Good morning.
JD Vance is a better debater than Tim Walz. When the vice-presidential candidates squared off in their first and only debate last night, Vance was masterful at dodging tough questions, reframing inconvenient truths, and presenting himself as a reasonable middle-of-the-road thinker committed to substantive and nuanced discussion. Walz conveyed his key points but didn’t challenge the new narrative or persona put forth by his opponent.
I avoid taking a political stance in this column: We all vote according to our values and priorities. On taxes, abortion, climate action, immigration, healthcare, and other key issues, people can parse where each party stands. It’s easy to fact-check what was said. Less obvious is the disconnect between the Vance we saw last night and the Vance who’s been stoking fear with tales of pet-eating immigrants and problematic elections on the campaign trail. The college debater in me marveled that Walz didn’t really point out that disconnect or drill down on the issue that matters most.
For me, there was one question that should have kicked off the debate: Does Vance believe the results of the 2020 election were valid? He did not answer because he can’t. Despite every governor and every court stating clearly that democracy prevailed in the last election, this is a man who will not do what his predecessor Mike Pence did when confronted with a president who wants to stage a coup: say no. Having lived in countries ruled by dictators, where corruption and cruelty often go unchecked, that’s the question that haunts me.
True power is earned. The Fortune Most Powerful Women (MPW) list, now in its 27th year, is out this morning. We profiled the 100 most powerful women from across the planet in a ranking that features 26 newcomers and a new No. 1: GM CEO Mary Barra. She says: “The best time to solve a problem is the minute you know you have one because problems don’t usually get smaller.” Read more about the 2024 list here.
More news below.
Diane Brady
diane.brady@fortune.com
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TOP NEWS
Longshoremen strike to cost billions per day
A strike of nearly 50,000 longshoremen that started on Tuesday is predicted to cost the U.S. billions per day. The strike currently covers at least 14 ports from Maine to Texas and is expected to cause shortages of food products and automobile parts. Fortune
Microsoft breaks from Amazon's RTO policy
Microsoft executive vice president Scott Guthrie says they won't impose a five-day return to office policy like Amazon recently did unless productivity drops, according to anonymous sources. Fortune
UBS considers the U.S. in 'Roaring 20's' mode
Jason Draho, the head of asset allocation, Americas at UBS, said the U.S. is already in another economic boom equivalent to the "Roaring 20's." Draho pointed to measures like continued GDP growth and low inflation to support his analysis. Fortune
AROUND THE WATERCOOLER
Cerebras hopes planned IPO will supercharge its race against Nvidia and fellow chip startups for the fastest generative AI by Sharon Goldman
Mark Cuban says his puppy is ‘smarter than AI is today’ by Chloe Berger
California just took the biggest shot yet against legacy admissions by Jane Thier
Discover’s CIO says AI in financial services is still in the ‘early stages’ as the industry navigates 2 risks by John Kell
Gen Z and the pandemic have turned workplace fashion on its head—here’s what experts say you should wear to the office by Emma Burleigh
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek refuses to play sports with friend Mark Zuckerberg because they’re both too competitive by Ryan Hogg
C-suite leaders race to keep up with the rapid pace of AI before competitors take the lead by Sheryl Estrada
This edition of CEO Daily was curated by Joey Abrams.
