Pence hits back, stops the bleeding in dominant debate performance against Kamala Harris

Vice President Mike Pence showed his boss and his opponent how to debate and talk to the American people in a performance that Republicans badly needed to stop the bleeding.

Pence not only stopped the bleeding, he dominated the debate against Democratic nominee Kamala Harris — turning the coronavirus crisis against the Democrats.

Asked if he had an agreement with Trump about “safeguards” in case of a presidential disability, Pence went back to the coronavirus instead to deliver one of the best lines of the night.

“Senator, I just ask you, stop playing politics with people’s lives,” Pence said as Harris shook her head. “Your continued undermining of confidence in a vaccine is just unacceptable.”

It was a moment that underscored Pence’s experience in debates, even though the issue — COVID-19 — was a gift to Democrats.

And he had a tough job — debating the first woman of color to be a vice presidential nominee. He had to stay aggressive while not looking like he was bullying.

“Senator Harris, it’s a privilege to be on the stage with you,” Pence said near the beginning of the debate.

Harris had her moments too Wednesday, but her constant smiling and smirking didn’t work. Asked what the Biden administration would do to combat coronavirus, Harris instead turned it back to the Trump administration.

“The American people have witnessed what is the greatest failure of any presidential administration in the history of our country,” Harris said. “They knew and they covered it up.”

One of the big questions was whether the debate would devolve into an insult-fest like the first presidential debate.

“Mr. Vice President, I’m speaking, I’m speaking,” Harris said when Pence tried to interrupt her.

Pence even got to get a dig in at Biden’s history of plagiarism — when asked a question about a plan to combat coronavirus.

“When I look at their plan … it looks a little bit like plagiarism which is something Joe Biden knows a little bit about,” Pence said.

Asked by moderator Susan Page of USA Today about a “Superspreader event” at the Rose Garden, Pence said many people were tested.

Harris, asked if she would take a vaccine if it became available, responded: “If the public health professionals … if the doctors tell us that we should take it, I’ll be the first in line to take it absolutely. But if Donald Trump tells us that we should take it, I’m not taking it.”

The Biden campaign demanded extra precautions before the debate — a 12-foot buffer with plexiglass — perhaps to remind the TV audience at home of the coronavirus crisis.

Vice presidential debates can often be forgettable and inconsequential — remember the Pence-Tim Kaine faceoff four years ago? Yeah, no one else does either.

But this one between Harris and Pence may have higher stakes because of the advanced age of Biden and Trump.

Voters may be more focused this year on the two veep nominees, especially with Trump contracting COVID-19 and Biden often looking frail on the campaign trail.

The mainstream media have also been glowingly kind to Harris, despite the fact that she has a long record in law enforcement and then in the U.S. Senate, where she has voted along with the left wing of the party.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3iFalhk