Race for the White House 2016 Volume 40

October is here now and the weather has turned a bit colder, at least in the Midwest. Post-season baseball is in the air and the summer has clearly come to an end.

The Presidential race continues, without too much in the way of dramatic developments over the past week. Another horrible mass shooting, soon to be proudly politicized by the current President, is in the news though along with a hurricane bearing down on the East Coast. Foreign policy in the Middle East has seen some noteworthy events over the past week as well, as they relate to Russia. One thing is certain, the once mocked 2012 GOP nominee has sure been proven correct about that country, as the failures of the Obama-Biden-Clinton-Kerry foreign policy are more clear than ever. The jobs report out yesterday was really lousy as well. Clearly, America needs a change in many ways, from our economy, to our standing in the world, to the culture of people wanting to be famous by any means necessary, and often without any respect for human life.

With these things being focused on over the past week, it has been a bit harder for Donald Trump, the man of the departed summer, to receive much news attention. He released a tax plan, spouted some profanities in his speeches, and mused about maybe dropping out of the race if his poll numbers tanked. Very interesting stuff. While some polls continue to show him leading the GOP pack, he has slipped in more of them. As summer turns to fall, can he continue to demonstrate political momentum? Can the same be said of Republican Ben Carson and socialist Democrat Bernie Sanders? Will the fall belong to Marco Rubio and Joe Biden? Can Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush, with all their resources and campaign organization gain back the losses they have seen in primary polling or are they simply preparing for a long, hard electoral slog? Was Jeb Bush's comment of "stuff happens" in regards to his reluctance to accept knee jerk calls for gun control be considered a campaign gaffe or was it something that a journalist horribly took out of context and that might even have Bush-suspicious conservatives rally around him in defense?

Just how much discussion will gun control receive in the weeks ahead now? Such an issue will fire up Democrat donors perhaps, but is it really one that the party thinks can move the needle nationally?

There does not seem to be too much more to say about the race this weekend. Perhaps my mind is just on other things than Presidential politics. Both parties though continue to have fascinating but very unsettled nomination contests. It is likely to remain that way for some time, and certainly when Autumn turns into Winter.