It's the Economy, Stupid!

* Rah, Rah, Rah. George Bush invoked patriotism last night, and did a really good job. I was moved by his speech, and think that it was one of his best to date.

* The Russians stormed the school. You knew they would. I'm glad Bush declares that we'd rather fight the war on terror somewhere other than our turf. Can you imagine such an event here, or worrying about exploding busses on your commute to work?

* Good article on the cure for poverty. Get a job!

* The jobs numbers today continue to show growth, there were upward revisions in previous numbers, and the unemployment rate ticked down to 5.4%. Bush has to be happy about that. Kerry will say it's not enough, but remember Alan Greenspan would be more aggressive in hiking interest rates if the economy is too hot.

* I don't think Kerry owns any issues at this point. The environment I suppose. Maybe that Bush talks kinda funny. Other than that, Bush owns foreign policy and he got the economy going again after the recession and 9/11.

* Lynn Swann did a great interview post convention, as he'll be out campaigning for Bush. He said, that the Democrats give you crutches, the Republicans give you tools. He mentioned that many blacks may be more Republican than they think. That's a theme this year that has gone unnoticed mostly. The Jeff Foxworthy "You may be a Republican!" bit; Arnold did it, too.

* Maybe Intel's news last night was company specific. It's hitting the semiconductors a bit, but the market seems okay right now. I was thinking ahead of a long weekend in light trading volume, we'd see more selling today.

* Unofficial last weekend of summer ahead, so turn off the TV and fire up the Barbeque!