A GAME OF INCHES: Vice President Kamala Harris still faces a game of inches following her strong debate performance against Donald Trump on Tuesday night. As of this morning there are no post-debate polls to indicate whether she moved any new voters or changed minds.

  The NY Times reports that “Aides believe that at its heart, the race is unchanged.”

  Harris still needs to get out there and introduce herself to a country that doesn’t know her very well. She also needs to shake off her association with the unpopular Biden administration without shooting herself in the foot.

  On the crucial issue of the economy, Harris trails Donald Trump by 13 points, according to The NY Times/Siena poll. In an essay in the Times, Jedediah Britton-Purdy, a professor at Duke University, advises Harris to focus on a broad concept of “freedom” for Americans. He writes that Democrats need to tell Americans: “You deserve the freedom to live a good life. No one gets to take advantage of you to get rich. If you are growing up in West Virginia or rural North Carolina, you should be able to find a good job where you are and not have to leave seeking work. When you have kids, a big tax credit will help you to decide for yourself whether to work or stay at home. Reproductive freedom includes the chance to raise a family without choking economic stress.”

THE SPIN ROOM: Fresh off a pummeling in debate with Kamala Harris, Donald Trump on Fox News posed himself once more as the victim. This time the perpetrator was ABC News, the host of Tuesday night’s debate.

  “I thought it was terrible from the standpoint of ABC,” Trump said on “Fox & Friends,” accusing moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis of bias. “They are the most dishonest, in my opinion, the most dishonest news organization.”

  Both Muir and Davis corrected Trump on statements that were not true. Trump said that ABC “lost a lot of credibility,” “took a big hit” and “should be embarrassed.” He suggested that the network ought to lose its broadcasting license.

  Nielsen ratings says 67.1 million people watched the debate live, more than the Trump/Biden debate in June.

  Tuesday night in the spin room Trump claimed he won the debate even though “basically it was three on one,” meaning the moderators were on Harris’s side.

  Before finishing with “Fox & Friends,” Trump claimed that ABC had given Harris the questions in advance. “I watched her talk, and I said, ‘You know, she seems awfully familiar with the questions,’” he said. 

  CNN counted 33 outright lies and falsehoods Trump uttered during the debate. Yet he told Fox News, “Some of the media is honest; it’s not all dishonest.” He said, “That’s the good news. But much of it is. I would say close to 80 percent. I mean, seriously dishonest.”

ECON 101: Inflation continued to cool in August, making it more likely that the federal reserve will trim interest rates.  Inflation hit 2.5 percent, down from 2.9 percent in July. However, the “core” inflation rate minus food and fuel was up .3 percent.

  The cost of rent and utilities in 2023 rose faster than home values for the first time in 10 years while more people have been economically pushed into renting, according to the 2023 American Community Survey released today by the Census Bureau. The cost of housing is one of the hot political issues of the season.

  Last year, according to the survey, rent rose 3.8 percent compared to a 1.8 percent rise in inflation-adjusted median home values. The survey says that more than half of renters spend 30 percent of their income on housing.

FROM OUTER SPACE: Astronauts aboard the SpaceX Dragon capsule this morning performed the first space walks by private citizens. Billionaire entrepreneur and adventurer Jared Isaacman was the first out of the hatch followed by Sarah Gillis, a SpaceX engineer who is part of the four-person, all-civilian crew. 

END OF THE LINE: Norfolk Southern railroad CEO Alan Shaw has been fired for having a consensual affair with the company’s chief legal officer against company policy. The legal chief, Nabanita Nag, also was let go.

  Shaw survived a labor strike and the derailment that spilled toxic chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio, but not this. Shaw had been with the company for 30 years. Last year he received $13.4 million in salary, stocks, and other compensation. 

THE OBIT PAGE: James Sasser, a three-term Democratic senator from Tennessee who became an influential ambassador to China  under President Bill Clinton’s in the late 1990s, died on Tuesday at his home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He was 87.

  Sasser is credited with turning around souring relations between the US and the People’s Republic of China from 1996 to 1999. With no prior knowledge of China and its culture, he helped establish summit meetings and trade agreements. His tenure ended in turmoil when NATO bombs intended for a Serbian dictator mistakenly hit China’s embassy in Belgrade, setting off violent protests in Beijing. For four days, tens of thousands of rock-throwing protesters surrounded the American Embassy in Beijing.

THE SPIN RACK: Tropical storm Francine dropped heavy rain, flooding coastal communities in Louisiana as well as toppling trees and snapping power lines. — Rocker Jon Bon Jovi on Tuesday night talked a woman out of jumping off the famous John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge in Nashville. He is reported to have training in dealing with people in crisis. 

BELOW THE FOLD: The 155-year-old Campbell Soup Company is dropping “soup” from its corporate name, rebranding as The Campbell’s Company because they own a lot of other stuff like, Goldfish, Snyder’s of Hanover, Cape Cod chips, Pepperidge Farm, and more. Presumably the soup will still say “soup” on the can.

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