SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:52 P.M. ET: 

PANIC IN THE FRONTRUNNER'S CAMP – We're seeing more and more stories about panic among the Clintonites.  Here's the latest, from Fox:   Aides close to Hillary Clinton are getting increasingly nervous that Vice President Joe Biden may throw his hat into the 2016 presidential race later this summer, Democratic sources told Fox News.  The sources said that that eyebrows were raised recently at Clinton’s headquarters in Brooklyn when Biden’s chief of staff at the White House, Steve Ricchetti, was spotted having breakfast recently with major Democratic donor Louis Susman, a Clinton friend who served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom under President Obama.  After the breakfast, sources said word spread quickly inside Clinton’s camp that Biden’s team appeared to be sounding out top fundraisers about whether the vice president can raise the necessary cash to compete with the Democratic front-runner at this late date.  The real question is whether Biden remembers there's an election.  But the reality is that the Dem establishment is looking for a candidate to replace Hillary if she sputters out.  And she is sputtering loudly.

THE WEAKENING OF AMERICA – From Fox:  The U.S. Navy will not have an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf this fall for the first time in years, President Obama's nominee to be the Navy's top officer told Capitol Hill lawmakers Thursday.  The gap in the Gulf -- expected to last two months -- would come at a time when the U.S. is not only launching sustained airstrikes against nearby Islamic State targets but trying to keep a check on Iranian aggression in the region.  Under questioning by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., at his nomination hearing to be chief of naval operations, Adm. John Richardson acknowledged the Navy would pull the carrier and said this hurts U.S. capability in the region.  Even Obama's own picks are warning about American weakness, but the commander-in-brief doesn't seem to care.  In fact, weakening America's military resolve is part of his plan to give more power to the "third world" and the Muslim world, both of which he clearly favors.

TRUMP ROARING – I don't necessarily think this is a good thing, but Donald Trump's progress has simply been astounding.  If he shows staying power, the whole Republican race can be turned upside down.  From London's Daily Mail:   Billionaire Donald Trump is leaving the country on a high note, flying from New York to Glasgow, Scotland on Wednesday night as a new poll gives him a commanding lead in the race for the 2016 U.S. Republican presidential nomination.  The Reuters/Ipsos poll found 25 per cent of GOP voters want to elect a President Trump, resulting in a double-digit advantage over his nearest rival Jeb Bush.  The former Florida governor trails with 12 per cent.  Trump told DailyMail.com during an interview on Wednesday morning that he planned to spend Thursday, Friday and Saturday attending the Women's British Open golf tournament at his Trump Turnberry Resort.   'For four years I've looked forward to going to this,' he said. 'You know, they pick 'em four or five years in advance. And now what happens? Hah!'  The GOP primary debates start next week in Cleveland, and voters will have a chance to see Trump on the same stage with other candidates.  His personality may not wear well.  We'll see, and keep an open mind.  What I'd also like to see is Democratic debates.  Talk about weirdsville.

YIKES – Hillary Clinton was asked about her greatest weakness.  This is what she said:  "How much time do we have.  I am impatient and I sometimes come across as impatient, which is not always attractive, and I'll get really frustrated with people who don't understand what I think it's going to take to make our country great tomorrow just like we were yesterday."  Apparently she doesn't think we're too hot today.  What's remarkable is her arrogance.  All these people who don't "understand" her.  It's a candidate's job to make herself understood.  Don't blame it on the voters.

July 30,  2015