Vance Wins VP Debate. The Losers? Walz and CBS News

I watched the vice-presidential debate between JD Vance and Tim Walz live. The bottom line is that Vance won and Walz lost.

Vance appeared relaxed and comfortable in the limelight. Obviously, he had engaged in extensive debate preparation that was crammed full of relevant facts. But he presented himself in a dignified way and was able to make his technical points clearly and without jargon. He was a champion of “common sense” instead of reliance on so-called experts. This surely registered with a large part of the audience.

Walz was also well-prepped and well-rehearsed. But he was too rehearsed. His demeanor came across as some combination of an angry professor and a nervous cat on a high wire. He practically ignored Vance at times and kept talking about Trump, Trump, Trump in a highly disparaging way.

His attacks on Trump recycled tired canards. The viewers were likely asking, “Why are you attacking Trump instead of telling us what you would do if elected?”

Walz seemed weak and nervous at key points, especially as the dialogue on climate change wore on. He was animated but in a bad way. He was scowling and yelling at the camera instead of speaking in a calm and composed manner.

His eyes were bugging out and the veins in his neck were bulging, both signs of stress. His face had a mean look even when he was not speaking. His eyes were shifty.

Overall, his performance recalled the Howard Dean speech that ended with a prolonged scream (known ever since as the Dean Scream) on January 19, 2004, which finished Dean’s political career. Walz’s political career may also be about to end after this debate performance.

In contrast, Vance was friendly and composed but also highly disciplined. He looked right at the camera except when he confronted the moderators on some dirty tricks or when he looked right at Walz to make a point. Both moves were highly effective.

Vance countered Walz’s lines about Trump by draping Kamala Harris around his neck. Vance made the point that Harris has been vice president already for almost four years and could have fixed many of the policies that she now claims she wants to fix if elected. Walz lost but he was not the only loser.

The highlight of the evening was when moderators Margaret Brennan and Norah O’Donnell insisted on “fact checking” Vance on climate change and other issues. Vance called out Margaret Brennan for doing this since CBS had agreed they would not engage in real time fact-checking and because they never fact-checked Walz on anything. He then buried her on substance. Total cojones.

Brennan then got so flustered she yelled, “Your mikes are cut!” as they shut down Vance’s microphones. Vance kept talking and she yelled “no one can hear you” but I watched it live and I could hear Vance clearly picked up by Brennan’s own mike. The CBS anchors looked like fools, and Vance came across as the hero.

That moment alone will go down in TV debate history. Vance won and he took down the Democratic VP nominee and corporate media at the same time. Nice job JD.

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