SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 8:45 P.M. ET;

OBAMA ON THE TUBE AGAIN – Mr. Obama will once again address the nation tonight.   He's been on so much recently that he could become a summer replacement for Jay Leno.  The president will talk about the debt negotiations, again.  Given the economic state the country is in, we're calling this his First Fire Sale Chat.

POLLS ARE UNFRIENDLY – Gallup reports that Obama's approval rating has dipped to 43% again. Dems assure us that other presidents have had low approval ratings and have come back to win reelection.  But Clinton's approval rating in 1995, a year before the presidential election, was above 50%. 

A LARGE ARRIVAL – New Jersey's "stout" Republican governor, Chris Christie, arrives in Iowa today for a speech.  Donors and Republican groupies will be looking for any sign that he's reconsidering his declaration that he isn't running for president.  Christie is considered by some to be the ideal Republican candidate because of the dramatic steps he's taken to put New Jersey's house in order.  I have to disagree.  He's done a great job as governor, but he has two substantial deficits:  First, he has an abrasive manner that may work in a room filled with ultra-partisans, but will wear thin in a national race, where being "presidential" is critical; and, second, he has zero foreign policy experience, and has no known views on that and other national issues.  He's a governor, and, for now, that's his proper role.

July 25, 2011