Obama’s Labor Department isn’t enforcing union financial-disclosure rules. Not exactly a surprise.

The editors of the state capital’s newspaper, the Richmond-Times Dispatch, who have seen “some very well-run campaigns in the commonwealth over the years, and some very poorly run campaigns,” say it’s been a long time since they have “seen a prominent campaign as odd as that of gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds.” Ouch.

Ben Smith reminds us: Bob McDonnell’s 20-year-old thesis (featured in a Washington Post hit piece over the summer weekend) should be as impactful as Jim Webb’s novel on Virginia voters. (A colleague marvels to me, “How dumb does the media think voters are?” Well, very.)

The White House appears serious about the war in Afghanistan (save its allergic reaction to the word victory). George Will wants to bug out. Better than the reverse. (Will also wanted to leave Iraq before the surge there.)

Still, the Pentagon is worried: “We are not getting a Bush-like commitment to this war.”

It’s a trend: on Afghanistan, Robert Kaplan wants Obama to be more like George Bush. Listen, Obama is no George Bush.

Fred Kagan points out that Will has his facts wrong and thinks it is “reprehensible” to denigrate the Brits’ contribution.

Allan Meltzer argues that now that it is apparent that all the talk about another “Great Depression” was wrong, we should adjust accordingly: “A sensible administration would revise its policy. It should start by scrapping what remains of the stimulus. As the world economy recovers, the United States should choose to expand its exports so that it can service its large and growing foreign debts. That means reducing corporate tax rates to increase investment. Instead of implementing policies that increase regulation and raise business costs, we need to increase productivity.” The hitch — this is advice for a “sensible administration.”

The Justice Department’s dismissal of the Black Panther case finally makes the New York Times — without the slightest curiosity expressed by the reporter as to why a default judgment in an egregious voter-intimidation case should be withdrawn. He simply transcribes Justice’s explanation that the “law and facts” necessitated the dismissal. What law? What facts?

Obama’s disapproval rating reaches a new high in the RealClearPolitics poll average. At Pollster.com, the approval and disapproval lines are about to cross.

No surprise: Sens. Boxer and Kerry confess that the moribund cap-and-trade bill won’t see the light of day until late September. Like I said, a lot of business groups are wasting money fighting this one. It’s already kaput. (Remember, it will need 60 votes to get out of the Senate.)

Big Labor tries to “woo younger workers.” One idea: Don’t take the secret ballot away from them.