THE VICE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE OF 2020

These things are always more about style than substance anyway. Two minute soundbites do little to delve into complex issues for either side of the argument. Because Trump has always been all surface and no substance, Pence naturally benefits in this way from avoiding accountability for his disastrous administration in a platform that substitutes platitudes and jingoism for actual for nonexistent plans and policies. That said, because they are behind, Pence was the one under the most pressure to do more than throw out his usual boring bromides. Pence failed. He failed to please anyone except those like you that Trump already has firmly in thrall.

My initial reaction therefore was that this won’t move the peg either way. Pence is better at this format than Harris is, but Harris didn’t hurt herself or her candidate either. Then I talked to my daughter. She was hesitant about Harris during the primary, but she said she fell in love with her during this debate. She said she felt enormous pride that a woman, and a woman of color at that, was not patronized for her sex, but instead was respected for being to formidable, if it was noted at all.

Despite all his Jim Crow era “LAW AND ORDER” race baiting to try to turn the tide, Trump has lost the suburban white woman voters that he barely won in 2016 by double digit numbers right now. The White Identity grievance politics of Trumpism just ain’t working and perhaps this debate showed that failure more than I initially realized. Enthusiasm, especially during a Pandemic is key so it would be stupid to get lazy, but right now I’m cautiously optimistic that we are about to show the door to the worst, most racist, most indecent, most divisive president President in the history of our country, along with many of Trump’s enablers in Congress. Then perhaps sanity and competency can return to a chastened GOP. Hope the nation survives long enough for that to happen.

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