As much as television reporters tried to build up anticipation for last night’s vice-presidential debate, predicting an old-fashioned brawl, they knew it was doubtful it would matter in November. Voters focus on the top race on the ballot, not the second one.
That said, since this has been a very strange political year, who knows.
The polls seem to be stuck in molasses. Harris maintains somewhere around a 2.5 points nationally and the races are even closer in the critical seven swing states. Harris maintains slender leads in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Nevada, whereas Trump is slightly ahead in Arizona, Georgia and North Carolina.
Therefore, if those numbers persist through Election Day, Harris will win. But that is a big if.
Back to the debate between the V-P candidates. Those predicting a brawl were wrong; it was more like a polite conversation over coffee in the local diner. Vance clearly was smoother and more in control than Walz, who appeared nervous and muffed several lines. But Walz cornered Vance on whether Donald Trump lost the 2020 election and Vance dodged the question.
That may be the only enduring takeaway from the debate.
Bottom line? This debate seems unlikely to affect the outcome in November.
HEADLINES:
Iran launches missile attack on Israel (The Hill)
Israel’s invasion of southern Lebanon escalates fight against Hezbollah (WP)
The only moment from the VP debate that mattered — Vance’s “damning non-answer” on the 2020 election exposed the true stakes for democracy in 2024. (Vox)
What’s going on in Asheville? The devastating fallout from Hurricane Helene, explained. (Vox)
Helene and other storms dumped 40 trillion gallons of rain on the South (AP)
Still reeling from Helene's aftermath, a new tropical threat develops in the Gulf (ABC)
In a Florida Town Ravaged by Storms, Homeowners All Want to Sell (WSJ)
America’s Strategy of Renewal (Foreign Affairs)
Fireflies are vanishing across the country. Nearly 1 in 3 firefly species in the U.S. and Canada may face extinction. Other insects — like butterflies and bees — are also disappearing around the world. (WP)
NASA's Webb telescope detects traces of carbon dioxide on the surface of Pluto's largest moon (AP)
When discussing Pete Rose's legacy, you have to tell the whole story (Yahoo)
Kris Kristofferson’s Music Is Soaring Following His Passing (Forbes)
Remembering Kris Kristofferson, a Cowboy Poet Who Crossed Categories (WSJ)
Goodbye, Coliseum — On loving and losing the Oakland A’s (Atlantic)
Microsoft: 'ever present' AI assistants are coming (BBC)
MIT spinoff Liquid debuts non-transformer AI models and they’re already state-of-the-art (Venture Beat)
Tim Walz Stays Up All Night Making Shoe-Box Diorama Of Washington Crossing The Delaware (The Onion)
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