THE PRESIDENT RISES – AT 9:53 A.M. ET:  It's the day after Labor Day, which means the start of a new political season.  As we've noted here, this one is likely to be angry, bitter, and explosive.  The next four months will be crucial, as the president tries to get his majorities in Congress actually to do something to advance the administration's agenda.

The president himself seems to be rising.  The first Rasmussen poll published after the Labor Day holiday shows him gaining about three points over last week.  From Rasmussen:

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Tuesday shows that 44% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of President Trump’s job performance. Fifty-four percent (54%) disapprove.
The latest figures include 28% who Strongly Approve of the way Trump is performing and 44% who Strongly Disapprove. This gives him a Presidential Approval Index rating of -16.

That's actually not bad.  Obama, who could do no wrong according to most of the mainstream media, hovered in the mid-forties during most of his tenure.  But Rasmussen still warns: 

While his daily job performance rating is improving this week, the president’s monthly performance rating for August dipped slightly from July. 

COMMENT:  That is because the president has a tendency to step all over his accomplishments with a foolish statement or action.  We hope that's now been curtailed under the influence of Gen. John Kelly, his new chief of staff.  We will soon know.

But I do think we're seen, in the last few weeks, a more confident Trump, especially in his handling of Hurricane Harvey.  He did the right things, he said the right things, and his administration responded well.  He has also reacted, with complete appropriateness, to the rising North Korean threat, a situation that may well define the foreign policy of his presidency.

Now he must work to get that key legislation passed – especially a tax cut for the American people.  I somehow have reasonable hope that he and Congress will pull it off, primarily because the whole House and a third of the Senate are up for re-election a year from now.

September 5,  2017