Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

Irene Closes in on East Coast - Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley (D) has declared a state of emergency and Ocean City officials ordered evacuation of residents and visitors. Most of the anticipated damage will occur on coastal areas but power outages and flooding may also take place across the state. The Baltimore Sun has more here.

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Gadaffi Remains Elusive - Libya Assets Released - the rebels have announced special forces are now being used in the hunt for Muammar Gaddafi. Meanwhile, the U.N. announced they were releasing the 1.5 billion in assets frozen since the uprising began. Reuters.com has an update here.

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New Pew Poll Reflects Frustration By Voters - Overall Republican approval has slid to 34% and Democratic approval to 43%. $9% disapprove of the way Obama is handling his presidency and 43% approve. Pew Research center has more here.

More significantly, Republican leaders receive only a 22% approval rating, favoring a Democratic congressional candidate over a Republican by a 48% - 44% margin.

86% say they are frustrated with government. If all of this frustration holds until the 2012 General Election, look for some interesting results.

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What Will Bernanke Say Today? - investors will be listening to the speech given by Federal Reserve chair Ben Bernanke today in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. There are not a lot of options remaining, so do not look for any major changes. You can read more here.

His speech comes as reports show the U.S. economy grew by only one per cent in the second quarter. TheHill.com has more here.

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Boehner Blasts Obama on Costly Regulations - Republican House Speaker John Boehner (Ohio) is calling on the President to disclose the costs associated with all regulations issued in the past year. Boehner says planned regulations have jumped 15% from last year with an average annual cost of 100 million. Boehner believes the regulations are hampering the economy recovery. Politico.com has more here.

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Japanese Prime Minister Resigns - in an expected move, Naoto Kan announced he was stepping down. Elections will be held next week. This comes following the disastrous earthquake and tsunami resulted in nuclear reactor meltdowns. The credit rating for Japan was also downgraded by Moody's on Wednesday. CNN.com has more here.

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