THE ’BIRTHER’ QUESTION GETS REBORN
In another era, Donald Trump pursued the question of President Obama’s citizenship with gusto, wondering if the nation’s primary leader had been born in the United States — or elsewhere. Republicans, apparently, are still wondering. A wide-ranging new survey of GOP voters by Public Policy Polling finds that a mere 29 percent of them believe Mr. Obama was born on these shores; 44 percent say he was born someplace else, and 26 percent are not sure what to think. Another 54 percent of the Republicans say Mr. Obama is a Muslim; 14 percent say he is Christian, and 32 percent are not sure about his faith. Things are more intense among respondents who are fans of Mr. Trump, Republican hopeful: 21 percent say Mr. Obama was born in the U.S., while two thirds say he’s a Muslim.
That’s what’s out there. It’s interesting to note that the pollster chose to give an exclusive advance look at the survey results to MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, presumably for commentary fodder. Yes, well. “Republicans have no freaking idea what they’re talking about,” Ms. Maddow noted in her on-camera analysis.
The poll also reveals that Mr. Trump continues to lead the GOP presidential field with 29 percent of the support, followed by a distant Ben Carson with 15 percent and everyone else clamoring for attention with 10 percent of the support and under. There are more numbers from the survey reflecting the Republican mindset in the Poll du Jour at column’s end.
Meanwhile, Mr. Trump continues to draw attention from intrigued researchers touting “the science” of Mr. Trump’s persistent appeal. A new Bloomberg Politics analysis reveals his ability to “tell it like it is” remains the biggest draw, followed by the billionaire’s independent outsider status, and the feeling that “he’ll do what he says he’ll do.”
Late-night America also calls: Mr. Trump appears an NBC’s “Tonight Show” this week. Though the network and Mr. Trump have feuded this year, they are making up long enough to take a jab, say some analysts, at the newly reinvented CBS “Late Night with Stephen Colbert. It debuts with Jeb Bush as the very first guest, followed by Vice President and potential presidential hopeful Joe Biden.
DELETED AND PURGED
The political realm is once again quaking with more official releases of Hillary Clinton’s old State Dept. emails. The phenomenon brings out the fangs — or at least the incredulity — of the Republican National Committee.
“These emails show Hillary Clinton exposed even more classified information on her secret server than previously known,” proclaims chairman Reince Priebus. “On hundreds of occasions, Hillary Clinton’s reckless attempt to skirt transparency laws put sensitive information and our national security at risk. With the FBI continuing to investigate, Hillary Clinton’s growing email scandal shows she cannot be trusted with the White House.”
There is dot-connecting to be had, though. National Journal columnist Ron Fournier asks in a terse tweet: “Remember, these are the emails HRC wanted us to read. What didn’t she want disclosed via an unauthorized private server, deleted and purged?”
Noteworthy question, and on par with The Atlantic’s senior political editor, Yoni Appelbaum, who wonders why the aforementioned Joe Biden seems so confident these days. “There’s one intriguing theory that has so far garnered little attention: What if Biden knows something about Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton that the rest of us don’t?” the editor asks.
NO RIFT BETWEEN OBAMA AND CLINTON
Trouble afoot? Pundit chatter comes and goes, suggesting President Obama and Hillary Clinton are at odds as 2016 approaches. Among voters, positive perceptions about their relationship appear stable however: Most say that the two agree on major policy issues, and that Mr. Obama is going to endorse Mrs. Clinton in her quest for the White House.
A new Rasmussen Reports survey finds that 58 percent of voters say the pair still agree on policy, which is actually up by 6 percentage points since last year. Another 68 percent think the president will endorse Mrs. Clinton over her rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination. Among likely Democratic voters alone, the number is 74 percent.
SCOTT WALKER’S NOTEWORTHY RIDE
Donald Trump may show up to his campaign events in his own 757 aircraft emblazoned with a personal logo. But Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker may trump Mr. Trump for the flashiest ride. Mr. Walker took a bodacious motorcycle ride through New Hampshire over the Labor Day weekend — right through all 10 counties.
The candidate, a veteran Harley rider, makes quite an impression on two wheels. Harley Davidson is, after all, headquartered in Wisconsin. Two years ago, Mr. Walker himself donned black leather and aviator glasses and personally escorted a selection of the fabulous bikes to China, roaring into Shanghai before a delighted crowd. The governor made the sale; China now has its first big Harley shop.
Earlier this year, Mr. Walker joined forces with Sen. Joni Ernst for a Harley ride through the Iowa countryside, followed by a pig roast. Both press and public were charmed. This may be something that even the master showman Mr. Trump can’t duplicate. But then again, one never knows.
ON THE RADAR
Judicial Watch has organized the very first “Leadership Summit on Washington Corruption and the Transparency Crisis,” appropriately staged at a hotel two blocks from the U.S. Capitol in mid-September.
On hand for the day-long event Sept. 14: the organization’s president Tom Fitton, Fox News analyst Andy McCarthy, Rep. Louie Gohmert, former federal prosecutor Joe diGenova, Brietbart News chairman Stephen Bannon, attorney Cleta Mitchell and National Review editor John Fund, among others.
Among the topics: “The Obama IRS attack on conservatives and churchgoers,” Hillary Clinton’s “corruption scandals,” the nation’s “deadly illegal immigration crisis” and the organization’s ongoing effort, they say, “to stop the Left from stealing our elections.” Find it all at JudicialWatch.org
VOTERS ARE VEXED
American voters are hard to please. Or maybe they’re just annoyed, or have early onset election fatigue. Consider that 1,653 likely U.S. voters were asked by Quinnipiac University to describe Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton and Republican hopefuls Donald Trump and Jeb Bush in the single word of their choice — and their choices were less than sterling. The words were ranked into the top 50 words for each candidate by how many times they were cited. Here are the top-25 words for each one:
Mrs. Clinton: Liar, dishonest, untrustworthy, experience, strong, Bill, woman, smart, crook, untruthful, criminal, deceitful, Democrat, intelligent, email, politicians, Benghazi, corrupt, crooked, capable, determined, good, leader, murder, qualified.
Mr. Trump: Arrogant, blowhard, idiot, businessman, clown, honest, ego, money, outspoken, crazy, rich, showman, strong, [expletive], joke, loud, leader, pompous, bombastic, egomaniac, loudmouth, racist, big-mouth, aggressive, buffoon.
Mr. Bush: Bush, family, honest, weak, brother, dynasty, experience, George, Florida, politician, Republican, moderate, governor, establishment, conservative, father, legacy, nice, trustworthy, decent, boring, competent, education, favorable, nepotism.
“We’ve asked voters this question periodically, and I’ve never seen words that are so severely critical,” assistant polling director Tim Malloy tells Inside the Beltway. “The voters have taken their gloves off. No one is restrained, and they say what they want. We are definitely in a new world of social media where everyone has an opinion, and everyone has their own form of an editorial page. All they need is a smart phone.”
IRONY OF THE DAY
Things change. Matt Welch, editor-in-chief of Reason magazine, recently revisited the official 1996 Democratic Party platform and cited the party’s immigration policy at the time, Here is a portion:
“We must remain a nation of laws. We cannot tolerate illegal immigration and we must stop it,” the lengthy document states, noting, “Criminal immigrants, deported after committing crimes in America, return the very next day to commit crimes again.”
The document later continues, “Democrats want to protect American jobs by increasing criminal and civil sanctions against employers who hire illegal workers We continue to firmly oppose welfare benefits for illegal immigrants. We believe family members who sponsor immigrants into this country should take financial responsibility for them, and be held legally responsible for supporting them.”
POLL DU JOUR
• 78 percent of likely Republican primary voters support a criminal background check for every person who wants to buy a firearm.
• 75 percent describe themselves as conservative; 20 percent say they are moderate, 5 percent liberal.
• 71 percent agree that “America is great.”
• 54 percent want a GOP candidate who has the best chance of beating a Democrat in the general election; 31 percent say finding the “most conservative candidate” is the most important. 51 percent would support changing the Constitution to bar citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants.
• 37 percent trust Donald Trump more than Fox News host Megyn Kelly; 34 percent trust Ms. Kelly.
Source: A Public Policy Polling survey of 572 likely Republican voters conducted Aug. 29-30.
• Follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin
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