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Ladies and gentlemen, this week's news was marked by among other peculiar events the pre-debate appearance by the former

president before a group of Manhattan businessmen and economists.

Those were, in other words, some of the same people who,

when he appeared at a charity gala in Manhattan late in the 2016 campaign loudly booed him on national television

live. This time the critiques were delivered by the media

which trotted out the words like incoherent and wandering

that they hadn't used since the current occupant

of the Oval Office retired from the fray.

In other words, they described him as like the first car I owned when I was a kid

a rambler. The only difference is he maintained one of the

semblances of coherence that is, well, the current president couldn't muster, loudness.

Other noteworthy appearances this week were made by his running mate,

who despite his occasional smiles projects a certain darkness in his prepared remarks. He joined a somewhat unusual group whose members include

Elon Musk and the ruler of Iran.

For more on that, the British Financial Times reported this week that,

quoting now, marriage appears to be an institution in decline in Iran.

The average age at which people wed is on the rise, similar trends are evident in other countries,

but here in Iran Iran it has triggered concern

among the Islamic Republic's leaders about declining religious observance, the

loss of tradition, and ultimately the threat of a falling population.

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