathering of friends and acquaintances she had never seen 'a mulatto cock,' BuzzFeed founder and chief executive Jonah Peretti alleged Wednesday. 'Surprised Ivanka would be shocked by lewd language,' Peretti tweeted. 'I met her once & she casually said: "I've never seen a mulatto cock, but I'd like to."'... In a statement, Ivanka Trump called Peretti's words 'a complete and total lie.' Reached by phone, Peretti said he wrote the tweet ... after having read a BuzzFeed News report about [Ivanka's] reaction to the Billy Bush Locker-Room Bus tape]... 'That's not language consistent with any conversation I've ever had with him, certainly, or any conversation I've overheard,' she said at Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit. 'So it was a bit jarring for me to hear.'" -- CW

Meet your Trump Supporters, Jeezus Edition. Jonathan Chait: "A belief in the connection between personal morality and fitness for office used to be a bedrock of Republican politics.... Five years ago, white evangelical Protestants were the most heavily Republican voting bloc in the country, and also its most moralistic. Only 30 percent of them believed that 'an elected official can behave ethically even if they have committed transgressions in their personal life.'... But Donald Trump has changed all that. Today, white evangelical Protestants are the least moralistic cohort of voters. According to a new PRRI/Brookings survey, a full 72 percent of them now believe elected officials can behave ethically even if they have committed transgressions in their personal lives.... Trump has cured what used to be called 'the Moral Majority' of its moralism." --safari ...

... Mazin Sidahmed of the Guardian: "A post on the aggregator site Drudge Report sparked a cascade of hate mail and phone calls to the American Muslim Women political action committee(Pac) on Tuesday. Mirriam Seddiq, a criminal defense attorney and the founder of the group, woke up to an email with a link to a site that sold ammunition covered in pork. 'It's bullets made to kill Muslims,' said Seddiq. After showing the email to her Pac colleagues, she realized that Drudge Report had highlighted their seven-week-old Pac at the top of its site. A link that read 'Hijab for Hillary' referred to a press release of the group endorsing Hillary Clinton last week.... The Pac aims to get Muslim women more involved in the election cycle, partly by ensuring more of them register to vote.... Seddiq said that the hate emails and phone calls were exactly the reason they started the Pac to begin with. In response to the hate emails, the Pac is selling pink 'Hijab for Hillary' T-shirts that can be ordered on their site." --safari

Emily Jane Fox of Vanity Fair: "[A]s New York magazine's Gabriel Sherman revealed on stage at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit on Wednesday morning, Trump has lost one key ally: Roger Ailes. The former Fox News boss had reportedly served as an advisor to Trump throughout the campaign. He was said to have played a particularly important role as of late, helping him prepare for the presidential debates.... That's all changed now, according to Sherman and Vanity Fair contributing editor Sarah Ellison. The reason for the fallout depends on who you ask. 'Ailes's camp said Ailes learned that Trump couldn't focus -- surprise, surprise -- and that advising him was a waste of time,' Sherman said.... On the Trump side, Ellison said the story is different: 'Even for the second debate, Ailes kept going off on tangents and talking about his war stories while he was supposed to be prepping Trump.'" --safari ...

     ... CW: Oh, I thought the falling-out was because Ailes was so shocked by Trump's abuse of women.

Other News & Views

Scott Shane, et al., of the New York Times: "Investigators pursuing what they believe to be the largest case of mishandling classified documents in United States history have found that the huge trove of stolen documents in the possession of a National Security Agency contractor included top-secret N.S.A. hacking tools that two months ago were offered for sale on the internet. They have been hunting for electronic clues that could link those cybertools -- computer code posted online for auction by an anonymous group calling itself the Shadow Brokers -- to the home computers of the contractor, Harold T. Martin III, who was arrested in late August on charges of theft of government property and mishandling of classified information." -- CW

Way Beyond the Beltway

Martin Chulov of the Guardian: "Mosul residents who have fled Islamic State say a homegrown resistance, raised over the past six months, has made plans to launch coordinated attacks against the group as Iraqi and Kurdish forces close in -- a move that could prove influential in the final battle for the city. Though a decisive clash still appears to be weeks away -- by some estimates up to two months -- the residents say an underground movement has organised into cells that are prepared to oppose Isis when they receive sufficient support." --safari: Great news for the fight against ISIS, although publishing the story now could cost many people their lives. I'm sure ISIS leaders read the news.

Nina Lakhani of the Guardian: "Two more land rights activists in Honduras have been murdered amid a continuing wave of violence against community leaders opposing big business interests. Jose Ángel Flores and Silmer Dionicio George -- both members of the Unified Peasant Movement (MUCA) -- were shot dead by a group of men outside the organization's office in Tacoa, in the Bajo Aguán region.... A killing spree triggered by the 2009 coup d'état has made Honduras the world's most dangerous country for environmental and land activists, leaving at least 120 dead, according to the NGO Global Witness." --safari

House of Cards, Karma Edition. Matt Sandy of the Guardian: "Eduardo Cunha, the Brazilian politician who orchestrated the impeachment of the country's first female president, Dilma Rousseff, has been arrested on corruption charges. Federal police detained the former speaker of the lower house in Brasilia on Wednesday and executed a search warrant at his home in Rio de Janeiro...The arrest was ordered by federal judge Sergio Moro, who has gained celebrity in Brazil by leading that probe, which has ensnared dozens of leading politicians. Moro has been investigating Cunha for months but could only arrest him after he was expelled from the chamber of deputies last month, and lost his parliamentary immunity.... Cunha, who built his powerbase on knowing the secrets of others, is said to be writing a book...Opposition politicians predicted if Cunha made a plea bargain with prosecutors, the government could fall." --safari

@safari: Sorry to have lost your video. It seems to have corrupted my cheap computer, so I ran out & got a new cheap computer & have semi-set it up, & it won't load the vid, either. Anyway, it looked like a good one. -- CW