Wiretap: Trump’s endorsement problem, hijab protests and the hidden cost of holding your own baby

Trump’s infamy

For only the third time in its 157-year history, The Atlantic magazine has made an endorsement in a presidential election. Its first endorsement was for a guy named Abe Lincoln, back in 1860. The second came more than a hundred years later when the editors decided that Barry Goldwater was too dangerous and so they endorsed Lyndon Johnson. And now, calling Donald Trump “a demagogue, a xenophobe, a sexist, a know-nothing, and a liar,” The Atlantic has endorsed Hillary Clinton. Of course, as the New York Times writes, nearly every newspaper and magazine has come out against Trump. Will it matter to voters?

Say “uncle”

Adam Gopnik explains in the New Yorker how “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” handled a problem like Donald Trump — and why that couldn’t happen today.

Gender politics

Hillary Clinton may possibly be the first female president, and her chief subordinate would be, of course, Tim Kaine. Which leads to this post-debate question: Did Kaine show sufficient respect to Elaine Quijano, the VP debate’s female moderator? Vox’s Dara Lind doesn’t think so.

Bill weighs in

Was Bill Clinton right when he criticized Obamacare (even if he was actually criticizing an unwillingness to fix Obamacare?) Via CNN.

Major shift

Dana Milbank: Now that the GOP is the Party of Trump, are the Democrats trying to become the party of Reagan? Via the Washington Post.

Pence 2020

If Trump loses, where does that leave Mike Pence as Republicans start all over again in 2020? Via the National Review.

Oh, Gary

First it was Aleppo. Then it was the Chris Matthews interview in which Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson couldn’t name a single foreign leader he respected. And now in a New York Times interview, Johnson equates accidental bombings of civilians by U.S.-backed forces in Syria to the targeting of civilians by President Bashar al-Hassan that has led to hundreds of thousands of deaths.

Man on a mission

Meanwhile, Bill Weld, the Libertarian vice-presidential candidate, has said he will spend the rest of the election cycle working against Trump. Via the Boston Globe.

Taking a stand

American chess champion Nazi Paikidze-Barnes is boycotting the world championships in Iran rather than submit to wearing a hajib. Via the Washington Post.

Baby not included

A woman had a baby. Then the hospital charged her $39.35 to hold it. Via Vox.

Photo credit: Ginny Washburne, Creative Commons, Flickr 
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