Good morning!
The first televised presidential debates between John Kennedy and Richard Nixon in 1960 had a moderator seated at a comically small desk and a mood more evocative of a classroom than a TV studio. The candidates earnestly presented their views on salaries, health care, education, trade, farming, Russia and other policies. As Nixon put it: “The people now have the opportunity to evaluate his, as against mine, and I think both he and I will abide by what the people decide.” (The Watergate scandal, of course, came later.)
Contrast that with last night’s presidential debate, which was more akin to the schoolyard. Although it began with Kamala Harris initiating the first handshake in a debate in eight years, it devolved into taunts and rhetoric. Little was said about issues like taxation, trade policy, regulation, legal immigration, and debt. No one mentioned the potential cost of Donald Trump's trade war or Harris's new tax plan. With less than two months until the election and days to go before early voting starts in Pennsylvania, a lot is still unknown about how and where the candidates plan to invest in growth.
