Jobless Labor Day; Afghan Plans; ObamaCare; Back-to-School

Happy Labor Day as unemployment hits 9.7%, Arianna laments that a desperate middle class has also begun losing their homes, with the Obama Administration still supporting Wall Street. Observing that we've lost three million jobs -- as many as were created in prior decade, Tony says that  just creating public sector work isn't going to provide enough sustainable new jobs. Bob maintains that the economy should have been Obama's priority all along. However, Matt says it no longer feels like we've fallen off a cliff and thinks the worst may be over. New Afghan plans need a major commitment to get the job done. But what does “done” mean, and what's the job? Obama is losing support on all sides on healthcare. Will reform become one-party legislation, so watered down it's not really reform? Does there have to be a public option? And, as children return to school from Summer break, does Obama want to turn your child into a communist?

Banner image: Onlookers are seen next to a mangled wreckage of a car at the site of a suicide car bomb attack in Herat on September 4, 2009. Photo: STR/AFP/Getty Images