Aaauuuggghhh!  Market Commentary Edition  —  Carnage in stock markets as I write — and all of the headlines I see attribute it to S&P's downgrade.  —  They really are trying to make my head explode, aren't they?  —  Once again: S&P declared that US debt is no longer a safe investment …

Rick Perry to make 2012 intentions clear Saturday  —  Rick Perry intends to use a speech in South Carolina Saturday to make clear that he's running for president, POLITICO has learned.  —  According to two sources familiar with the plan, the Texas governor will remove any doubt …

LEAP OF FAITH … - POLITICS - PROFILES - THE TALK OF THE TOWN - COMMENT - THIS WEEK'S ISSUE - THE FINANCIAL PAGE - NEWS DESK - THE POLITICAL SCENE

On S&P, Downgrades, and Idiots  —  This is not going to be one of those posts that laments S&P's decision to downgrade the US, but then says that S&P was probably right about our oh-so-dysfunctional political system.  —  No, S&P was flat-out wrong — no caveats.

Obama Job Approval 50% or Higher in 16 States and D.C.  —  Idaho residents least approving, at 27%  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Residents of 16 states and the District of Columbia gave President Obama approval ratings of 50% or higher during the first half of 2011, led by the District of Columbia, Connecticut, Maryland, and Delaware.

Hillary Told You So  —  As Democratic disgust with Obama's debt fumbling spreads, Clinton supporters recall her ‘3 a.m. phone call’ warnings—and angry, frustrated liberals are muttering that she should mount a 2012 challenge.  —  At a New York political event last week …

Waiting For A Landslide  —  In 1955, a political scientist named V. O. Key published an essay entitled “A Theory of Critical Elections.”  He argued that realignments in American politics are usually punctuated by transformative elections, in which the old order suddenly gives way and a new majority emerges in its place.

The Conservative Crazy Eyes Cliche & Other Stupid MSM Photo Tricks  —  Sigh.  Seriously, Tina Brown?  —  Yes, I'm talking about you, Oxford University-educated Newsweek/Daily Beast editor Tina Brown.  —  You've resorted to recycling bottom-of-the-barrel moonbat photo cliches …

Berkshire, Other Insurers Get ‘Negative’ Tag from S&P … Cue the music from “Jaws.”  —  After Standard & Poor's bit an appendage from the U.S.'s credit rating, the credit-rating firm is smelling blood in the water at Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway.  —  S&P today is marking down ratings …

The abortion that Mitt doesn't talk about anymore  —  In a 1994 Senate debate with Ted Kennedy, Mitt Romney revealed a startling chapter from his past: A close relative had died many years earlier in a botched illegal abortion, shaping Romney's stance in favor of safe and legal access to abortion for all women.

Obama's horrifyingly bad speech  —  He was a half hour late.  His head turned from side to side as if he were attending a tennis match.  He practically never looked in the camera, as if he were averting our gaze.  And those were the strong parts of President Obama's disastrous speech.

House leaders end page program  —  House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced they were ending the House page program.  —  As of Aug. 31, the program — which employs nearly 70 high school students to serve as messengers and couriers …

A.I.G. Sues Bank of America Over Mortgage Bonds  —  The American International Group sued Bank of America on Monday over hundreds of mortgage-backed securities, adding to the surge of investors seeking compensation for the troubled mortgages that led to the financial crisis.

29% Say Tea Party Members Are Terrorists, 55% Disagree  —  Several prominent Democrats and their media friends have charged the Tea Party with being economic terrorists during the congressional budget debates, but most voters don't see it that way.  —  Fifty-five percent (55%) …

It's a Growth Scare  —  FTalphaville has been saying this all day, and it's right.  The action in the markets looks nothing like worries about US solvency; it looks exactly like what you expect to see when markets suddenly realize that the economy's growth prospects look terrible.

Poor People Own Appliances Because They're Cheap  —  My colleagues Melissa Boteach and Donna Cooper have a great piece on the Heritage Foundation's “poor people aren't actually poor because they own cheap electronics” theory of poverty.  This infographic nicely highlights the silliness …

Did a New Taliban Weapon Kill a Chopper Full of Navy SEALs?  —  Updated 8:36 a.m. EDT.  —  The passengers and crew of the twin-rotor CH-47 Chinook helicopter probably never saw the rocket hurtling towards them.  The explosion and fiery crash in Wardak province in eastern Afghanistan early …