'There is no path to victory'

'This time a third party should be able to gain real traction, right?'

Andy Craig at Reason

The major parties are "embracing unpopular presidential candidates," says Andy Craig at Reason, but don't expect "a historic breakout for third parties." Fourteen "governors, senators, congressmen, and in one case a former vice president" have launched outsider presidential bids since World War II. Seven failed to crack 1 percent of the vote. "Only one broke double digits." Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) and former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan should consider that before running on a No Labels ticket.

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'This particular Trumpian tale of irresponsibility... deserves more than a disgusted shrug'

Kim Wehle in The Bulwark

Donald Trump's classified documents case isn't about whether he took government secrets from the White House and stashed them at Mar-a-Lago, says Kim Wehle in The Bulwark. As special counsel Jack Smith wrote in a brief opposing the former president's bid to delay his trial until after the 2024 election, that is "not in dispute." The question is "how much damage he did to U.S. interests and national security and what can be done about it now."

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'If we produce it, we bear responsibility for it'

Lennox Yearwood and Bill McKibben in the Los Angeles Times

September "broke all temperature records for the month” by a record margin, say Lennox Yearwood and Bill McKibben in the Los Angeles Times. "Almost as scary as the temperature, however, has been the reaction — or, more precisely, the lack of it." Washington has "credibly cut demand for fossil fuels by boosting electric vehicles, heat pumps, and solar panels." Now it should escalate the climate change fight by reducing "spiking exports" of oil and liquified natural gas.

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'Give McHenry the power to make the House function'

Washington Examiner editorial board

"Time is running out" for Republicans to elect a new speaker, says the Washington Examiner editorial board. The House, unable to function without one, has four weeks to avert a government shutdown when the temporary spending agreement "that triggered the Republican malcontents' coup" against Kevin McCarthy runs out. Republicans should change House rules to give Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) temporary powers to get Congress moving while the "speakership drama" continues "offstage."

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