Top Items:

The Undercard and the Mane Event — Donald Trump's rivals try to give him a haircut, but he ends up trimming himself. — Simi Valley, Calif. — By the time you see this you will have seen the soundbites, quips and cuts. You'll have seen the clashes. So, quickly:
RELATED:


Crazy Talk at the Republican Debate — Eleven presidential candidates had three prime-time hours on the national stage on Wednesday to tell the American people why they should lead the country. — Nobody forced them to be there. They were there freely, armed with the best arguments …
Discussion:
Hullabaloo

Fantasies and Fictions at G.O.P. Debate
Discussion:
Christian Science Monitor and Esquire


Carly Fiorina Offers Republicans a Pathway to Reach Women
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, Politico, No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Post, NBC News and Towleroad

7 Ways the Second Republican Debate Changed the 2016 Presidential Race
Discussion:
Associated Press, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, abc7ny.com and NPR


Why I Am Boycotting Pope Francis' Address to Congress — It is difficult to convey the excitement I first felt when it was revealed that His Holiness Pope Francis was invited to Washington D.C. to address the world from the floor of the House of Representatives.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Raw Story and Mediaite
RELATED:

This Catholic Congressman Is Boycotting Pope Francis Because He Talks About Climate Change — When Pope Francis addresses Congress in Washington, D.C. next week, at least one Republican representative won't be in the audience. — Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) wrote a letter in Town Hall …


What Is Hillary's Greatest Accomplishment? — Carly Fiorina dared Democrats to name it. 20 top Dems accepted the challenge. — Getty — “If you want to stump a Democrat, ask them to name an accomplishment of Hillary Clinton,” Carly Fiorina quipped at Wednesday's Republican debate.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Taylor Marsh and Erick on the Radio
RELATED:

New data shows Trump fever breaking — <p>Donald Trump looked tired after a grueling Republican debate. He might not be alone.</p><p>After a summer of spectacle and saturation coverage, signs are accumulating that, for the public and the media, the onset of Trump fatigue has begun.</p><p>Mentions …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, CBS News, The Gateway Pundit, Bloomberg Business, ABC News, The Hill and CNNMoney


Trump declines to correct questioner who says Obama is a Muslim — Washington (CNN)Donald Trump on Thursday declined to correct a supporter of his who alleged that President Barack Obama is Muslim and not an American. — “We have a problem in this country.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Daily Kos, Jezebel, The Pulse 2016, Philly.com, Business Insider, Informed Comment and The Gateway Pundit
RELATED:


Trump doesn't correct rally attendee who says Obama is Muslim and ‘not even an American’
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, WND, Guardian, Shakesville, Outside the Beltway, Politico, Common Dreams, Business Insider, The Gateway Pundit and Mediaite

Trump Lets Comment About Muslims Being ‘Problem’ in US Slide
Discussion:
abc7ny.com and Power Line


Donald Trump May Not Have a Second Act — In 1998, David Mamet, the acclaimed playwright, published a short treatise, “Three Uses of the Knife,” on “the nature and purpose of drama.” The book, based on lectures he delivered the previous year at Columbia University, is well regarded …
Discussion:
Erick on the Radio


Breaking: Mackinac DRAMA: Top Rubio Leader Tries To Hit John Yob In The Face After Trying To Whip Straw Poll Support — By Brandon Hall — (Email him at WestMiPolitics@Gmail.com — Rich Beeson is Florida Senator Marco Rubio's Deputy Political Director. Beeson may want to learn how to control his alcohol.
Discussion:
Detroit News, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, Guardian and Daily Kos
RELATED:

Rand Paul strategist claims Rubio aide punched him in the face — <p>A Michigan political consultant working for Rand Paul says he was punched in the face by Marco Rubio's deputy campaign manager during an alleged incident at a bar in Mackinac Island, where the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference …
Discussion:
Bloomberg Business


Go ‘nuclear’ to stop Obama's Iran deal, urge 57 House Republicans in letter — Dozens of House Republican lawmakers are making a late stab at pressuring Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to abandon the filibuster on legislation to block the nuclear deal with Iran.
RELATED:

Last bid to kill Iran nuclear deal blocked in Senate
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, Antiwar.com and RedState

Finger-Pointing, but Few Answers, After a Syria Solution Fails — WASHINGTON — By any measure, President Obama's effort to train a Syrian opposition army to fight the Islamic State on the ground has been an abysmal failure. The military acknowledged this week that just four or five American-trained fighters are actually fighting.
Discussion:
Erick on the Radio, MichelleMalkin.com and Slantpoint
RELATED:

Our High-Priced Mercenaries in Syria
Discussion:
Prairie Weather and Informed Comment


Republican Candidates Promise to Keep Us As Safe As George W. Bush Did — <span>Should we feel comfortable giving the likes of Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio access to conventional weapons?</span> — Wednesday night's Republican presidential debate focused heavily on foreign policy …
Discussion:
New York Times, Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality and Bloomberg Business

Biden may not decide soon — <p>DETROIT — Joe Biden may have more time to make up his mind about running for president than most people assume. He and the people planning his potential campaign certainly think so.</p><p>Running a primary race — particularly against Hillary Clinton …
RELATED:

Draft Biden Official: ‘I Am 100 Percent That Joe Is In’
Discussion:
NBC News, Refinery29, Red Alert Politics, Wall Street Journal, Hot Air and Mediaite


Summer was the hottest on record — June through August of this year was the hottest summer in recorded weather history, federal scientists said Thursday. — Surface temperatures around the globe were 1.53 degrees Fahrenheit above their average for those months throughout the 20th century …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress
RELATED:


Bristol Palin Rages: Obama ‘Needs To STAY Out Of’ Ahmed Mohamed's Case — Bristol Palin wrote on her blog Thursday that President Obama “needs to STAY out of” the case of a 14-year-old Muslim student in Texas who was wrongly arrested for bringing a homemade clock to school.
Discussion:
Raw Story
RELATED:

An ultrathin invisibility skin cloak for visible light — 1NSF Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center (NSEC), University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. — 2Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
Discussion:
Tech Times, NBC News and Guardian