“In a Virginia law school classroom, students are grappling with an event once considered unimaginable: a U.S. government debt default,” Axios reports.
“This semester’s class is indicative of a nervousness that has become more widespread about America’s standing in the global financial system.”
“When terrorists attacked America on Sept. 11, 2001, they provoked a response that, seen from today’s perspective, seems remarkable: The country immediately united across every political and ideological divide,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Within three days, the House and the Senate approved by a combined vote of 518 to 1 a sweeping measure endorsing the use of force against anyone deemed responsible for the attacks. In a Wall Street Journal poll taken at the time, 82% said they approved of the job being done by President George W. Bush, who hadn’t even won the popular vote in the election that brought him to office just months earlier. Almost three-quarters of Americans said that despite the attacks—or maybe because of the united response to them—the country was on the right track. In many ways, America was at its best.”
“Alas, that 9/11 unity didn’t last.”
“As it turned out, the events of that day also sowed the seeds for much of the discord and disillusionment that have plagued the American political system in the quarter-century since.”
“Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella, who took office last month after pledging to mend the strained relationship with the U.S. is getting a prime opportunity with Secretary of State Marco Rubio visiting Tuesday,” Bloomberg reports.
“No matter how many good things I told them, they were just pissed about the price of groceries. That has not changed, and now Republicans are in charge.”
— Democratic strategist Chuck Rocha, quoted by NBC News.
“Houthi militants in Yemen targeted energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, sending oil prices higher on concerns over Persian Gulf oil supplies already strained due to the Iran war,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Stephen Collinson: “The Roman Emperor Titus has one. Napoleon Bonaparte ordered up the world’s most famous example. And the Duke of Wellington’s iconic version is the gateway to London’s Hyde Park.”
“Now, Donald Trump wants his own ceremonial arch. And his latest architectural passion project may tell history rather more about the 45th and 47th president than other examples of his second-term Washington makeover blitz.”
“The Arch of Titus in Rome marks the capture of Jerusalem in AD 70. The Arc de Triomphe in Paris honors the dead of Napoleonic and Revolutionary wars and France’s subsequent fallen warriors. The arch honoring Wellington celebrates the French emperor’s eventual defeat.”
“This history reveals one problem. Trump so far lacks the triumph to justify a triumphal arch.”
“A far-right electoral victory in a small eastern state has plunged Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, into a fight for his political survival with no surefire paths to prevail,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Merz was not on the ballot in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, where the Alternative for Germany party, or AfD, won nearly 44 percent of the vote and now sits on the cusp of becoming the first far-right party to govern a German state since the end of World War II. But Mr. Merz, a mainstream conservative, was very much on voters’ minds, post-election analyses show — and not fondly.”
“Now, with two more key regional elections set for this month — in Berlin and in the coastal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania — Mr. Merz is struggling to reassure restless party stalwarts that he remains the leader that they and Germany need.”
For members: Germany Takes a Hard Right Turn
“Republicans appeared to have a firm grip on the Senate heading into the final two years of President Donald Trump’s term. But with less than two months until Election Day, control of the chamber is now up for grabs,” the Associated Press reports.
“Democrats have found themselves competing in states that once seemed beyond their reach as President Donald Trump’s slipping approval ratings and voters’ dissatisfaction with the economy create a difficult political environment for Republicans. But races Democrats once counted on winning have also become more complicated.”
Keep track of the latest on the Polling Dashboard.
“A late surge by a progressive challenger has injected drama into New Hampshire’s Democratic Senate primary on Tuesday, threatening to complicate U.S. Representative Chris Pappas’ path to nomination,” Reuters reports.
“In one of the last states holding primaries in 2026, New Hampshire voters will also choose nominees in a Republican Senate primary and in primaries for two U.S. House seats, just eight weeks before the November 3 general election when control of Congress is at stake.”
MS NOW: New Hampshire votes today in a Senate race Democrats no longer feel is safe.
“Twenty-five years after the September 11 attacks focused U.S. fears on threats from abroad, Americans are now considerably more worried about attacks by domestic extremists than by foreign groups,” a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
“When asked to name the biggest threat to the safety of average Americans, 33% of respondents picked ‘domestic terrorism,’ while 20% picked foreign terror and 42% pointed to random acts of violence such as mass shootings, the August 28-31 poll found.”
“Hungary will expel 10 Russian diplomats whom the government accused of espionage, setting the stage for a confrontation between Moscow and the new government in Budapest,” Bloomberg reports.
Ed Kilgore: “Democrats have reason to hope that a ‘blue wave’ in the midterm elections, fed by Donald Trump’s unpopularity, will help them flip the House and maybe even the Senate this year. National dynamics are typically less decisive in state elections, including the 36 gubernatorial elections on tap.”
“But nationwide trends do shape the electorate that will vote up and down the ballot, so Democrats expect gubernatorial gains, too.”
“President Donald Trump will be at the center of this week’s GOP midterm convention. Many of his fellow Republicans are hoping he doesn’t make it all about him,” Politico reports.
”The parade of lawmakers, candidates, donors and party officials now headed to Dallas for the two-day spectacle are counting on Trump to make a compelling pitch on the national stage before voters hit the polls.”
NPR: Republicans hope unconventional convention will rally voters ahead of midterms.
“It’s still exceedingly difficult to buy oneself a seat in Congress,” NOTUS reports.
“During the 2026 midterms, a record number of wealthy Americans — 69 — have spent more than $1 million of their own money to support their campaigns for federal office.”
“And with primary season ending in the next several days with contests in New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Delaware, about two-thirds of these self-funding candidates have turned out to be losers who couldn’t advance to the November general election.”
New York Times: “The doctor who sued the couple was Roger Marshall, now a senator from Kansas. Mr. Marshall, a Republican who is seeking re-election this fall, filed lawsuits against more than 700 patients with outstanding bills during his decades-long career as an obstetrician-gynecologist, according to a New York Times analysis of Kansas court records.”
“Patients were arrested in 81 of those cases for missing court dates, the record show. In an additional 13 lawsuits, Mr. Marshall’s lawyers sought warrants but it is unclear whether an arrest occurred.”
“They also garnished patients’ paychecks and bank accounts. They routinely charged patients an 18 percent annual interest rate.”
“Democrats have gained sharply with Latino voters in some of the country’s most competitive House districts since 2024, a new Hart Research/TelevisaUnivision poll shared exclusively with Axios shows,” Axios reports.
“President Trump came close to erasing Democrats’ longtime advantage among Latinos in the last presidential election. Now, with control of Congress at stake and Trump’s approval ratings hitting new lows, that breakthrough appears to have eroded.”
“Campaigning on health care used to mean talking about coverage or costs. Now, in the run-up to the midterms, it’s just as likely to focus on ‘corruption,'” Axios reports.
“Candidates are accusing primary or general election opponents of being in the pockets of drugmakers, insurers and other powerful health interests, to the detriment of voters.”
”It’s a strategy that plays into affordability concerns and voter anger at the health system — but frequently avoids addressing what about the system needs fixing.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
