Today’s edition of quick hits.
* ExxonMobil’s profits in the second quarter were $11.68 billion, the biggest quarterly profit any U.S. corporation has ever had.
* And how much of that money will be directed towards alternative energy? About 1%. Great.
* The bad news out of Iraq: “A suicide car bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle against the wall of a police station south of Mosul on Thursday, killing three policemen and wounding four others, authorities said. It was the fifth suicide attack in Iraq this week and showed that insurgents can still carry out assaults despite security gains in urban areas of the country. Four suicide bombers killed 57 people in Baghdad and the northern city of Kirkuk on Monday.”
* The good news out of Iraq: “The monthly U.S. toll in Iraq fell to its lowest point since the war began, with at least 10 American deaths as July drew to a close Thursday after the departure of the last surge brigade.”
* U.S. troops and their families will also, no doubt, be pleased to learn that the White House will return combat tour lengths to 12 months, from 15.
* Economic news: “The U.S. economy grew at a solid pace in the second quarter, the government said today, despite being buffeted by a financial crisis, a deep housing slump, high fuel prices and a weak job market. But the economy shrank at the end of last year, the Commerce Department said, and much of the recent improvement came from the one-time bump from economic stimulus payments, raising the prospect of weaker performance in the months ahead.”
* Joe Klein: “A few months ago, I wrote that John McCain was an honorable man and he would run an honorable campaign. I was wrong. I used to think, as David Ignatius does, that McCain’s true voice was humble and moderate, but now I’m beginning to think his Senate colleagues may be right about his temperament.”
* The expected plea: “Republican Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska was arraigned Thursday afternoon in federal District Court in Washington, where he pleaded not guilty to seven counts of failing to disclose gifts he allegedly received from an oil services executive.” Stevens’ trial is set for Sept. 24.
* Andrea Mitchell 1, Rick Davis 0.
* It didn’t take long at all for errors to pop up in Jerome Corsi’s forthcoming book, The Obama Nation. Media Matters, fortunately, is on the case.
* I wanted to take a moment to endorse Atrios’ take on Lanny Davis.
* Do more experienced candidates make better presidents? Not especially, no.
* Quite a reputation McCain is making for himself.
* Must-read editorial: “The Straight Talk Express has taken a nasty turn into the gutter. Sen. John McCain has resorted to lies and distortions in what sounds like an increasingly desperate attempt to slow down Sen. Barack Obama by raising questions about his patriotism. Instead of taking the Democrat down a few notches, these baseless attacks are raising more questions about the Republican’s campaign and his ability to control his temper…. Virtually all candidates, including Obama, distort their opponent’s record. But McCain has gone beyond reasonable bounds. The self-described “happy warrior” in the 2000 presidential campaign has turned sour in 2008, and the candor and straight talk that once made him such an attractive candidate are rapidly disappearing.”
* Believe it or not, even now, Judy Miller doesn’t get it.
* And finally, I will simply never understand why CNN pays Glenn Beck to appear on the air: “On Tuesday, the House passed a formal apology for slavery and racist segregation laws, recognizing that “African-Americans continue to suffer from the consequences of slavery and Jim Crow.” Yesterday, Glenn Beck spent nearly 30 minutes on his radio show mocking the apology. He continued expressing his outrage on his CNN Headline News show last night, during a discussion with Ron Paul. Paul wondered why Congress should apologize, since ‘we personally weren’t responsible.’ Beck claimed that the apology ‘was a front [sic] to the principles of Christianity.'”
Anything to add? Consider this an end-of-the-day open thread.