'In Ukraine, sadly, promises are hard to keep'

'Wisdom in foreign policy is found in making credible commitments'

Michael Brendan Dougherty at National Review

President Joe Biden promised to support Ukraine's fight against Russian invaders for "as long as it takes," says Michael Brendan Dougherty at National Review. But Germany's Bild magazine reported last week that, as the war dragged on, "Biden was going back on his word," joining Germany to "softly pressure" Ukraine to negotiate with Moscow. Ukraine might have to accept its "continued existence" as a victory, and forget about "retaking the Donbas and Crimea, let alone toppling Putin."

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'Biden has virtually abandoned "Bidenomics"'

Walter Shapiro in The New Republic

President Joe Biden has stopped touting "Bidenomics," says Walter Shapiro in The New Republic. Inspired by the "political success of 'Reaganomics'" in the 1980s, Biden embraced the term in June to shake voters "from their conviction that these are dire economic times." Folks in "Biden-land" hoped reminding people unemployment is low and inflation has been worse would do the trick. It didn't work. You can't convince people "they've never had it so good" when they're hurting.

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'Neither of them won the debate'

Frank Bruni in The New York Times

We were all losers in the red-state, blue-state debate between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, says Frank Bruni in The New York Times. DeSantis, a Republican, and Newsom, a Democrat, have sparred for months. Thursday's showdown could have been "climactic." Instead, their sniping reflected "just how little quarter each side will give the other" in this hyper-partisan era. There's no longer room for "grace," or even "constructive and civil dialogue." 

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'People hate inflation, just not enough to spend less'

Annie Lowrey at The Atlantic

"Sticker shock is real," says Annie Lowrey in The Atlantic. During the pandemic, supply-chain bottlenecks and stimulus checks sent prices sky-high. More recently, the "strong labor market" has kept costs rising. So, you might think "Americans would have tempered their enthusiasm for shopping of late." But consumer spending is still rising, which only adds to upward price pressure. Americans are angry about inflation, but, in some ways, they "have nobody to blame but themselves."

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