IS THE DEBATE SET OR NOT? Have you noticed that we still have not heard from both sides that the ABC News debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, scheduled for Sept. 10 in Philadelphia, is absolutely, totally on? Trump has said it is, but the Harris side has avoided saying that she has totally agreed to terms. Which means that, 12 days out, the only possible debate of the 2024 presidential campaign — Trump has agreed to several, but so far Harris will only consider one — is still not absolutely set in stone.

To judge by what is said in public, the issue between the two sides is microphones. It would probably be a little more accurate to say that the microphone issue is real, but it is also a stand-in for all sorts of other agendas at work between the two sides.