The Note: From Birtherism to Bombings

— -- NOTABLES

--TRUMP REPEATS CALLS FOR POLICE PROFILING FOLLOWING NYC AREA EXPLOSIONS: One day after explosive devices were discovered in the Manhattan neighborhood of Chelsea, Seaside Park, New Jersey, and in the city of Elizabeth, New Jersey, Republican nominee Donald Trump repeated his calls to implement police profiling to stop more attacks in the United States, ABC’s ALANA ABRAMSON notes. "Our local police, they know who a lot of these people are, they are afraid to do anything about it, because they don't want to be accused of profiling, and they don't want to be accused of all sorts of things," Trump said on "Fox and Friends" when asked what policies he would implement as president to "get tough" on terrorism. http://abcn.ws/2cMIqdt

--TRUMP ARGUED THAT THE COUNTRY SHOULD FOLLOW THE LEAD OF ISRAEL: "Israel has done an unbelievable job and they will profile. They profile. They see somebody that's suspicious," he said. "They will profile. They will take that person in and check out. Do we have a choice? Look what's going on. Do we really have a choice? We're trying to be so politically correct in our country and this is only going to get worse." Trump has made similar comments before. Following the Orlando nightclub shooting in June, he said in an interview on "Face the Nation" that profiling was something the U.S. needed to seriously consider. http://abcn.ws/2cMIqdt

--WHAT CLINTON IS SAYING: “I strongly condemn the apparent terrorist attacks in Minnesota, New Jersey, and New York,” Clinton said in a statement yesterday. “Law enforcement officials are working to identify who was behind the attacks in New York and New Jersey and we should give them the support they need to finish the job and bring those responsible to justice - we will not rest until that happens. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack in Minnesota, and this should steel our resolve to protect our country and defeat ISIS and other terrorist groups. I have laid out a comprehensive plan to do that. This includes launching an intelligence surge to help identify and thwart attacks before they can be carried out, and to spot lone wolf attackers. We also need to work with Silicon Valley to counter propaganda and recruitment efforts online. Americans have faced threats before, and our resilience in the face of them only makes us stronger.”

--ANALYSIS -- ABC’s RICK KLEIN: “Jeb exclamation point!” Jeb Bush exclaimed, finally, in a funny Emmys cameo that featured him as an Uber driver, doling out campaign advice to Jimmy Kimmel. Bush drove off, but we know he wasn’t headed to a Donald Trump rally. And with RNC Chairman Reince Priebus offering a shot across the 2020 bows of John Kasich and Ted Cruz, it’s worth considering the roles of the jilted, even offended former rivals over the final seven weeks. Bush is a Floridian who is an obvious bridge to the GOP establishment. Kasich is the popular two-term governor of the largest swing state. Cruz is among the most prominent Latino Republicans in the country, and the effective runner-up to Trump. The fact that none of the three will endorse or work on Trump’s behalf in any way is not something that can be solved by threats from Priebus. (And if Trump loses, who thinks Priebus will be in the position to exact revenge on Trump’s failed opponents?) It’s also something that’s easier for Kimmel to laugh off than Trump.

ONE WEEK TO GO -- THE IMPACT OF DEBATES? IT'S DEBATABLE. With the first of three Hillary Clinton-Donald Trump debates around the corner, ABC’s GARY LANGER asks the quadrennial question: Do these showdowns matter? The chances for impact seem ripe this year. The two most unpopular major-party candidates in the history of ABC News/Washington Post polls are facing off. Donald Trump's unorthodox campaign style and provocative positions have piqued public interest; the debates may be the single best opportunity for him to allay concerns about his qualifications, temperament and policy promises alike. Hillary Clinton, for her part, needs -- like Trump -- to ease questions about her trustworthiness, as well as to spark greater enthusiasm among her supporters. Can either candidate move the needle? It will be tough: A review of data since 1960 suggests that past debates have almost never directly and measurably changed the candidates' relative standings. That's admittedly a high standard, though, and at least some debates may have had more subtle impacts. http://abcn.ws/2daluGz

LAST WEEKEND ON THE TRAIL

OBAMA DESCRIBES TRUMP'S PRESIDENTIAL RUN AS AN 'INFOMERCIAL'. President Barack Obama characterized Donald Trump's presidential campaign as an "infomercial" during a fundraiser in Manhattan Sunday night. In town for this week's United Nations General Assembly, Obama spoke to supporters at the Gramercy Park home of restaurateur Danny Meyer and his wife Audrey. "This guy's unqualified to be president and he shows no interest in even gaining the rudimentary knowledge required to make really hard decisions on a day to day basis," Obama said of the Republican presidential candidate. "There's no curiosity. There's no desire to get up to speed. It's a infomercial. It's a reality show." More from ABC’s JORDYN PHELPS: http://abcn.ws/2cJ0Jnf

TRUMP SURROGATES PUSH NARRATIVE THAT CLINTON STARTED 'BIRTHERISM'. Donald Trump's surrogates and leading supporters on Sunday were pushing a narrative that the Republican candidate started two days earlier when he declared that Hillary Clinton's 2008 campaign "started the birther controversy," meaning the false notion that President Obama was born outside the United States, reports ABC’s CANDACE SMITH. On CBS News’ Face the Nation on Sunday, Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway pushed the claim that so-called "birtherism" began with the Clinton 2008 campaign by invoking the words of former Clinton campaign manager Patti Sollis Doyle. “Even Patti Solis Doyle, who was Hillary Clinton's campaign manager in 2008 ... until she was fired by Hillary Clinton, admitted on Friday ... that she said, yes, these are her words: There was a volunteer in Iowa who was pushing this,” Conway said. http://abcn.ws/2d4C4vC

CLINTON RIPS TRUMP FOR 'BIRTHER' FLIP-FLOP. Hillary Clinton on Saturday praised President Barack Obama for being a "great American" while again ripping into Donald Trump for leading the "birther" movement against him, notes ABC’s LIZ KREUTZ. "I know I speak for not just everyone in this room, but so many tens of millions of Americans," Clinton said during a pointed speech at the Congressional Black Caucus gala in Washington, D.C., "Mr. President, not only do we know you are an American. You are a great American. And you make us all proud to be Americans, too.” The Democratic presidential candidate, delivering her first remarks since the Republican presidential nominee conceded Obama was born in the U.S., praised the President and his family for representing the country with “class, grace and integrity.” "As Michelle said," Clinton continued, quoting what First Lady Michelle Obama said on Friday in response to Trump’s attacks on her husband, "When others go low, we go high." http://abcn.ws/2cmfwna

KAINE BREAKS WITH CLINTON ON HER CALLING SOME TRUMP SUPPORTERS 'IRREDEEMABLE'. Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine broke with his running mate Hillary Clinton over her comment that some Trump supporters are "irredeemable." Clinton made the remarks at a New York fundraising event Sept. 9 where she said about "half of Trump supporters" could be put "into what I call the basket of deplorables." She added, "Now some of those folks, they are irredeemable." On "This Week," ABC News' MARTHA RADDATZ pressed Kaine on whether it was appropriate for Clinton to use the word "irredeemable." "You know, that's not a word I would use. I wouldn't use it," Kaine said. He added, however, "I think we would be unrealistic to think that some people are going to fundamentally change their view." More from ABC’s JESSICA HOPPER: http://abcn.ws/2d3Un3Z

MIKE PENCE ON BIRTHERISM: 'IT'S OVER'. Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pence has declared birtherism -- the notion that President Obama wasn’t born in the United States -- “over,” according to ABC’s INES DELACUETARA. “I think Donald Trump put an end to this issue,” Pence said yesterday on ABC’s This Week, referring to Trump's brief statement Friday acknowledging that the president was born in the U.S. Pence acknowledged this fact before his running mate, telling reporters in early September that he believes Obama was born in Hawaii. “It is fact,” Pence said. “And Donald Trump and I have both acknowledged that without hesitation.” http://abcn.ws/2d82l8p

NOTED: PENCE SAYS HIS ROLE MODEL FOR VICE PRESIDENT IS DICK CHENEY. Pence said his role model for the number two spot is the last Republican to hold the job -- Dick Cheney. “I frankly hold Dick Cheney in really high regard in his role as vice president and as an American,” Pence said on ABC’s "This Week." Pence said that, like Cheney, he hoped to be “a very active vice president.” “Vice President Cheney had experience in Congress as I do, and he was very active in working with members of the House and the Senate,” he said. http://abcn.ws/2cHIQn0

BY THE NUMBERS -- MOST AMERICANS THINK PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES SHOULD RELEASE DETAILED HEALTH RECORDS. After a week when the health of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump became a focal point in the race, over two-thirds of Americans said it is important for presidential candidates to release detailed personal health records. ABC News, together with our partners at SSRS survey research firm, asked Americans how important it is for candidates to release their health records and about the impact of candidates' overall health and fitness on their vote. Sixty-nine percent said it was very or somewhat important for presidential candidates to release detailed personal health records, ABC’s NICKI ROSSOLL notes. http://abcn.ws/2cTRxLx

WHO’S TWEETING?

@politicoalex: The 7-1 deficit Trump faces on TV may be historic - far more than anything a prez nominee has faced in recent years http://politi.co/2cxQRdf

@JenniferJJacobs: Trump said 8k-seat venue booked for Fort Myers, FL rally tonight. Trying to get venue for "35k, 40k people because we’re being inundated."

@mic: .@HillaryClinton wrote for us about what millennials have taught her during this election: http://bit.ly/2ddbQpE 

@davidaxelrod: One-on-one w/ @KarlRove on @realDonaldTrump & future of @GOP. Can't miss #AxeFiles! http://podcast.cnn.com/the-axe-files-david-axelrod/episode/all/U0dlqHN7s5px2x/knkkmh.1-1.html …

@RepSwalwell: I'm often asked, "which show is dc really like?" We should aspire for West Wing. Not as efficient as @HouseofCards. We are @VeepHBO. #Emmys