In a major upset, Sen. Lisa Murkowski has conceded her GOP Senate primary race to Tea Party Express favorite Joe Miller, who had the backing of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

"I don't see a scenario in which the primary will turn out in my favor," Murkowski said in her concession speech
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Murkowski made the concession speech Tuesday night, a full week after the primary.

Miller has never held elected office but he is now the immediate front-runner in the heavily Republican state.

Murkowski trailed Miller, a Fairbanks attorney, by 1,668 votes after last week's primary. Election officials began counting absentee and outstanding ballots Tuesday. Murkowski made slight gains, but was never able to get Miller's lead below 1,200 votes.
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Sarah Palin > Sarah Palin

…….please show grace, humility and some honesty before the American people tonight. Please don’t declare “Mission Accomplished” and then saunter away with an assumption that your opposition to the Iraq strategy was key to our troops’ success. Please end the political posturing. Admit you were wrong about the surge. Recognize what our brave armed forces have achieved. Admit that the strategy long advocated by Republicans, proposed by President Bush, led by Generals Petraeus and Odierno, and executed by thousands of America’s finest – our brave men and women in uniform – brought violence under control and made responsible withdrawals possible. The more honest you are about the past, the more likely it is you will gain the support of the American people for your Iraq policy in the future. We need to be able to trust the White House war strategy, as our children’s future depends on it. Being honest with us tonight is a good starting point in building trust.
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Read it all……

California GOP Senate hopeful Carly Fiorina this week staked out her spot opposing tough Net neutrality rules.

The former Hewlett-Packard CEO and telecommunications industry executive told POLITICO she opposes any federal requirement that Internet providers treat all Web traffic equally.

"The principle sounds fantastic, but the principle is not the problem," Fiorina said in an interview at the Technology Policy Institute's conference in Aspen, Colo. "The problem is how companies and regulatory bodies are trying to translate that principle into policy, which would have a bad effect."

A spokeswoman later added that Fiorina "opposes Net neutrality and thinks government intervention and more regulation will not be helpful where the Internet is concerned."

Fiorina's position contrasts greatly with that of her opponent, Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer, who previously cosponsored legislation that would have set open Internet rules firmly in place.
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How will it translate into votes?

Reconstructing the Democrats' meme, we can fairly say that the economy is a huge problem for the party. Of this, there can be no doubt. We can also say that the stalled recovery denied the Democrats a chance to win back the voters they lost over health care. But the process and passage of health care reform were crucial elements in the story. That's when the party started losing the voters it needs to retain control of the government.
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Obama fiddled with health care while America's economy burned

A new poll shows that public support for health care reform dropped sharply in August – a dagger in Democrats’ hopes that their landmark legislation will help them in November’s midterm.
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Obama pushed ObamaCare as the economy collapsed.

The Kaiser Health Tracking Poll has support for the bill dropping seven percentage points in August – down to 43 percent – while opposition rose 10 points to 45 percent. That’s the weakest showing since May – and a far cry from the bump proponents had hoped to see as some of the law’s more consumer-friendly provisions kick in.

President Obama will likely phone his predecessor, President George W. Bush, before delivering his speech Tuesday on the Iraq war.

Obama will visit troops in Fort Bliss, Texas, which is in Bush's home state, before returning to Washington to deliver his address from the Oval Office in the evening.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs acknowledged their divergent views on the Iraq war during the daily press briefing Monday, but said "I don't believe there are plans to see him, but my sense is, it will be one of the calls he makes tomorrow."

Obama also spoke with Bush before his Feb. 2009 speech that set the withdrawal date for combat troops.

Gibbs said Obama will not utter the words "mission accomplished," as Bush declared in 2003, and will stress during his speech that there is more work to be done in Iraq despite the end of combat phase of the war.
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Bush did not say Mission Accomplished and I doubt Obama will thank Bush for anything

Longtime Dallas congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson has awarded thousands of dollars in college scholarships to four relatives and a top aide's two children since 2005, using foundation funds set aside for black lawmakers' causes.
The recipients were ineligible under anti-nepotism rules of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, which provided the money. And all of the awards violated a foundation requirement that scholarship winners live or study in a caucus member's district.

Johnson, a Democrat, denied any favoritism when asked about the scholarships last week. Two days later, she acknowledged in a statement released by her office that she had violated the rules but said she had done so "unknowingly" and would work with the foundation to "rectify the financial situation."
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Rectify = pay the money back and resign from office?

Doubtful…….

In the first Rasmussen Reports post-primary survey of West Virginia’s U.S. Senate race, Democratic Governor Joe Manchin attracts 48% of the vote while Republican businessman John Raese earns 42%.

The latest statewide telephone survey of Likely Voters shows four percent (4%) prefer some other candidate while seven percent (7%) are undecided.
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Wow, this race may indeed become close in the GOP favorable election climate.

The Obama administration plans to set up an emergency loan program for the unemployed and a government mortgage refinancing effort in the next few weeks to help homeowners after home sales dropped in July, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan said.

“The July numbers were worse than we expected, worse than the general market expected, and we are concerned,” Donovan said on CNN’s “State of the Union” program yesterday. “That’s why we are taking additional steps to move forward.”

The administration will begin a Federal Housing Authority refinancing effort to help borrowers who are struggling to pay their mortgages, and will start an emergency homeowners’ loan program for unemployed borrowers so they can stay in their homes, Donovan said.
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The latest Obama bailout

More redistribution and didn't government involvement in the housing market start the current economic collapse?

Carly Fiorina, the Republican Senate candidate from California, will travel to the Middle East over the Labor Day weekend to shore up her foreign policy credentials.
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Demonstrates a vigorous candidacy as compared to worn out Babara Boxer

Marty Wilson, her campaign manager, said the candidate wants to be updated on the region, according to the Associated Press.

The trip is funded by the Republican Jewish Coalition, AP reported.