The VP Debate: walz rose, vance struggled

      It was, in contrast to any debate Donald Trump ever attended, a civil, even staid, discussion of issues.

      And it helped that the CBS moderators Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan ran a very tight ship—and that there was no studio audience to pollute things with partisan noise.

      In the end, Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz had a much stronger deck from which to deal: his forceful defense of abortion rights, a Democratic economic policy that does not favor only the rich, immigration policies that are humane and fair, and an environmental agenda that backs both alternative fuels and energy independence, made a compelling case—to me, anyway—that Walz and Kamala Harris have earned the right to lead America for the next four years.

      By contrast, Sen. J.D. Vance, Trump’s mini-me running mate—he of “childless cat lady” and “I just make stuff up” fame—was saddled with defending Trump’s deranged statements and ultra-rightwing agenda on everything from abortion, to immigration—to, of course, the traitorous Jan. 6 insurrection that Trump so blatantly fomented.

      On all but the latter, Vance was slick and smooth. He didn’t shout, like his running mate always does, and in so doing he laid the groundwork for setting his own path as a future Republican heavyweight should Trump go down in flames next month.

      In fact, I could not help but see in the debate glimmerings of what I used to love about watching congressional floor debates in the era before politics became a cage match. On the issue of gun control, for example, I could almost imagine each man debating the other on the Senate or House floor, finally reaching a middle ground out of mutual respect. That was worth the price of admission.

      Still, the night was Walz’s. He presented himself as a genuine, warm, intelligent man—who could not abide that the man he faced had willingly sided with Donald Trump’s outrageous attempt to overthrow the results of the free and fair 2020 election, the worst threat to American democracy since the Civil War.

      Vance, who had been slick all night, degenerated into blather and bullshit about Democratic “censorship” of opposing views, rather than admit that his running mate had willingly committed treason on that dismal day in January. (Kudos to the moderators for saving that question for last.)

      Will this debate sway this apparently tight election? Not sure, but Tim Walz was a mensch during this evening; J.D. Vance merely a hungry politician willing to say anything.