BRIEFLY, ON THE POLLS.

While it's gratifying to see even Fox polls showing Hillary up by 10 points, I would caution you good people that this is August, not the week before Election Day. Also, the polls have been screwy this year. I think partly this has been because of the well-observed rise in distrust of authority, which can be expected to taint pollsters, who used to go door-to-door like Fuller Brush Men to be received with good grace by undisillusioned Americans and now interrupt the work or dinner hours of a more jaded public. But also Trump is such a weird, anomalous candidate that asking whether a person prefers Clinton to Trump is like asking whether they prefer Clinton or one of those Billy the Wide-Mouth Bass singing fish. Maybe they think the singing fish is ridiculous, but maybe it reminds them of their dead dad or good times years ago -- in any case, it's something that, like Trump, has resonances for them outside politics, however silly, and they might well say, sure I like stupid wall decorations more than politics, why shouldn't I?