Monday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

The President has a busy week. He's flying out to Wisconsin this morning for events in Menomonee Falls at ZBB Energy Corporation and Milwaukee with the city's Tom Barrett who is the Democratic candidate for Governor. Then, he's heading to Los Angeles for a DCCC fundraiser. He'll spend the night in L.A.

The flooding in Pakistan is just unbelievable. One-fifth of the country was under water. Millions and millions are affected. The UN and the US are starting to provide aid. This is just a crisis of epic proportions.

Meanwhile, in this country, Republicans have decided to make the NYC mosque a campaign issue. So, they're agenda seems to be: Bash gays, Latinos and Muslims. How inspiring. The worst part is that it resonates with some. Just saw Rep. Peter King on the TODAY Show stirring the pot. At one point, Matt Lauer said, "so, that's a good point." Give me a break. Nothing King said was a good point. His sole purpose was to inject more controversy into this issue. And, of course, Obama could have handled it better. But, the President did what we've come to expect.

We expect a ruling from the Ninth Circuit on the request for a stay from the anti-marriage forces in California. Judge Walker's stay expires at 5:00 PM PDT on Wednesday. Absent intervention from the Ninth Circuit, marriages begin again on Wednesday. Over the weekend, we posted an excellent analysis from USC Law Professor David Cruz on whether those on the anti-marriage side even have the standing to appeal.

For August, this could be a busy week...