Politics: Democrats rally around Clinton and paint Trump as unfit for office

Senate considers making a short pre-election session even shorter; Top Obama trade official was partial to luxury hotels while he traveled on taxpayers’ dime, investigators say; Republicans warn that Trump's critique of Clinton's 'look' fuels accusations of sexism; Trump attacks U.S. foreign policy, political press corps on state-owned Russian television network; 'And what is Aleppo?' lands Gary Johnson in hot water; Clinton speaks more openly about her faith and values in election homestretch; Mike Pence says it’s ‘inarguable’ that Putin is a stronger leader than Obama; Trump pitches $20 billion education plan at Ohio charter school that received poor marks from state; Trump dismisses fact checkers, claims incorrectly (again) that he opposed Iraq War; Graham says Trump’s Putin stance ‘unnerves me to my core”; Donald Trump has his best fundraising month yet — but still lags far behind Hillary Clinton; Democrats remind America that Merrick Garland is still not on the Supreme Court; The fastest-growing counties for Latinos are in . . . North Dakota?!; Clinton says perception she is aloof is born of ‘hard path’ as a professional woman;   The most important politics stories today   Melina Mara / The Washington Post Democrats rally around Clinton and paint Trump as unfit for office No such unity on Republican side after GOP nominee's praise for Russian President Valdimir Putin's leadership. By Jose A. DelReal, Karoun Demirjian and John Wagner  •  Read more » Senate considers making a short pre-election session even shorter The most optimistic timeline could have senators finishing up their work by late next week, more than two weeks before the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. By Kelsey Snell  •  PowerPost  •  Read more »   Top Obama trade official was partial to luxury hotels while he traveled on taxpayers’ dime, investigators say Investigators found that while former undersecretary for international trade Stefan Selig offered to pay for hotel costs that exceeded the government rate, he was reimbursed hundreds of dollars more than he should have been for each night on at least 12 of the 20 trips he took during his first year in the job. By Lisa Rein  •  PowerPost  •  Read more »   Republicans warn that Trump's critique of Clinton's 'look' fuels accusations of sexism The GOP nominee has been criticizing his opponent's vigor and appearance. By Matea Gold and Jenna Johnson  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   Trump attacks U.S. foreign policy, political press corps on state-owned Russian television network The interview came as Trump faced sustained criticism for praising Russian President Vladimir Putin. By Jose A. DelReal  •  Post Politics  •  Read more »   'And what is Aleppo?' lands Gary Johnson in hot water The third-party candidate for president fumbles a foreign policy question, drawing ridicule. By Philip Bump  •  Read more »   Clinton speaks more openly about her faith and values in election homestretch Clinton is delivering the first of at least four speeches meant to convey her larger goals for the country and to be "more about her than about" Donald Trump, an aide says. By Anne Gearan  •  Post Politics  •  Read more »   Mike Pence says it’s ‘inarguable’ that Putin is a stronger leader than Obama Pence defended his running mate's praise of Putin. By Jenna Johnson  •  Post Politics  •  Read more »   Trump pitches $20 billion education plan at Ohio charter school that received poor marks from state The Republican nominee faced questions about his visit before he even arrived. By Sean Sullivan and Emma Brown  •  Post Politics  •  Read more »   Trump dismisses fact checkers, claims incorrectly (again) that he opposed Iraq War The claim drew renewed scrutiny Wednesday evening after NBC's "Commander-in-Chief" forum. By Jose A. DelReal  •  Post Politics  •  Read more »   Graham says Trump’s Putin stance ‘unnerves me to my core” "You know, flattery can be used as a tool that sometimes bears very negative fruit," said Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), By Karoun Demirjian  •  PowerPost  •  Read more »   Donald Trump has his best fundraising month yet — but still lags far behind Hillary Clinton An enthusiastic base of small donors continued to buoy Trump's campaign, helping him collect $90 million in conjunction with the Republican National Committee. By Matea Gold  •  Post Politics  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   Democrats remind America that Merrick Garland is still not on the Supreme Court Events are a reminder that the Democratic push to win Garland's confirmation has gone nowhere in the face of a united Republican blockade. By Mike DeBonis  •  PowerPost  •  Read more »   The fastest-growing counties for Latinos are in . . . North Dakota?! Yup. And most of them don't speak Spanish, either. By Ed O'Keefe  •  Post Politics  •  Read more »   Clinton says perception she is aloof is born of ‘hard path’ as a professional woman "I don't view myself as cold or unemotional. ... But if that sometimes is the perception I create, then I can't blame people for thinking that." By Anne Gearan  •  Post Politics  •  Read more »   Recommended for you   The Daily Trail An evening rundown of what's happening on the campaign trail. Sign Up »         Share Politics:       Twitter      Facebook Trouble reading? Click here to view in your browser. 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