The Note: Donald Trump and Jeb Bush Declare War

— -- NOTABLES

--JEB BUSH AND DONALD TRUMP GO TO WAR. If this was a friendly feud before, Republican candidates Donald Trump and Jeb Bush have now fully entered the proverbial boxing ring and neither are pulling any punches ABC's CANDACE SMITH and JOHN SANTUCCI note. This morning on Good Morning America, Donald Trump said he is not surprised by the recent attacks by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. "Well, I think he had no choice," the real estate mogul told ABC's GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS. "So far everyone that has attacked me has gone down. Let's see what happens," he said. Also new this morning, Jeb Bush has now posted a quiz on his website that aims to point out differences between himself and Trump -- all along the campaign's preferred line of attack which posits Bush as the thoughtful, "true" conservative and Trump as a New York City liberal -- and in the final question, a germophobe. http://abcn.ws/1LTLjbS

--THE BATTLE RAGES ON. These are the ad wars; Trump released an ad mocking Bush's comments that illegal immigration is an "act of love." And Tuesday, Bush fired back in what could be the most effective attack against Trump -- Trump, himself. Released on the @JebBush twitter account, the video, entitled "The Real Donald Trump," is almost entirely comprised of old interview clips that Trump participated in, Meanwhile, Trump has gone for the jugular from the very beginning. In his most recent attack, he used Bush's claim that illegal immigration can be "an act of love" against him. The video, accompanied by macabre music, features Bush saying that line, as photos of people who came into the country illegally are played. One was charged with murder, another convicted of it. Another video, posted on Instagram by Trump, shows Bush introducing Hillary Clinton at an event as "someone who has dedicated her life to public service." http://abcn.ws/1PK6QBJ

--POLL: CLINTON SINKS UNDERWATER; TRUMP POLARIZATION GROWS. Negative views of Hillary Clinton have jumped to nearly their highest on record in ABC News/Washington Post polls, while Donald Trump's personal popularity has grown more polarized along racial and ethnic lines, ABC'S GARY LANGER reports this morning. Clinton's favorability has burbled back under water: 45 percent of Americans now see her favorably, down 7 percentage points since midsummer, while 53 percent rate her unfavorably, up 8. Trump is much farther under water than Clinton, rated favorably by 37 percent of Americans and unfavorably by 59 percent. Nonwhites see Trump negatively by a vast 17-79 percent, unchanged among Hispanics and more negative among blacks, by 16 points, since midsummer. That said, whites are the majority group --- 64 percent of the adult population --- and they now divide evenly on Trump, 48-49 percent, favorable-unfavorable. http://abcn.ws/1Jwk6Gg

--PHOTOS: PRESIDENT OBAMA'S ADVENTURES IN THE ARCTIC. The president -- who's visiting the 49th state to address global warming -- went for a hike before taking a tour of Kenai Fjords National Park, witnessing Alaska's natural beauty, ABC's SERENA MARSHALL reports. "It is spectacular, though," he said pausing to glance back at the view. "We want to make sure our grandkids can see it." Obama is also taking over the Internet, launching an all-out social media blitz as he tours Alaska and discusses climate change. The president has taken over the White House's Instagram account and is expected to regularly post there during his three-day trip to the Arctic, according to ABC's JOHN PARKINSON and SERENA MARSHALL. President Before even setting foot on Air Force One, Obama touted in a tweet the decision to rename Mount McKinley back to its original name, Denali. STORY: http://abcn.ws/1Jxhpo7. PHOTOS: http://abcn.ws/1VuUeSH.

--ANALYSIS: ABC's RICK KLEIN: Jeb Bush's decision to open a direct line of attack on Donald Trump may have minimal risk on its face. He's getting attacked by Trump anyway, so why not try to score some blows that help Bush himself establish his conservative bona fides? What's remarkable, though, is that Bush is on the attack from a position of relative weakness. He's slipping in the polls, of course. His standing among conservatives in particular is suffering even in comparison to Donald Trump. A new ABC/Post poll out Wednesday shows Bush viewed unfavorably by 50 percent of self-described conservatives, up from 36 percent in July. Trump, meanwhile, went from 46-46 favorable-unfavorable among conservatives in July to 52-44 now. That means Trump has gotten stronger among conservatives as they learn more about his views and plans, while Bush has gotten weaker while conservatives learn about his. This trend is troubling to a Bush campaign that never anticipated the Trump surge to last this long. More troubling, though, is the potential that Trump isn't just convincing conservatives to support him but changing conservatives' beliefs on what it means to be conservative. Bush can't compete with Trump on his malleability, but he also can't match his economic populism or his disassociation with a political establishment that's defined in part by the Bush name.

--WATCH: IOWA PORK PRODUCERS GRILL (WITH) 2016 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. Every four years, presidential candidates descend on the Iowa State Fair to meet with voters, spread their vision for the country and eat and grill pork. Whether you're Donald Trump or Jeb Bush, candidates fill-in as a "guest chef" in the Iowa Pork Producers Association "Pork Tent" to show their appreciation for the leading pork-producing state in the United States. ABC's JOSH HASKELL shows us the Pork Tent that hosted 17 presidential candidates and served over 50,000 pounds of pork at the 11-day 2015 fair that ended Aug. 23. http://abcn.ws/1XferOj

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: CARLY FIORINA LIKELY TO MAKE REPUBLICAN DEBATE UNDER NEW RULES. CNN is amending their GOP debate criteria, likely allowing former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina to join the other top-tier candidates on the prime time debate stage. The news -- announced Tuesday evening -- comes after Fiorina waged a personal and public war against the network and the Republican National Committee over their previous debate rules, which served to bar her from the main event. "A lack of national public polling following the August 6 debate has so far provided only three new polls to determine the lineup for the Reagan Presidential Debate," according to a CNN statement. "As a result, CNN reevaluated its criteria and decided to add a provision that better reflects the state of the race since the first Republican presidential debate in August, the network announced today." CNN says that any candidate who was in the top 10 in polls from Aug. 6 to Sept. 6 will be included on the main stage, according to ABC's KATHERINE FAULDERS. A new poll from Monmouth University out Monday shows Fiorina placing third in the essential, first-in-the-nation caucus state of Iowa, behind only Donald Trump and Ben Carson. She has also garnered a solid 5 percent of the vote in each of three national polls since the first debate. http://abcn.ws/1NWqmg1

TODAY ON THE TRAIL with ABC's SHUSHANNAH WALSHE: He may not be a candidate, but we'll be watching for any hints today from Joe Biden as he holds official events in Miami. In the afternoon, he will speak at the Science Center at Miami Dade College on the "partnerships between community colleges and employers" in "helping Americans obtain the skills they need to succeed in the work force," but we will also be listening for any 2016 talk or at least some clues. In the evening he attends an event for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Jeb Bush is also in Miami, but he is home off the trail today. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are also not stumping, with Clinton continuing her vacation in the Hamptons. Other candidates are in the early states. Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum are both in South Carolina. Santorum is fresh off completing the "Full Grassley," campaigning in all of Iowa's 99 counties. He completed it months earlier than in the 2012 campaign, and is the first 2016er to do so. Rand Paul, Lindsey Graham, and John Kasich are all in New Hampshire. Bobby Jindal is in Iowa and both Scott Walker and Marco Rubio are not in early states, but are on the campaign trail. Walker is in Texas, on Ted Cruz and Rick Perry turf stumping in Dallas and San Antonio. Marco Rubio is in Oklahoma City giving a speech on energy policy.

THE BUZZ with ABC's KIRSTEN APPLETON and VERONICA STRACQUALURSI

DICK AND LIZ CHENEY SLAM HILLARY CLINTON, ENCOURAGE JOE BIDEN TO RUN. Former Vice President Dick Cheney took aim at Hillary Clinton and the email scandal that she is embroiled in and threw his support behind the current second-in-command, Joe Biden. ABC's ALI WEINBERG reports the former vice president encouraged Biden to run for president during an interview with Portland's KEX radio, but declined to give their opinions on the 2016 GOP field, saying they would endorse the eventual nominee. "I like Joe. I think Joe's a good man, I think he ought to run for president," he said. "I think the Democrats need more candidates. I'm hoping Joe will get in the race." http://abcn.ws/1IFqKZl

ANTHONY WEINER SLAMS DONALD TRUMP'S ATTACKS ON WIFE AS 'OUTRAGEOUS' AND 'ABSURD.' In the feud between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin, embattled former Rep. Anthony Weiner -- Abedin's husband -- is stepping into the line of fire. ABC's RYAN STRUYK reports in a radio show appearance Monday, Weiner called Trump's suggestion that Abedin may have shared state secrets with him both "wrong" and "outrageous." "I think it's absurd and frankly insulting, not only to my wife, who, when she worked at the State Department, had a pretty high security clearance, a higher clearance than even some of the candidates running for president, but it also reflects very poorly on apparently what Mr. Trump thinks about government employees who have high security clearances, that they are talking about things," the New York Democrat said on "The Brian Lehrer Show." During a campaign event in Massachusetts Friday, Trump said it was likely that Abedin had divulged classified information to Weiner, who is now an adviser for a New Jersey public relations firm. http://abcn.ws/1JAapZy

WHY HILLARY CLINTON EMAILED ABOUT GEFILTE FISH. The great gefilte fish mystery may have been solved. Among the latest batch of Hillary Clinton emails released by the State Department on Monday night was one that left people totally stumped -- and it had to do with gefilte fish. "Where are we on this?" Clinton wrote to two of her advisers on March 5, 2010. The subject line was simply, "Gefilte Fish."But it appears the case has now been cracked. And the explanation is perfectly logical and work-related. According to the Washington Post, just before the Jewish holiday that year there was a trade dispute that held up a large shipment of Illinois-caught carp (the fish typically used in gefilte fish) that was destined for Israel. Clinton had pledged to help resolve the issue. Clinton's campaign has not confirmed if this is indeed what Clinton was emailing about, ABC's LIZ KREUTZ notes, but the timing of it makes sense. http://abcn.ws/1LIvrWK

KATE STEINLE LAWSUIT HAS POLITICAL REVERBERATIONS IN WASHINGTON OVER ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION. As the family of a woman allegedly slain by an undocumented immigrant filed a lawsuit Tuesday over her death, a fierce debate in Washington over the practice of so-called "sanctuary cities" is expected to consume Congress after members return from their summer recess, ABC's ALI WEINBERG reports. Congress has been working on legislation known as "Kate's Law," after Kate Steinle, the victim of the attack in San Francisco that made national headlines earlier this summer. It would end federal funding for so-called sanctuary cities that defy federal immigration actions. San Francisco, where Steinle was killed, is one of those cities, which is why the Steinle family is suing the city's sheriff, as well as the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "The system failed our sister," Brad Steinle, Kate's brother, said at a family news conference Tuesday, fighting back tears. "And at this point nobody has taken responsibility, accountability. And nothing has changed." http://abcn.ws/1JLdMdf

DONALD TRUMP: I'LL CHANGE DENALI BACK TO MCKINLEY. Donald Trump, apparently assuming he will secure the White House, tweeted on Monday evening that he would reverse the decision announced by President Obama to change the name of Alaska's Mount McKinley back to the traditional name Denali, saying it is an affront to the Buckeye State. "President Obama wants to change the name of Mt. McKinley to Denali after more than 100 years. Great insult to Ohio. I will change back!" read the tweet, issued from the account of the real estate mogul. ABC's BENJAMIN BELL reports the decision by the president to change the name of the mountain named for President William McKinley, who was from Ohio, has divided lawmakers. http://abcn.ws/1Kpc5ZI

TRUMP MEETS WITH HISPANIC BUSINESS LEADERS. The president of the National Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Javier Palomarez met with Donald Trump at Trump Tower yesterday. It was an effort to get Trump to do a one on one question and answer session Palomarez has done with other candidates, but also to smooth things over after Trump's controversial comments about immigration. Palomarez told ABC after leaving the tycoon's midtown office, "We had a nice conversation, the interesting thing here is that the private Donald is very different from the public Donald." Palomarez said the two "agreed on some things and disagreed vehemently on others," including with Trump on immigration, but hopes to continue talking with the candidate and has invited him to an October gathering to meet with various business leaders, ABC's JIM AVILA and JOHN SANTUCCI report. Palomarez heads the country's largest Hispanic business organization and many of his members, unlike many other Latino organizations, are Republican.

WHAT WE'RE READING

--CLINTON UNVEILS $10 BILLION ANTI-DRUG ABUSE, TREATMENT INITIATIVE. New Hampshire's WMUR reports that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is unveiling a $10 billion, 10-year initiative targeting what her campaign is calling "America's deadly epidemic of drug and alcohol addiction." The Clinton campaign says in a plan outline obtained by WMUR that nearly 23 million Americans suffer from substance abuse disorders, "yet only about one in 10 receive treatment." http://bit.ly/1NMfYYY

--U.S. LAUNCHES SECRET DRONE CAMPAIGN AGAINST ISIS IN SYRIA. The CIA and U.S. Special Operations forces have launched a secret campaign to hunt terrorism suspects in Syria as part of a targeted killing program that is run separately from the broader U.S. military offensive against the Islamic State, U.S. officials said. The CIA and the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) are flying drones over Syria in a collaboration responsible for several recent strikes against senior Islamic State operatives, The Washington Post reports. http://wapo.st/1Jwk3dK

WHO'S TWEETING?

@maggieNYT: Republicans who aggressively pushed the "Uncle Joe" image of an erratic Biden in 2012 now depict him as dragon slayer. http://nyti.ms/1hTKgMz

@CarlyFiorina: THANKS TO YOU, we will be able to share our message of leadership and citizenship with Republican voters on the main debate stage.

@joshdeldermanAP: ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- It's a good bet that President Obama, like most Americans, will never use a honey bucket - http://yhoo.it/1Q7MTFE

@brianstelter: How Donald Trump evaluates reporters: 50% are "good people" 20% are "totally dishonest" 30% are "okay, they're fine" http://wpo.st/BBZY0

@jaketapper One year ago today Steven Sotloff was murdered by ISIS. His family set up in his memory http://2LivesFoundation.org