OPINION

It can be done

Well, that was interesting. And substantive. And informative. And still was a debate, not a reading of an automotive manual. There were arguments, but time given for each candidate to explain himself.

Thursday night proved that the com- mission that puts these things together can prove educable.

And the winner is Kristen Welker. If we know journalists (and we do), she’d decline the honor, preferring the focus not be on her questions, but on the candidates.

There is a reason that she was all the rage Friday. Even during the debate, Pres- ident Trump complimented her job as moderator. When was the last time you heard him say something nice about the press?

Of course, the mute button helped.

Those looking for policy differences between the two men might have noticed a 12-minute span in the debate that focused mainly on fossil fuels, the oil industry, the American economy, and plans by both men in regard to it all. Joe Biden said the nation has a moral obligation to deal with climate change.

“Would you close down the oil indus- try?” President Trump asked the former vice president. To which Joe Biden an-

swered: “Yes. I would transition. Because the oil industry pollutes, significantly . . . . Because it has to be replaced by renewable energy.”

That was the wow moment for many people.

Doubtless few Americans want more pollution and more climate change. Ar- kansans who spend a lot of time outdoors hunting, fishing, hiking, biking and gar- dening aren’t interested in more coal-fired plants going up around us.

But, as has been pointed out many times, renewable energy isn’t there yet. Sometimes it’s cloudy, sometimes it’s nighttime, and sometimes the wind doesn’t blow. And battery technology hasn’t im- proved enough to guarantee that energy can be stored for cloudy, still nights.

After the debate, at an airport, Joe Biden backtracked a bit: “We’re not going to get rid of fossil fuels,” he told reporters. “We’re going to get rid of subsidies for fossil fuels.” So there’s that.

The point is, Thursday night We the People got to see something not seen in the first debate: Two candidates with different views of the country’s future talking about serious issues in which they have differing opinions. And their differences are real.

Let’s vote.

And sign up Kristen Welker for 2024.

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