Well, at least we can rightfully call Wednesday night’s matchup between Sen. Kamala Harris and Vice President Mike Pence a debate — unlike the debacle last week.
The (relatively) civil verbal sparring between Pence and Harris brought back a much-needed sense of normalcy in an election year characterized by the bizarre and unexpected. We were displeased by Pence’s refusal to stop talking after his allotted two minutes were up — on virtually every question — and annoyed by his habit of using the first 1 minute and 30 seconds of the current question to finally answer the last question. Well, as much as Pence “answered” any particular question. Ultimately, though, Harris made sure she got equivalent time and the moderator, Susan Page, was good about giving each candidate equal time. Brava to Harris for her calm but firm orders to Pence to stop interrupting her. According the final CNN analysis, Harris and Pence spent roughly the same amount of time speaking. (There was only a three second difference in favor of Pence.)
Neither candidate seemed capable of giving a straight answer, which, while disappointing, is at least par for the course when it comes to politics. Pence sidestepped almost every question, giving nothing that could qualify as an actual answer. And when he couldn’t avoid the question subtly enough, he threw subtly to the wind and used those moments as an opportunity to attack Harris directly. Pence had the perfect opportunity to discuss Trump’s oft-mentioned-but-never-unveiled health care plan that would replace Obamacare but still protect pre-existing conditions. Page asked him about it point-blank. Instead, Pence ignored the moderator’s question and pivoted to abortion.
Harris generally circled the topics presented by the moderator, sometimes giving something that sounded vaguely like an answer to the posed question. However, more often than not, she used the questions or Pence’s digressions as an excuse to get back to her talking points. We expected obfuscations from Pence — he was, after all, given the arduous task of defending Trump — but we were disappointed that Harris did not give clear, concise responses that answered the questions posed.
As always, we encourage our readers to follow-up on the debate by reading fact checks. Non-partisan FactCheck.org and Politifact.com are two of the best sources. The Associated Press and NPR each have fact checked Wednesday night’s debate as well.
Pence and Harris reminded the American people what a debate can and should look like. There was no shouting, no continuous interruptions, no insults hurled. Pence was a gentleman, acknowledging Harris’ historic nomination and congratulating her, and Harris was a lady, regal and proud and prepared for the verbal sparring match. We hope the men at the top of the ticket — Trump, in particular — will take their cues from their running mates the next time they go head-to-head.
