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‘Have presidential debates outlived their usefulness?’

Marcela García in The Boston Globe

News outlets are urging President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump to commit to debates before the November election, says Marcela García. Supporters argue that debates are the best way for voters to compare the candidates’ views in a high-stakes campaign. But Trump treats debates as opportunities to be “nasty,” not to argue opposing policy points. Undecided voters have better ways to get informed “that are not billed as a ‘smackdown’ or ‘must-see TV.'”

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‘Israel alone’

Rich Lowry at National Review

International organizations and the left condemn Israel over the Gaza war but ignore conflicts causing humanitarian crises elsewhere, says Rich Lowry. “This is nothing new. The Jewish state has long been singled out for opprobrium and held to a standard different than that of other societies.” This is partly because Israel is an “advanced Western-style democracy,” so we expect it to be better than “oppressive” countries like Myanmar. But it’s mainly due to “antisemitism and hypocrisy.”

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‘There is no “moderate” Republican position on abortion’

Melissa Gira Grant in The New Republic

Republican candidates are trying to distance themselves from “extreme” abortion restrictions this election year, says Melissa Gira Grant. Donald Trump and Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake are saying Arizona’s revived 1864 ban, “rightly considered one of the most extreme bans” in the nation, “goes too far.” But voters shouldn’t fall for these “calculated, hypocritical moves.” There is no moderate GOP position on abortion any more. The party has “made extreme anti-abortion laws the new norm.”

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‘The solar revolution is dying in waiting lines’

Mark Gongloff at Bloomberg

The “already bloated backlog of renewable projects awaiting approval from grid operators” is growing, says Mark Gongloff. A surge of applications spurred by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 contributed to a 29% increase in the “queue for new energy generation and storage projects.” The good news is these 12,000 projects would double current capacity with another 2.6 terawatts. But the “logjam” is making “avoiding the worst impacts of an overheating planet even more difficult.”

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