Carl Cannon’s Morning Note
Good morning. It’s Tuesday, June 25, 2024, two days from the earliest general election presidential debate in U.S. history. Neither the incumbent president nor his challenger (and predecessor) have been formally nominated by their political party – and the challenger doesn’t even have a running mate yet.
Speaking of challengers, Bobby Kennedy won’t be on the CNN stage, which one supposes is half the reason these two old codgers have decided to debate in June. In my view, it’s not sound civics for a news organization to solidify the duopoly’s stranglehold on American politics, but one can’t argue this point: It will be good for ratings.
And though it’s easy to become jaded, especially this year, presidential debates are important. So are elections. The president of the United States is still considered “the leader of the free world,” with all the responsibility that unofficial title conveys. This date in 1950 serves as a bracing reminder of that sobering reality. I’ll revisit it in a moment, as I have previously.
First, I’d direct you to RCP’s front page, which contains the latest poll averages, political news and video, and aggregated opinion pieces ranging across the ideological spectrum. We also offer the usual complement of original material from our stable of columnists and contributors:
Willie Mays: A Grateful Nation Says Goodbye. I remember fondly not only a baseball legend but a hometown hero who helped define my childhood and left me smitten with the sport.
Playing Politics With Crime in California. Susan Crabtree examines the clash over Proposition 47 and the efforts to reduce prison populations while keeping crime rates at bay in the Golden State.
The Debates Have Become a Travesty: Here’s How To Make Them Work. Clea Conner presents some concrete, tested suggestions for making this year’s events more meaningful and less rancorous.
Presidential Debates Are Lost, Not Won. As Donald Trump and Joe Biden prepare for this week’s match-up, Ron Faucheux reminds us that true wins in these events are historically rare.
Sen. Rand Paul Outlines New Legislation To Prevent Future Pandemics. Jonathan Draeger reviews efforts to clarify the origins of COVID-19 and uncover conflicts of interest in the investigation.
The Power of Martyrs. Addie Von Drehle reports on how today’s Palestinian fighters stay motivated by identifying with heroes of the past.
A Soldier and a Conscientious Objector: Two U.S.-Born Israeli Citizens on the War and Campus Protests. RealClearPolitics intern Gabriella Fine profiles a pair of young people with dual citizenship and widely divergent views on what patriotism means.
Antisemitism of the Left. Peter Berkowitz contends that in order to prevail in the struggle against the virulent Jew-hatred rising in America, we must champion liberal democracy, here and throughout the West.
Bring Them All Home. Michael Ames recounts the history of hostage rescue attempts and shares the pleas of those recently rescued in Gaza: Make a deal as soon as possible.
Celebrating Huge Wins for Women in Race To Preserve Title IX. At RealClearPolicy, Rachel Rouleau praises recent gains for female athletes in keeping single-sex sports free of trans-identifying men.
Let’s Give Frats Another Look. At RealClearEducation, Samuel Abrams offers a fresh take on Greek life and suggests that fraternal orders provide powerful social and academic benefits.
Abolish “Birthday-Based” Learning. Also at RealClearEducation, Siri Fiske challenges the notion that age is a better indicator of educational readiness than concept mastery.
Risks of Childbirth Do Not End at Delivery. At RealClearHealth, Kim Keck calls for enhanced efforts by the federal government to reduce maternal mortality in the U.S., especially for black and Latino women.
Sometimes It’s Best When Taxes Just Remain Boring. At RealClearMarkets, Andrew Wilford writes that an obscure and unexciting Supreme Court ruling leaves wealth taxes intact for the time being.
How Generative AI Can Radically Improve Multiple Choice Tests. At RealClearScience, Ross Pomeroy finds that artificial intelligence can take the composition of student exams to the next level.
Geopolitics and Demand Growth Underpin Need for Commonsense Policies. At RealClearEnergy, Guy Caruso spotlights the foreign risk factors hampering energy production and security.
Seventy-four years ago today, Harry Truman’s hopes of spending a relaxing weekend at his home in Independence, Missouri, were dashed by events halfway around the globe. The 33rd U.S. president planned to oversee fence-building on his family farm, order a new roof for the barn, and attend Sunday services at his local church.
All that was put on the back burner after an urgent Saturday night phone call from Secretary of State Dean Acheson: North Korea had invaded South Korea.
First lady Bess Truman and the president’s daughter Margaret attended services at Trinity Episcopal Church on Sunday morning. The following morning, Harry went ahead with his plans to visit his brother, J. Vivian Truman and his sister Mary Jane. By then the president was already dealing with fast-moving developments on the Korean peninsula – events his daughter would later write had sparked fears in Truman that “this was the opening of World War III.”
As he was shown his brother’s modern milking machine and a new horse on the property, Harry Truman’s siblings never mentioned Korea. Nor did they once ask their brother, the commander in chief, about it. Although it was all over the newspapers that morning, and the impending action at the U.N. Security Council was being discussed on the radio, his family knew Harry needed a respite before returning to the cauldron of wartime Washington, D.C. So they engaged in small talk, discussed family business, and made sure the president said hello to all five of his brother’s grandchildren.
But then it was time to head back East. On the flight to Washington, Truman grew angry thinking of the North Korean invasion. It reminded him of Japan’s brutal occupation of Manchuria and Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia in the 1930s – events Truman considered the precursors to World War II – in which militarily strong nations had overrun weaker nations.
Truman’s plane (it was then called the Independence, not Air Force One) touched down on the runway at what is now Reagan National Airport at 7:15 Sunday evening. Acheson was there to meet him, along with Secretary of Defense Louis A. Johnson. Sensing the historic import of the moment, the White House photographers who were on hand snapped away and asked Truman for another shot.
“That’s all,” he told them tersely. “We’ve got a job to do.”