Bernie Blew It by Jamelle Boule

Before Bernie Sanders, there was Elizabeth Warren. Consider that what we are witnessing is a total failure of Bernie to understand power and influence that goes beyond his adoring crowds. Consider that Elizabeth Warren has a natural understanding of how to get things done, in a way that Bernie doesn't.

Consider that being the progressive icon that she is, Elizabeth Warren is insuring that 1) Trump not win and 2) Hillary gets elected. Consider that after Hillary is elected. Warren will occupy a position of influence with Hillary that Bernie will never have. Whether she is a VP, a Senator or a Cabinet officer, Warren will be the go-to person that Bernie will never be, when progressives want to get something done.

Everything you hear about Hillary is that she never forgets what someone has done for her. Those relationships go back decades, and what we saw on stage yesterday in Ohio was pure magic. Elizabeth Warren really can loosen Hillary up and also embrace her with genuine enthusiasm because Warren knows that she may be uber-progressive, but Hillary isn't all that far behind her. And Warren is also a wonk. And wonks can work very well together.

Boule is right. So many of us are so over Bernie, so tired of his lectures. Elizabeth Warren shares most of his same beliefs and yet she inspires us, rather than judging us. Warren uplifts us while Bernie waves his finger in yet another sermon over our inadequacies, as if only he holds the moral high ground . . . the broken record. We get it, Bernie preacher man.

Between these two, I have no doubts over who will really hold progressive power in her hands. It won't be BS, because it takes a village . . . Hillary's wisdom never sunk into that cranky, belligerent Vermont skull. ~ Anne

Is Elizabeth Warren Really the Best Choice for Vice President? by Jamelle Boule Slate

Only if you think the symbolism of her nomination is bigger than the hole she’ll leave in the Senate.

Battleground bloodbath: Clinton leads Trump in 7 swing states Politico

Of the seven states polled by Ballotpedia, Clinton’s lead was smallest in Iowa, where registered voters polled preferred her by four pts. Hillaryf's largest lead came in Michigan, a traditionally Democratic-leaning state but one Trump says he will win with his anti-trade message. Clinton leads the charging-bull Manhattan billionaire in Michigan by 17 pts, 50% to 33%.

Clinton maintains double-digit leads in Florida (14 pts), Pennsylvania (14 pts) and North Carolina (10 pts) over Trump. Poll respondents said 'yes' to Hillary over Trump by nine pts in Ohio and seven pts in Virginia.

Clinton maintained her advantage with a third option for Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson was offered, although her leads shifted slightly. Clinton’s advantage dropped to three pts in Iowa and six pts in North Carolina. But Johnson’s introduction as a third-party option actually grew Clinton's lead to 15 pts and eight pts in Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Study Sees Debt Jumping Under Trump, Staying Steady Under Clinton WSJ

Donald Trump’s tax and spending proposals would tremendously grow the national debt over the next 10 years, while Hillary Clinton’s strategy of new revenue and new spending would have a minimal effect on the country’s $14 trillion debt, according to a study by the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. This organization is committed to bringing down the national debt. released Sunday.

Mr. Trump's plan as the presumptive Republican nominee would grow the national debt to 127% of the entire economy, up from 75% today, according to the analysis

Under current law, the debt is expected to grow to 86% of the economy, largely because of automatic spending increases for programs such as Social Security and Medicare driven by the aging population. Under Mrs. Clinton, the likely Democratic nominee, the debt would grow slightly to 87% of the economy, the report found."

It's True. Analysts list Trump among top global threats PolitiFact

"The Economist Intelligence Unit -- an affiliate of The Economist", the London-based newsweekly -- is a research and analysis firm that supplies clients, including businesses, with information about opportunities and risks around the world.

The firm made headlines in March 2016 when it listed the possibility of a Trump presidency as one of the biggest threats to "companies’ capacity to operate at target profitability." The rankings are based on "qualitative" judgments of a how powerfully an event could affect the world and how likely it is to happen, the firm says.

In its March ratings, the firm rated the risks from a Trump presidency as 12 on a 25-point scale. That ranked Trump sixth among the 10-item list of biggest threats, tied with "the rising threat of jihadi terrorism destabilizing the global economy."

But the Trump threat level increased in the July 2016 rankings. A Trump presidency now ranks as the third-biggest global threat, with an increased score of 16 on the 25-point scale. In the meantime, the risk from jihadi terrorism has remained constant with a score of 12."

House Benghazi Report Finds No New Evidence of Wrongdoing by Hillary Clinton New York Times

I simply cannot believe that the House Benghazi committee refuses to draw any real conclusions from their 800-page report and have the audacity to stand at the microphone saying they will leave it up to the American people to draw their conclusions. They are actually suggesting that we have the time to read the report. As a high-ranking corporate executive, I would have been fired on the spot for pulling a stunt like that -- and not one that spent $7 million of my company's dollars. Our govt is in truly pitiful shape. And so, it's left to the media to digest what's in the report and how it impacts Hillary Clinton. ~ Anne

Lead paragraph at the NYT concludes:

"Ending one of the longest, costliest and most bitterly partisan congressional investigations in history, the House Select Committee on Benghazi issued its final report on Tuesday, finding no new evidence of culpability or wrongdoing by Hillary Clinton in the 2012 attacks in Libya that left four Americans dead."