Claiming the economic mantle
Hillary Clinton and the populist revolution: George Packer ask whether the status quo candidate in the race is also the Democrat who can win back the white working class. Via The New Yorker.
Obamacare scare
Trump, in desperate need of a winning issue, attacks Obamacare – for four minutes in a 45-minute speech. Is that really how you attack an issue when you’re down six-seven points in the polls? Via The New York Times.
Why Obamacare rates are spiking, what else is wrong with the program, and how any of it can be fixed, Via Vox.
Jonathan Chait writes in New York magazine that Obamacare is a policy success but a political failure. Everyone knows the failures of the program, but there is little said about the successes.
The Trump Tapes
The New York Times has five hours of tape from an interview Trump gave to a biographer. It’s not exactly Wikileaks stuff, but there’s this that some voters might relate to: “I don’t like to analyze myself because I might not like what I see.”
Angst, hacked
And speaking of WikiLeaks, the latest in the Podesta email dumps on Clinton: “Her instincts can be terrible.” Via The Washington Post.
Boomers bashed
Generation Xer Dana Milbank: The boomers have been a disaster, and Trump is their biggest disaster yet. Via The Washington Post.
Obama’s best year
From the National Review, Obama shouldn’t get the credit for his high approval ratings. His would-be successors should.
Told-you-so
Brian Beutler: Obama has been right all along about Republican extremism. And Donald Trump is the proof. Via the New Republic.
The nosedive
What happened to Gary Johnson’s poll numbers, and can he still be a factor in a state like, say, Colorado? Via Politico.
Flickr photo by Kioni Cabral.