Last night\u2019s debate was a stark contrast.\u00a0\u00a0Regardless of your side of our political chasm, there are some things that are factually true.\u00a0\u00a0Senator JD Vance was smooth, silky smooth.\u00a0\u00a0His answers were articulate, well thought out, and true or not, sold with conviction.\u00a0\u00a0After watching him last night, I understand why billionaires Peter Thiel and Donald Trump and Trump\u2019s real heirs, Don Junior and Eric, picked Vance as the \u201cheir apparent\u201d to MAGA world.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vance was willing to go to any length to sell his message. He spent minutes convincing Americans to, \u201cnot believe your lying eyes\u201d. He tried to persuade us that as President, Donald Trump saved the Affordable Care Act, Obamacare. It was really only a few years ago, when we sat up late into the night, watching the US Senate determine the fate of the medical insurance plan. Many of us were still awake when Arizona\u2019s John McCain walked into the Senate chamber up to the voting clerk, raised his damaged arm, and voted \u201cthumbs down\u201d to the effort to cancel the plan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And we remember how furious Trump was, once again one-upped by the \u201cMaverick\u201d. In fact, at the behest of Trump, the Republicans in Congress tried to end the Affordable Care Act thirty-nine times. But, in the silky words of Senator Vance, Trump was really trying to save it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the big \u201clie\u201d last night, was about the \u201cBig Lie\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0Vance would have us believe that Trump was sending a mob to the Capitol on January 6th<\/sup>, to \u201cpeacefully protest\u201d (as opposed to \u201cfight like Hell\u201d) to stop the Presidential certification.\u00a0\u00a0We watched that too; as it seemed the very existence of our Constitutional Democracy was in the balance.\u00a0\u00a0But Vance blew it off; after all, Biden was inaugurated on January 20th<\/sup>.\u00a0\u00a0And Vance would not, could not, admit that Biden actually won.\u00a0\u00a0As Governor Walz said, \u201cThat was a damning non-answer\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n There were lots of other lies by Vance, so many, that there was no way to \u201cfact-check\u201d him. The basic theory of debate, with two candidates present their positions, depends on facts and truth. But Vance presented a perverted history that doesn\u2019t stand up to the \u201csmell test\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And what about Governor Walz? No question, he was damn nervous, especially at the beginning. Democrats watching the first ten minutes had \u201cBiden flashbacks\u201d. But the Governor settled down, and, other than an awkward question about what he did thirty-five years ago, he handled questions well. He got \u201cwonky\u201d on issues, something many undecided voters wanted; about agriculture, abortion, housing, and guns. And he was able to call out Vance for de-humanizing migrants, using them as the scapegoat for every ill in America. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Walz was not a \u201ctough debater\u201d. He wasn\u2019t after the \u201cgotcha\u201d moment with Vance. And he wasn\u2019t looking for the tag-line: \u201cYou\u2019re no Jack Kennedy\u201d, or \u201cI\u2019m speaking\u201d. Instead, he was trying to answer the questions and explain his views to the American people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And Vance tried to \u201cout-Walz\u201d, Walz. They had several answers where they turned to each other and said \u201cwe agree\u201d. And to my friends on the left, who wanted Vance\u2019s blood and guts on the floor, that\u2019s disappointing. Walz let Vance seem like a \u201cnormal\u201d politician, a Joe Biden versus Paul Ryan style Vice Presidential debate. The Vance on the stage last night isn\u2019t the same Vance that\u2019s been on the campaign trail, and Walz let him \u201cget away\u201d with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first goal for both was to \u201cdo no harm\u201d. But Democratic core members are disappointed, kind of a \u201c\u2026how dare Walz be nice, and find common ground, with Vance!!!\u201d. We\u2019ve all seen Walz on the stump, and we know he can be a firebrand, COACH WALZ at halftime. So what happened?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The last two elections have been narrowly decided, and this one is going to be as well. If 2016 was decided by 74,744 votes in the swing states, and 2020 decided by 44,000; how narrow will 2024 be? There\u2019s time for Harris and Walz (and the Obamas, and Bidens, and Clintons) to energize the core, but there\u2019s not much time to reach those still undecided. And Walz was reaching for them, presenting a political world of collegiality that, maybe, really doesn\u2019t exist. Walz wasn\u2019t a firebrand; he was a Governor of a state, touting Minnesota\u2019s achievements and applying them to the Nation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The small middle is looking for a \u201creturn to Normalcy\u201d, and Walz presented that last night. And Vance showed us he could sell \u201ciceboxes to Eskimos\u201d (probably not an appropriate phrase anymore). He lied, cleanly, coolly, with a straight and \u201chonest\u201d face. The goal of both debaters was clear: reach those few in the middle who remain straddling the fence. And frankly, both were able to do so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But I don\u2019t think those few will be fooled by the obvious lies of Senator JD Vance, called out by Governor Walz. And, that may make all the difference, five weeks from now when the votes are counted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Stage Fright<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
No Harm<\/h3>\n\n\n\n