The balloons have popped, the confetti has been swept, and now nothing remains between the candidates and the election except three months of slash and burn campaigning. Board your windows. Lock your doors. Here are my three things to watch this week in politics. 1)BOUNCE– As I predicted last week, Donald Trump came out of the Republican convention with a boost in the polls, and now all eyes are on Hillary Clinton to see if she does as well – or better. The star-studded Democratic convention was intended to not merely pump up the base, but also draw in some independents and maybe even a few disgruntled Republicans. History says she’ll see results, but how long will they last? Trump’s bet: Not long. He was slamming her before she could even get off of the stage. 2)TRUST ME– The number one agenda item for both nominees should be the matter of trust – as in, convincing voters they can be trusted. Both have done a lousy job at it so far, considering the majority of people still do not see either contender as trustworthy. So I’m waiting to see if either can crack the code. Still, I’m not holding my breath. Both parties have shown little talent for building trust lately, but plenty for tearing down the other side. As they storm the trail this week, you can expect more character assassination than you’ll find in “Macbeth.” 3)SHOW ME THE MONEY –Repubs who are worried about the Trump effect will be watching their wallets this week – to see if they get any fatter. There are deep concerns some big money donors remain skittish about backing the New York billionaire and that could affect fundraising all up and down the GOP ticket. Listen for talk about this in the backwash of the conventions, because losing the White House is one thing; losing one or more houses of Congress too? That would be cataclysmic for GOPers. CNN’s Tom Foreman cover politics and everything else.
The Foreman Forecast: Scorched earth
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