-- Unemployment is stuck at 9.5 percent (or 16.5 percent if you include "discouraged" workers)'

-- The Trade Deficit for June was $49.9 billion, the largest since October 2008'

-- The Commerce Department estimated on July 30 that the economy expanded at a 2.4 percent annual rate in the second quarter, but that was before the trade gap numbers which may well cause Commerce to revise the GDP downward.

-- That led the Fed to release a statement saying that: "The pace of economic recovery is likely to be more modest in the near term than had been anticipated."

-- All of which led the Dow to drop by 260.56 points (1.22%) in yesterday's trading.

-- The four most recent national polls show the President's approve/disapprove rating at an average of 44% - 51% . (Only the Pew Poll showed the President in plus territory, but even at that he was below 50 percent approval).

-- According to NBC's John Harwood:

"Most Americans would go along with temporarily extending the Bush tax cuts for all taxpayers, including the wealthy, until the economy recovers, a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey has found."

-- Democratic candidates from those running for Congress to those running for Governor would rather be caught swimming nude on a beach in the Bahamas than be seen with President Obama by their constituents.

-- Senior House Democrats Maxine Waters and Charlie Rangel are facing ethics trials which will begin only six weeks before the mid-term elections.

-- White House Press Secretary, Robert Gibbs this week lashed out at "professional Liberals" who are not being as supportive of Obama as the WH staff believes they should be.

-- That led to a blogger in the Left Wing "Center for Media and Democracy" web site to write:

"The progressive left is, rightfully, up in arms over the lack of integrity President Barack Obama has shown across the gamut of burning contemporary political issues. These include, but are not limited to issues such as war, health care, secrecy, warrantless wiretapping, and environmental issues, among many others."