SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:55 P.M. ET:

HELL-SINKI – It turned out badly for the president at the Helsinki summit.  Our first impression was reasonably good, as we reported earlier.  There was optimism, and a feeling that the president had been well prepared.  Then came the press conference with Putin, and, after studying the transcript and looking at the tape, I'd have to agree that Mr. Trump appeared weak and deferential compared with the more experienced Putin.  Trump's poor performance set off a firestorm, which we'll be addressing tomorrow, and his comment suggesting that he believed Putin over American intelligence officials set off more than a firestorm.  Our original optimism was dashed.  Trump has many enemies in Washington, including Republicans, and they used the occasion to knife him as hard as they could. 

WHEN PARENTS DECIDE – FROM COLLEGE FIX:   If you want to see how parents act when the government stops forcing an educational monopoly on them, look to North Carolina.  Nearly 20 percent of students are attending something other than a traditional public school, where attendance is falling “rapidly,” according to The News & Observer.  The rush toward charter, private and even home schools is largely due to the Republican takeover of the Legislature in 2010.  Lawmakers have since removed the 100-school cap on charter schools (it’s up to 185 as of this fall), created a $4,200 voucher for low-income families and two programs for special-needs kids to get out of public schools (where they are often treated poorly), and even made it easier for non-parent adults to teach homeschoolers.  The revolt against mediocre education will be one of the great stories of the next decades.  But don't be sure that parents will win, especially if the Democrats get back in power.

PAY TO STAY, AS IF ANYONE CARES – FROM THE NEW YORK POST:  Gov. Cuomo promised NBC and CBS tens of millions of dollars’ worth of taxpayer-subsidized incentives to keep the kings of late-night TV in the Big Apple.  And, like many of the jokes by Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert, the money is nothing to laugh at.  CBS scored up to $16 million in tax credits and cash to keep “The Late Show” broadcasting from Manhattan after the May 2015 retirement of longtime host David Letterman.  That included $5 million just to renovate CBS’s Ed Sullivan Theater on Broadway at West 53rd Street.  Cuomo claimed the funding from Empire State Development would preserve 200 local jobs.  But CBS has made out like a bandit during late night, thanks in part to President Trump taking office.  Let them go to Hollywood, please.  This is not the great age of late-night comedy. 

July 16,  2018