Abortion, Health Law, Entitlement Spending May Be Among Topics Of GOP Debate

USA Today: GOP 2016 Hopefuls Gather For First Debate
The stage is set, the players are assembling, and the plot focuses on a character who has never been in this kind of show before. Donald Trump is at the center of Thursday's Republican debate in Cleveland, while more experienced rivals try to figure out how to deal with the novice candidate who sits atop most GOP polls. ... Republicans may also be quizzed about how they plan to repeal and replace President Obama's health care plan, how they would change the battle against the Islamic State, and how they could end federal funding for Planned Parenthood. (Jackson, 8/6)

The Washington Post: The Top 10 Issues You’ll Likely Hear About In Thursday’s Debate
With abortion, guns and the Iran nuclear deal dominating the national news cycle, Republican presidential candidates definitely won't run out of things to talk about in Thursday's debate. ... A little-known anti-abortion-rights activist group released several videos over the course of the last few weeks showing Planned Parenthood officials talking casually about the procurement of organs from aborted fetuses. Planned Parenthood officials denied doing anything wrong -- the implication is the organs were being sold -- but apologized for their tone. ... Americans have been able to buy health insurance on state- and federally run private exchanges since October 2013, when the hallmark piece of the president's Obama's 2010 health-care law, known as Obamacare or the Affordable Care Act, went into effect. Meanwhile, the GOP-controlled House of Representatives has voted at least 50 times to defund or repeal the law and parts of it. (Phillips, 8/6)

The Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire: Pushing Policy In The Age Of The Donald
It’s always hard to get candidates to address important but unglamorous issues like the federal debt, but it is particularly tough heading into Thursday’s Cleveland GOP debate where all eyes are turning the theatrical, combative real estate magnate at center stage. Fix the Debt, an anti-deficit budget group, is giving it the old college try. ... The group is warning about the dangers of the $18 trillion national debt because it is still growing even though the short-term federal deficit has declined. They are trying to raise political awareness in the presidential campaign because Congress seems to have lost interest in curbing the long-term growth of government entitlement programs such as Medicare and Social Security. (Hook, 8/5)

The Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire: Bush, Clinton Spar Over Planned Parenthood
Funding for Planned Parenthood Federation of America is emerging as a polarizing subject in the presidential election after Republican candidate Jeb Bush was slammed by Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton for comments he made about funding women’s health. Mr. Bush, a former Florida governor, spoke Tuesday at the Southern Baptist Convention following the release of a fifth undercover video on Planned Parenthood providing fetal tissue for medical research. He said, “I’m not sure we need a half a billion dollars for women’s health.” He later said he misspoke, and was referring to the roughly $528 million the organization received last year in government funds. The bulk of that came from federal money, including Medicaid and a family planning program. (Armour, 8///5)

Politico: GOPers Frustrated By Jeb Bush Gaffe
Democratic critics of Jeb Bush’s ad-lib Tuesday about cutting women’s health spending were joined by conservatives, who are annoyed that the inartful statement may undermine their efforts to finally score a win against Planned Parenthood. Despite his swift damage control efforts, Bush’s casual aside Tuesday afternoon that “I’m not sure we need a half a billion dollars for women’s health programs” threw the Democratic attack machine into overdrive. (Stokols, 8/5)