SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 10:01 P.M. ET:

WATER ON MARS – A NASA orbiter has found possible evidence of water on Mars, water that apparently flows seasonally.  There is no report yet on whether Mars would be willing to sell us some of its water, given our credit rating.  Also, the EPA wants to tax Martian water to pay for removal of any Martian pollution.

LONG-TERM JOBLESS – In another sign that some Democrats are distancing themselves from Obama economic policies, a group of Congressional Democrats from the Joint Economic Committee is warning that the percentage of long-term unemployed, those out of work for six months are more, is at a near-record level.  According to this report, some 42% of the country's 14.4 million unemployed are long-term cases.

GOP ALSO HURT BY DEBT CRISIS – We can view it with a bit of skepticism since it was sponsored by The New York Times and CBS News, but a new poll shows Americans disapproving of how both Congressional parties handled the debt crisis, with more disapproving of Republicans than Democrats.  Some 66% of respondents turned thumbs down on the Dems, 72% on the GOP.  Only 14% approves of Congressional performance overall, a new low.  We've stressed before at Urgent Agenda that the president's fading numbers don't necessarily guarantee GOP gains next year, as the Republican Party remains highly unpopular as well.

THE STAND-UP GUY – Leon Panetta, who just went from CIA director to secretary of defense, is the kind of old-time Democrat that I like.  He takes national defense seriously, and seems unfazed by the 60s crowd.  Today, with all the fashionable talk about cost-cutting, Panetta warned that there is danger for our national defense if cuts go beyond those currently contemplated.  "If it happened - and, God willing, that would not be the case - but if it did happen, it would result in a further round of very dangerous cuts across the board, defense cuts that I believe would do real damage to our security, our troops and their families, and our military's ability to protect the nation," Panetta said.  I like the guy.  He's real, not trendy, and he's a grown-up.

August 4, 2011