From the left: Midterms Too Close To Call<\/p>\n
\u201cTrump certainly deserves a shellacking \u2014 his presidency combines the unthinkable with the unnecessary with the unhinged,\u201d growls Joe Klein at Sanity Clause<\/a>, but he\u2019s not making any predictions. \u201cSenate races across the country,\u201d including red states, \u201care all within or near the margin of error.\u201d I\u2019m \u201choping that the Democrats will take one of the Houses,\u201d but \u201cI\u2019m not willing to bet the farm on that.\u201d One worry: Democrats this year \u201chave accepted socialism in the same righteous, benighted way that they strutted trans activism in 2024.\u201d Yet you can see Dem momentum in \u201cthe trend toward ship-jumping and modification by Republican candidates\u201d distancing themselves \u201cfrom Trump in close races.\u201d Beware: \u201cCrazy things have been known to happen in October.\u201d Plus, \u201cjournalists really suck at predictions,\u201d so: \u201cDon\u2019t trust us.\u201d<\/p>\n From the right: GOP\u2019s Missing Positive Message<\/p>\n \u201cWhat should Republicans do about [Abdul] El-Sayed?\u201d asks Washington Examiner\u2019s Byron York<\/a>. He\u2019s a \u201cradical\u201d who \u201chas some truly terrible ideas,\u201d but \u201cthat doesn\u2019t mean he\u2019s wrong about everything.\u201d When he \u201cleads with the cost of living\u201d and blames \u201crecent increases on the war in Iran,\u201d he\u2019s \u201chitting Republicans in their weakest spot.\u201d Republicans can respond with \u201cnegative advertising targeting his positions, record, and associates,\u201d but they must also show that he \u201cdoes not have a plausible plan to stop the increase in the cost of living\u201d \u2014 and that the GOP does, something they have \u201cnot done that well enough.\u201d Republicans \u201cneed to raise their game,\u201d or they\u2019ll \u201cspend the next six years with Sen. El-Sayed.\u201d<\/p>\n Educator: School Choice Requires Good Schools<\/p>\n Nikole Hannah-Jones casts \u201csegregation and school choice as causing educational inequality,\u201d but the real outrage \u201cisn\u2019t that some families can choose a good school, but that too many can\u2019t,\u201d argues Roland Fryer at The Wall Street Journal<\/a>. \u201cToo many must choose from a menu that presents the options dishonestly or offers no good ones\u201d \u2014 \u201cthe fundamental problem is the scarcity of effective schools.\u201d His experience shows that \u201ceffective schools are made.\u201d A competitive education marketplace can allow \u201cnew schools to enter,\u201d \u201csuccessful ones to expand\u201d and \u201cineffective schools close if they fail to improve.\u201d \u201cThe goal is effective schools at scale and genuine choice among them.\u201d Choice succeeds when we \u201cmake schools effective, tell parents the truth and trust them to choose.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\tMore From\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPost Editorial Board<\/p>\n Ukraine war: Beware Vlad\u2019s Baltic Gambit<\/p>\n \u201cVladimir Putin\u2019s only conventional path to victory in Ukraine may lie through the Baltic States,\u201d warn Mark Toth & Jonathan Sweet at The Hill<\/a>. His ailing Donbas ailing offensive has backed him \u201cinto a corner\u201d; he \u201cneeds another way to get to Kyiv,\u201d such as \u201can asymmetrical war against the European Union and NATO member states\u201d \u2014 say, striking \u201cthe Baltics\u201d in hopes the alliance is paralyzed into not responding and then rethinks its support for Ukraine. \u201cA large drone and ballistic missile attack, precipitated by a Russian false-flag event, would suffice.\u201d To deter Putin, Europe should \u201cgo on the offensive\u201d: Declare \u201can active defense\u201d over Western Ukraine, and signal that \u201cit has no intention of backing down in its support of Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n Centrists: The Feds\u2019 \u2018Piggy Bank\u2019 Mistake<\/p>\n