Thursday morning

GADDING ABOUT

ITEM: Three people have been arrested at the Belleville [IL] courthouse in less than a week after they allegedly were found to be carrying drugs at a security checkpoint. Ahem. Stupid criminals might want to check their pockets before they go through a security checkpoint (best Lewis Black imitation) in a freaking courthouse!

ITEM: The Courant yesterday editorialized about the constabulary in a certain Connecticut shoreline town wherein the newspaper opined that "residents may be embarrassed by these scandals and the ensuing publicity." Golly. Ya think?

ITEM: Having sailed on the Norwegian Dawn less than three months ago, I've been following the Mindy Jordan story ever since it broke, and I've always had my doubts about the reported details. Her fall from the ship last week was initially attributed to rough seas, but, knowing the setup of the ship, I didn't believe that for a moment. Now it appears that she either jumped or was pushed. Given the fact that surveillance cameras show that she was alone at the time of the incident, this really seems like a no-brainer.

ITEM: The big story of the day seems to be John Edwards's endorsement of Barack Obama. I don't think much of it myself, believing that endorsements in general have much in common with John Nance Garner's opinion of the vice presidency. Nevertheless, I was pleased to see that Obama, in speaking about the endorsement (the entire speech is worth reading), noted that he too backs the position of Edwards:

John Edwards and I believe in a different America. Hillary Clinton believes in a different America. The Democratic Party believes in a different America—one America, where we rise and fall together as one people.

Finally, in a new poll

Americans are feeling pessimistic about the direction the country is heading ... They're increasingly leaning toward alignment with the Democratic Party and divided over their choices for president in the fall.

An unprecedented 80 percent of likely voters surveyed said the United States is on the wrong track ...

A majority of the 800 likely voters who took part in the NPR poll felt that Sens. Clinton of New York and Obama of Illinois have plans to address middle-class tax relief, health care and the economy. But a majority did not feel the same way about McCain, even though he has hit the campaign trail in recent weeks specifically to lay out his positions.

Senator Septuagenarian can "lay out his positions" all he wants, but they still add up to four words: more of the same.