Here are my observations and opinions on my selected news of the day.

IT’S NICE TO HAVE BACKING – When former Bush presidency speechwriter Marc Thiessen came out in support of President Trump’s request for help from foreign nations, he did so with the backing of Jonathan Turley, George Washington University law professor.

“There is absolutely nothing wrong with asking foreign heads of state or intelligence officials to cooperate with an official Justice Department investigation,” wrote Thiessen in his New York Post op-ed.

“It is not uncommon for an attorney general, or even a president, to ask foreign leaders to assist with ongoing investigations,” said Turley. “Such calls can shortcut bureaucratic red tape, particularly if the evidence is held, as in this case, by national security or justice officials.”

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT came from John Hinderaker of Power Line, who said, “I see Trump’s call as entirely defensible.”

Under his headline, “Trump Doubles Down,” he writes, “Doing so, over and over again, puts the focus where it belongs: on the corruption, and willingness to sell out American interests, of the Biden family in particular, and the Democrat Party in general.”

ENVOY BLOWS HOLES IN DEMOCRAT THEORY – During the Congressional testimony of Kurt Volker, the former top American envoy to Ukraine directly contradicted the impeachment narrative offered by Democrats and the media.

Volker testified that he was never aware of, and never took part in, any effort to push the Ukrainian government to investigate former Vice President Biden or his son Hunter.  “Vice President Biden was never a topic of discussion during negotiations with Ukraine,” he said.

CNN’S JAKE TAPPER leaped at the opportunity to quote the New York Times,  obviously thinking this would be more evidence against the president. He tweeted  @jaketapper: “Breaking – NYT: Trump Pressed Australian Leader to Help Barr Investigate Mueller Inquiry’s Origins.

Why not? An Australian, Alexander Downer, became a central player in the origins of the Mueller investigation when it was learned that he was in on the entrapment of George Papadopoulos.  It stands to reason that the president would want to look into Australian involvement.  I would be surprised if the subject didn’t surface during Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s recent visit.

ONE WAY TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF LEAKS – President Trump has instructed his new National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien to make substantial staffing cuts to the 300-member National Security Council.  “The NSC staff,” writes Mary Kay Linge of the New York Post, “which numbered around 100 during the Clinton and Bush administrations, swelled to 400 full-time members under Obama.

Kramerontheright wonders how many are active members of the Deep State.

THEN THERE ARE THE POLLS – When I read that 55 percent of Americans in the CBS News Poll approved of the impeachment of President Trump, I was highly skeptical.  And, when I read that Sharyl Attkisson (a journalist I trust) noted that CBS over-sampled Democrats, I decided to look at the poll in depth.  She declared the results were equivocal.

Okay, 55 percent of those polled “strongly approve” (35 percent) or “somewhat approve” (20 percent) with the Democrats starting an impeachment inquiry, but … but, 59 percent responded that the president’s handling of matters concerning Ukraine was “proper” (28 percent) and “not proper, but legal” 31 percent.

Typical of the fake news media, CBS didn’t mention that 53 percent of the respondents believed that the goal of Congressional Democrats was to “politically damage Donald Trump’s presidency and his reelection.”

The first two questions in the poll asked “how would you rate the condition of the national economy today?”  Sixty-one percent rated it “very good” or “fairly good.”  And, when they were asked if they were “optimistic” or “pessimistic,” again, 61 percent claimed they were optimistic about next year.

Kramerontheright would have asked: ‘If you are happy with the state of the economy and optimistic about next year, why in God’s name would you want to jeopardize it by calling for the impeachment of the man who improved the economy, especially when it will be defeated in the Senate?  Unless, of course, you are less interested in the American economy, and more interested in reducing his chances of reelection.’

DEMOCRAT POLLSTER John Zogby wrote yesterday that he doesn’t “hear anyone talking about impeachment in the Midwest.”  “When I ask, folks tell me they are so tired of it all and can’t watch any of it.”

IN CASE YOU MISSED THE GOOD NEWS on jobs, the latest jobs report of 136,000 new jobs, brings the average to 161,000 monthly so far this year.  And, unemployment dipped to 3.5 percent, the lowest in 50 years.

Wage gains slowed a bit to 2.9 percent year over year, down from 3.2 percent in August, according to the Wall Street Journal.  But the report showed gains for non-supervisory and production workers were higher than for supervisors.

REMEMBER WHEN Kamala Harris was the Democrat candidate to watch after she humiliated Apology Joe Biden in the first debate?  Pundits are now watching Harris’ campaign tank according to Tyler O’Neil of PJ Media.

“The Kamala fade is on,” says Stephen Kruiser, also of PJ Media. “She’s dropping in the polls and losing the support of big money donors.”

The comments follow the audience response to her at last Thursday’s town hall in Reno, Nevada, when she mounted the stage shouting, “Is America ready for our campaign?”  “Let’s just say she didn’t receive the resounding ‘YES!’ she was anticipating,” said O’Neil.

GOOD FOR A LAUGH – When you run for the highest office in the nation, the media is naturally curious about what you have said in the past.  When Apology Joe Biden was running against Cale Boggs for senator in Delaware, he was quoted as saying, “(Boggs was) a helluva nice guy,” but wondered if he had “lost that twinkle in his eyes.”  Sound familiar?

Coincidentally, the Wall Street Journal recalls that reporters covering Boggs’ campaign described his “thinning hair” and said he sometimes got “tongue-tied.”

Is there something in the Delaware water?

                   May God continue to bless the United States of America.