Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Recovery from Isaac along the Gulf Coast is slow going. Mitt Romney was in New Orleans today for a photo-op, and President Obama will tour affected areas on Monday.
* The president traveled to Fort Bliss today, marking the anniversary of the end of the war in Iraq. (Also note his comments on the fight with Congress over the sequester.)
* On a related note, I still find this stunning and can only imagine how big a scandal it would be if Romney were a Democrat: “With America embroiled in its longest armed conflict, Mitt Romney became the first Republican since 1952 to accept his party’s nomination without mentioning war.”
* Have I mentioned lately that austerity doesn’t work? “The contraction in the euro-zone economy steepened in August, an advance gauge of activity showed Friday, and the number of unemployed rose to hit a new record high of more than 18 million, adding to recent evidence the euro zone’s slide into recession is accelerating.”
* Fortunately, the damage was minor: “An earthquake of 7.6 magnitude struck off the Philippines on Friday killing one person, damaging roads and bridges and sending people fleeing to higher ground in fear of a tsunami, a politician and authorities said.”
* Good move: “President Barack Obama will sign an executive order Friday directing the Department of Veterans Affairs to expand mental health services and suicide prevention efforts.”
* Mitt Romney’s convention speech drew about 25.3 million viewers last night. That’s not bad, but John McCain’s generated nearly 39 million viewers four years ago. * After days of watching Republicans chant “we built it,” Andy Sabl asks the question I’ve been pondering all week: “If we all built it, who are we and what is it?” * Oh my: “Tom Smith, the Republican Senate nominee in Pennsylvania, told two women at a recent Paul Ryan event that he assumed they were talking amongst themselves about shoes. A few days later at a Pennsylvania Press Club luncheon, Smith compared President Obama and Sen. Bob Casey’s inability to handle the economy to a wife who ‘wrecks the car’ and takes it ‘to the beauty salon to get it fixed.’” Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
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