Newsletter: Essential Politics: The seven week itch

The only cure for this seven-week itch is an election. And in this most unusual of political seasons, a dangerous incident is almost always sure to inflame things.

Good morning from the state capital. I’m Sacramento Bureau Chief John Myers, and again national security and public safety are dominating the presidential race.

Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump think the events of a frightening weekend in New York and New Jersey work in their favor.

FROM MEASURED RESPONSES TO ‘MEDIEVAL’ WARNINGS

As investigators pieced together the events that led to the arrest of a 28-year old New Jersey man in connection with the attacks, Trump and Clinton each see the incidents as a powerful underscore to their campaign.

Michael A. Memoli and Noah Bierman report it also highlights yet another stark difference between the two candidates with the homestretch of election season now in sight.

Trump, not surprisingly, has used the most hyperbolic language.

“We’re in medieval times,” the GOP nominee warned an audience in Florida on Monday. And he claimed that leaders of Islamic State are rooting for Clinton.

“They want her so badly to be president, you have no idea,” Trump said.

Clinton, meantime, argues the weekend crimes and the possibility of international terror connections reinforce her foreign affairs experience.

“I have sat at that table in the situation room,” Clinton said in a Monday news conference. “I have analyzed the threats. I know how to do this.”

In that same Q&A with reporters, the Democratic nominee also suggested some culpability on the part of the technology industry.

“The government cannot do this without the close participation of tech companies and experts online who can give us the tools and lead us to those who are attempting to promote attacks like we’ve seen,” Clinton said.

THE DEBATE, THE SPENDING, THE GOSSIP

File most of the other presidential news right now under one of those three topics.

First, the first presidential debate looms large, and now we’ve got some hints about what’s on the agenda for the face-off six days from now on the campus of Hofstra University. Lester Holt, the NBC News anchor who will moderate the first debate, has described the debate’s focus thusly: “achieving prosperity … securing America … [and] America’s direction.”

For Clinton, the campaign is now a dash to spend the cash — up to $1 billion into a voter turnout effort that is far beyond that of Trump, offering one of the season’s most intriguing lopsided issues.

And then, the gossip. For Trump, it’s whether the non-endorsement from Ohio Gov. John Kasich will have any impact — Trump says, of course, that he doesn’t care.

For Clinton, it’s the question of what longtime confidant Sidney Blumenthal did, or didn’t, tell a Washington reporter back in 2008 about Obama’s ancestral roots.

Get the latest from the campaign trail on Trail Guide and follow @latimespolitics. Check our daily USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times tracking poll at the top of the politics page.

GOV. JERRY BROWN ON NOAH’S ARK AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Few politicians offer up more unexpected analogies than does Gov. Jerry Brown.

On Monday, Brown signed into law new mandates on cutting emissions from methane and black “soot” carbon, and he likened his work on preparing for the future to the biblical prophet Noah.

“When Noah wanted to build his ark, most of the people laughed at him,” Brown said during Monday’s bill signing event in Long Beach. “We’ve got to build our ark too, by stopping climate change, by stopping dangerous pollutants.”

TODAY’S ESSENTIALS

— A correction from Monday’s newsletter: The poll numbers for the governor’s prison parole overhaul measure are for Proposition 57, and not Proposition 67. Apologies for the error.

— Phil Willon reports on the tight race facing eight-term Vista Rep. Darrell Issa as he’s challenged this fall by Democrat Douglas Applegate, a former Marine from San Clemente.

— Clinton made a special effort to speak to millennial voters on Monday, pledging to “never stop, no matter how tough it gets.”

— A new lawsuit seeks fines to be imposed against five members of the California Coastal Commission for not disclosing private communications.

— The Los Angeles Times is hosting another debate watch party, and this one will be our biggest yet. Join us on Sept. 26 at the Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. Tickets are $13. RSVP here.

— Who will win the November election? Give our Electoral College map a spin.

LOGISTICS

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