October 7, 2020

Let's talk about the VP debate.

1. I don't know if I'll say anything tonight, but here's a place for you to talk. I'll be moderating comments through quickly, at least unless I fall asleep. 

 2. I wish Harris were not wearing false eyelashes. It's causing her to blink a lot, which isn't good for making a connection with the viewer. 

 3. Neither candidate is answering the question asked. Now, Pence is going overtime to get to a question. 

 4. Harris is going big and emotional. 

 5. My son John is live-blogging, here.

6. Harris is more fun to watch than Pence. He’s so earnest and sincere, so steadfast. She’s smirking and reacting, looking surprised, jerking about, seeming pleased to have something to jot down. I wonder if he has a plan to irritate her or if he’s just being his usual, unchanging self. 

7. The fly of racism landed in Pence’s hair. No one is listening. All are staring at the fly, which seems to have become stuck in the silver fibers. Ah! Finally, it flits off. We’re released to return to the substance. 

174 comments:

Joe Smith said...

Apparently the moderator is a woman who is writing a kiss-ass book about Pelosi.

Why do the idiot Republicans agree to this every single time?

Or are there no moderate 'journalists' left?

GingerBeer said...

What's the over/under on the "laugh?"

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Democrat Susan Page as moderator.

How is this fair?

Chennaul said...

Rewatched Trump, and Hillary debate, then Biden and Ryan.

Looking back now I see an easy tell— when they do not have anything they laugh.

Watch—-if Kamala starts laughing— she doesn’t have a good answer.

Unfortunately laughing might work with their base.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

Instant Kamala's gonna get you
Gonna knock you right on your head?


... in your #9 Dreams

Mark said...

What would you do, Commie La?

No answer.

Phil 314 said...

She changed her hair

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

Do we want to start a pool on how long before the phrase "Harris Administration" is uttered?

Mark said...

Commie La gets asked a softball question out of the gate that she does not answer except for some vague "we have a plan."

Pence gets asked a gotcha question and gets cut off.

Browndog said...

Kamala is high again-

gilbar said...

boring! i bailed out, at 8:15 cdt

rehajm said...

Two against one- I'm tapping out already...

Mark said...

That obnoxious nobody woman has tried to shut down Pence EVERY time.

PB said...

I can't listen to Kamala Harris's nasal whine.

Browndog said...

Pence is a good man, but he's monotone bureaucrat, government man.

Spiros Pappas said...

Harris is not good at debates.

Oso Negro said...

I cannot stand the moderator. I anticipate NO DIFFICULT questions for Kamala Harris.

Yancey Ward said...

Harris is sticking to talking points and only talking points. Worse thing is she constantly repeats them. I don't think the woman is capable of a thoughtful answer to anything. She is worse than Joe Biden, and that is a fucking high bar to beat.

Yancey Ward said...

Apparently Page and Harris are really, really close friends. Can you imagine exactly how it is that Page felt comfortable enough to address her as Kamala rather than Senator?

Merny11 said...

She really needs to stop smirking

Merny11 said...

She really needs to stop smirking

Michael K said...

Harris has her smirk, like when she disavowed her attacks on Biden.

Gunner said...

Kamala could fall on her face and Black Twitter would still say she won.

Yancey Ward said...

Page is debating Pence, too, just like Wallace, and cutting him off short. Do they not understand how this plays to the Republicans' advantage- everyone can see the moderators are biased- that doesn't help Harris or Biden- it makes both of them appear really, really weak.

Joe Smith said...

Talking Trump taxes, Harris slips into her Aunt Jemima voice.

"I ain't now ways tahred..."

Big Mike said...

Or are there no moderate 'journalists' left?

@Joe Smith, Hell, there are no real "journalists" of any political stripe left anymore.

Eleanor said...

I drank a half a bottle of a really nice pinot gris before this started, but it wasn't enough to make this palatable. I can't begin to describe how much I dislike this woman. I'll wait for the soundbites tomorrow.

Chennaul said...

Joe has been transparent, but good luck finding out who his economic advisors are, they’ve been sworn to secrecy.

Yancey Ward said...

Apparently Page thinks Trump almost died last weekend and the White House hid this fact from the public. Sheesh- how can that woman be that fucking dumb or dishonest? Let's see her ask Harris about Biden's last cognitive test.

madAsHell said...

I just received a text message from MoveOn.org.

, we must ensure a massive, unquestionable landslide victory that cannot be ignored or undermined.

I'm on the undecided voter list.....because I don't contribute to any group that would have me as a member.

In Groucho We Trust!!

Joe Smith said...

Every question...

"President Trump is an asshole and a fraud, what would you do differently?"

Pence has missed some big openings...

stevew said...

Sheryl Attkisson tweets: Page, moderator, says Trump has given misleading answers about his health and asks: Do voters deserve to know this sort of health info?

Yeah, totes neutral question.

walter said...

Harris deflects from transparency on health to Trump's taxes.

Bill, Republic of Texas said...

I'm out. Pence is worthless. Harris goes on and on about financial transparency and who owns the president. Pence just rattles on about Trump creating jobs.

Pence should have said who owns Biden. His crackhead son got 3.5 million from Ukraine and 1.5 BILLION from China.

Typical GOP squish. Agrees to a liberal moderator. Pulls punches. That party is worthless.

Yancey Ward said...

Like Biden, Harris hasn't answered a single policy question with any detail at all.

Pence is crushing Harris on points- it really is a no contest at this point, and he definitely has rattled her badly. She may start spitting at him soon.

Trump is Trump, but there is a lot say for the approach Pence uses here- understated but deadly.

Mark said...

Biden at least has the excuse of a demented brain when he spews nonsensical falsehoods.

Harris repeating that same BS is intentional deception and fraud.

Joe Smith said...

Every goddamn question: "You're a cocksucker, prove me wrong."

There isn't enough wine...

mockturtle said...

Kamala seems to find everything terribly amusing. Pence is no fighter. I could have debated Harris better than he is doing. But as others have pointed out, so far the moderator is just playing into Harris' hands.

Oh no! Now it's 'climate change'. I suppose no foreign policy questions will be asked. Just like in the Presidential debate!!!

Maybe I'll put the Yankees/Rays game back on. A lot more stimulating.

LA_Bob said...

"boring! i bailed out, at 8:15 cdt"

So did I. For the same reason. Why is there a vice-presidential debate? All they do is talk about the Wonderful Things their "bosses" are going to do.

Irony abounds. Obama rescued opponent Biden from oblivion, and Biden did the same for Harris.

Yancey Ward said...

Pence is using the approach I would have used against Biden were I Trump- quiet jabs to the throat. It would be even more effective against Biden because Biden is even dumber than Harris, and with dementia. You know you got Harris when she starts that godawful laughing and grimaced smile- she wants to strangle Pence right now.

Oso Negro said...

Mindless tropes of the left are being framed as truth in every question. Fuck this. Let's have the Civil War and shoot it out. Sorrow for every home ending in the Socialist States of America or the Restored Republic.

WaitingToBuy said...

The moderators is biased, but Pence is not doing a good job. The Constitution lays out when there must be a transfer of power and Pence doesn't need to talk to any one about it. Why does anyone think the death toll is Trumps fault? I can't watch it anymore. Harris is lying.

Tommy Duncan said...

I turned off the sound and watched. Harris is easy to dislike. Her performance looks rehearsed and perfectly controlled. She has a nasty smirk.

You can see the moderator leaning into the questions for Pence.

Pence appears frustrated but polite.

Mark said...

What???? Harris gets asked a somewhat challenging question about the discrepancy in supporting the "green new deal"??

And of course she ignores it.

WaitingToBuy said...

The moderators is biased, but Pence is not doing a good job. The Constitution lays out when there must be a transfer of power and Pence doesn't need to talk to any one about it. Why does anyone think the death toll is Trumps fault? I can't watch it anymore. Harris is lying.

Yancey Ward said...

This debate demonstrates what happens when you face no challenging questions as a candidate- Harris is completely incapable of standing the fire coming from Pence, and this is with Page stacking the deck hard against Pence. Harris is like the kid whose mom protected him against everything harsh in life- incapable of dealing with adversity. It is why she dropped out before Iowa, and it is why she is getting crushed tonight so thoroughly.

NCMoss said...

I'm drinking some Coppola Winery Cabernet and it pairs well with the debate. Even with two glasses I detect that Kamala is smirking too often which is a bigger negative than Pence's wooden delivery.

Drago said...

Joe Smith: "Apparently the moderator is a woman who is writing a kiss-ass book about Pelosi.

Why do the idiot Republicans agree to this every single time?"

Because the "republicans" who are on the Debate Commission are actually democraticals. Just like all the Michigan-based lifelong "republican" lawyers who praise democrats for how cleanly they run Detroit voting.

cubanbob said...

I see that this already a shit show. Pence needs to stop being a nice guy and callout Harris on lies and bullshit. Since she is on the Senate intelligence committee I find it difficult to believe she didn't know about the virus in January. When she was busy trying to impeach Trump. Anyone can be a Monday morning quarterback and her "solutions" aren't even up to what has already been done. Some old infrastructure BS and class warfare BS. I'm pissed the Pence don't retort that the big winners in Trump's tax bill are the mega wealthy Democrats who are funding the Democrats this. By the way, how does a guy who did not marry money and has been a public official his whole life wind up being worth north of ten million bucks? I can't watch this obvious setup. Why the republicans fall for it time and again I don't know.

Yancey Ward said...

I guess it put Althouse asleep along with Meade.

Kai Akker said...

Joebidin Joebidin Joebidin! What a whirlwind man this guy must be! Joebidin is everywhere and has a plan for every thing.

cubanbob said...

If the moderators were legit, they would ask each candidate the same question.

n.n said...

Or are there no moderate 'journalists' left?

Few people can afford to stand against the racket. No one wants to be... uh, "cancelled".

doctrev said...

Wow, smirking. That'll land her a man. Seriously, do women have any idea what's an absolute boner killer?

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...



"Joe Biden has been a cheerleader for Communist China for decades."

Fact Check: FALSE.

REALITY: Joe Biden has been a highly-paid escort for Communist China.


Mr. Greene

Dan said...

Since her latest surgery, the smirk is baked in. Her resting face is now amused.

Bob said...

It would make my evening to see Pence sign off with, "It was nice debating you tonight, Susan."

Drago said...

Good news! Joe Biden now totally in favor of the xenophobic travel bans that he opposed!

Kathryn51 said...

Yancey Ward said...
Page is debating Pence, too, just like Wallace, and cutting him off short. Do they not understand how this plays to the Republicans' advantage- everyone can see the moderators are biased- that doesn't help Harris or Biden- it makes both of them appear really, really weak.

Do you not understand that Most People Are Not Watching? Folks like me (who loathe Trump, but won't vote for Biden) know very well how this will play in the morning "analysis" - "Harris Ate Pence's Lunch" or something similar. The only potential dig at the moderator will be on Rushbo and probably Fox and Friends. Otherwise - it's win-win for the elite in crowd.

stevew said...

If you are moved, in a positive way, by Harris' animated movements, jerking around, and affected note taking, yet put off by Pence's steady, earnest attention to the question and answers, then you shouldn't be allowed to vote.

Mr. O. Possum said...

Pence has destroyed Harris...Total domination.
Alpha male and two submissive women.

Michael K said...

Blogger Yancey Ward said...Page is debating Pence, too, just like Wallace, and cutting him off short.

Yes, Harris told two lies, one about the cemetery in Europe, and Page cut off Pence's response.

Michael K said...

Pence missed a chance about taxes and also jobs when he could have noted that California is still shut down. Plus the SALT tax that Pelosi has in her wish list.

Mark said...

Pence just kissed the female vote goodbye for the Donald. I wonder what Mother thinks.

November is going to be glorious.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

China censored Pence’s comments on China. Signal returned when Harris began talking again.

sure just another happy coincidence.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Democrxat moderators fact check the R's.

F that

Mr. O. Possum said...

Smirking Harris betrays her shallowness and insincerity.

Spiros Pappas said...

Harris lacks charisma.

Browndog said...

I watched the opening salvo, and that was it. I got my fill of Harris after a couple committee hearings. Not since Barbara Boxer has a woman Senator been so obtuse, rude, arrogant, repulsive, condescending, vicious, clownish, despicable, rotten,...ah.

Oops--failed to mention stupid. Not meant to be an insult, just accurate.

Aint talking 'bout love...her love is rotten to the core-

RIP Eddy.

Fredrick said...

Kamala is going to end cash bail? Kamala then goes on to the fine people hoax.

bagoh20 said...

Can anybody find a question in any of these debate that is something a Republican wants to hear answered. It's all questions based on and marinated in leftist narrative. If I'm wrong, show me. I must have missed it.

Bill Crawford said...

Does Pence meet Ann's standard of boring?

Joe Smith said...

"Pence should have said who owns Biden. His crackhead son got 3.5 million from Ukraine and 1.5 BILLION from China."

Preach, brother...

Where is mother fucking Hunter?????

Bay Area Guy said...

Are questions related to Kammy sucking Mayor Willie Brown's cock to get higher office in San Francisco off limits in the debate?

That's a factual question, by the way.

walter said...

How apt to close with response to an 8th grader..

mockturtle said...

I really liked the way Pence answered the last [student's] question. Government means conflicts. It's never been about political adversaries standing hand in hand singing Kumbaya. But we SHOULD be able to disagree and still be friends. Unfortunately, the Left has found this impossible.

bagoh20 said...

How about we have the questions picked by a poll, and asked by an inanimate screen or recording. Apparently there are no people available who can simply ask unbiased questions without adding in often factually wrong filler.

I want a President and a Vice President who can handle not only a debate, but a debate that is two on one against them. That's the standard offered, I think it's a good test, and I can see who that recommends. We need tough, smart, leaders, who can stand up against real challenges, rather than getting the job because it's their turn.

Joe Smith said...

Watching the wrap-up...Chris Wallace is a bigger cocksucker than Linda Lovelace.

Known Unknown said...

Wisconsin Nice.

Francisco D said...

I wish Harris were not wearing false eyelashes. It's causing her to blink a lot, which isn't good for making a connection with the viewer.

That may be the most surprisingly devastating critique. As we all should know, this is about optics far more than substance.

D. said...

" Folks like me (who loathe Trump"

Why do you "loathe Trump"? Did you "loathe" other presidents? What did Trump do that makes you "loathe" him?

loathe lōᴛʜ►

transitive verb
To dislike (someone or something) greatly; abhor.
To be hateful or loathed; excite nausea, disgust, or abhorrence.
To feel nausea, disgust, or abhorrence.

M Jordan said...

Im only halfway through it (on delay) but Pence is winning imo. He deflected every jab smoothly. He stayed polite but forceful. He never smirked or rolled his eyes in contempt. Harris wasn’t terrible, she fought hard for Joe, but she never landed any body blows.

Gunner said...

THE SNL SKETCH WILL FOCUS ON THE FLY REACTING TO EVERYTHING. That is how predictable they are.

You heard it here first.

Joe Smith said...

Donna 'Boys From Brazil,' going on and on about 'strenth.'

JFC...learn to speak goddamn English!

I hope to God Juan Williams makes mega dollars for being such a court jester.

The Godfather said...

I quit at 10 pm EDT. Both candidates did what they do and said what they had to say. If you're pro-Trump and disappointed that Pence didn't put Harris away, or pro-Biden and disappointed by Harris, you're unrealistic. Ain't gonna happen. The only votes this debate could possibly affect are the votes of people who are worried about what would happen if the elected President dies or is unable to serve. If you like Biden because of his experience and image as a self-declared moderate, but you're on the fence because of his age and health, I don't think the grinning, mugging, over-the-top Harris would relieve your concerns. If you like Trump but wonder if Pence could carry on his revolution if something happened to DJT, I think you'd conclude he'd do his best on the substance of policy, but without the manic drive.

Fubar.N.Wass said...

Pence was midwestern solid.

Harris was west coast flakey.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

"Did anyone else wonder when Harris agreed “it’s a great segue” to the next topic.... how did she know the next topic if it was supposed to be a secret?"


h/t @RyanCleckner

video
https://twitter.com/i/status/1314033574530621440

Rosalyn C. said...

I think Pence's boring tone was what we expect and respect about him. Harris was disrespectful towards him and even smirked with hostility toward him at the end when he graciously glanced in her direction. Sort of funny since the final question was about how we can come together and be civil towards each other. But perhaps her behavior is what her base wanted to see from her.

I was not persuaded by either candidate or their arguments but favored Pence for his genuine goodness.

I wish Trump/Pence had a better plan and solution to the health care issue. That's their biggest weakness and where I think Harris scored her biggest point.

Guildofcannonballs said...

Pence did well, finished better than he started.

Kamala is a lying, power-mad husk of a human.

William said...

I think Pence won the debate. He was good on that last question, and there can't be any question that Harris looked unresponsive on that court packing question....On the deficit side, Pence had a red eye and that fly stuck the landing on his hair. Pence lost on the semiotics....I'd be a lot more comfortable with Pence as President than Harris, but that was my opinion going in....A civil enough debate, but kind of dull. I like the tension and drama inherent when Trump is present on the stage.

320Busdriver said...

Good that Pence prosecuted the court packing point. Smarmy Kamala will not answer, so we know what the answer is.

MayBee said...

I thought it was good. I agree with Bagho that the questions always do come from the left. For example, they always need the GOP to swear an oath to Man Made Global Warming.

In this case, however, I REALLY liked Page asking about what limitations on abortion she would envision if Roe v Wade were turned over. That's an important question.

Readering said...

Perhaps Republican panic will set in over next 2 days when they see no improvement in the polls after this evening. What will be left besides a deus ex machina?

Darrell said...

So flies are how the Democrats are spreading the chinese croup to Republicans. . .

Amadeus 48 said...

So I guess Joe will have to bail out on the next debate. He cannot afford to get trounced by Trump after his VP choice smirked and gurgled her way out of our hearts.

How did Susan Page get picked to moderate this? Bad choice, but it didn’t seem to phase Pence.

LilyBart said...

Harris is still unlikable. She's never figured that out.

gramps said...

If there is anyone in America planning to vote who is undecided I have yet to meet them with one exception. The undecided are not going to vote for Trump or Biden and are deciding who to cast their vote for this time. Many are Bernie supporters who have been abandoned once again by the Democrat Party with Biden. He is already slamming the green new deal, saying he will not ban fracking, and refusing to comment on plan for Supreme Court. He ha thrown Medicare for all overboard. We had 8 years of do nothing Obama and after 4 years of Trump the party gave the nomination to Biden.

Ken B said...

Amadeus 48
They have already started the bail. And Althouse will suddenly decide that that's actually ok.

rcocean said...

Incredibly stupid, left-wing biased questions. why not just ask them a question and have a DEBATE? And the constant interruptions "Your time is up, Mr. VP"

Anyway

(1) Harris & Biden will pack the Supreme Court, I hope people were smart enough to see through their dodge.
(2) Harris came off as scripted and unlikable. She was the same in the Kavanaugh hearings.
(3) If people are stupid enough to elect Biden, she'll be President in 2022. Biden won't last long. Hope all those Biden voters will enjoy her Presidency!
(4) Pence was solid and substantial. Just what you want in Trump's VP. Usually the VP is the "attack Dog" but Trump plays that role. LOL!

Mark said...

"Mark" shows again he doesn't know what he's talking about -- certainly doesn't know anything about women. Although he is pretentious enough to mansplain what they will do.

unknown said...

Your son, who is a decent chap, is so pro-Biden that it’s hard to read his live blogs of these debates. His bias shines through in the way he characterizes the questions and answers and attempts to fact check in real time.

I’d rather just watch the debates myself and read comments on Twitter and Althouse.

traditionalguy said...

Pence is a glib communicator for a nice guy. He won on a TKO despite a referee in the bag for the swamp.

D.D. Driver said...

So Kamala got her way and thought she was safe and secure in her plexiglass fortress. But, she didn't account for the fly. The fly could easily shuttle COVID back and forth around the plexiglass.

How can you not think about the fly?! That was the only lesson in the film, The Fly.

Bob Smith said...

I wanted somebody to liven up the VP debate by asking Homala how Willie was in the sack.

chuck said...

I wish Harris were not wearing false eyelashes.

And that is why I read Althouse. Also for her astute take on tie colors. I never notice such things.

Terry Ott said...

Harris failed the biggest test, which was NOT whether she and her fellow travelers on the far left are detached from reality in several ways and on numerous subjects — because of course we knew that. The real test was: “Can you envision this person sitting in the oval office if and when?” And the answer was “are you kidding me?” I will take someone who’s kind of somber, sincere, even-tempered, mature … even boring … over whatever image Kamala projected, which seemed like flighty and obnoxious and immature. It’s hard to comprehend how Kamala got to be such a prominent politician … but I guess we know something about that even though it wasn’t raised by the gentleman with the white hair and not even hinted at by the not-so-impartial “moderator”, Susan Rice …. err, I meant to say Susan Page … or was it Lisa Page? They all blend in together after a while, y’know.

Qwinn said...

How much video of Trump denouncing white supremacists over and over and over has to be provided before Dems will stop lying that he's never done it or demanding that he do so every freaking day?

Cause even after dozens of supercuts of him saying it all over the internet, Kamala gets to tell that lie again in an official debate and suffers no repercussions or questions about it.

Is there no end to the gaslighting? It doesn't seem like it.

Ann Althouse said...

“ Does Pence meet Ann's standard of boring?”

Yes.

Thanks for remembering I’m for boring.

Drago said...

There is a reason Kamala had to bail before the Iowa caucus.....and that reason came into stark relief tonight.

Not to worry. She and Willie will always have those wonderful evenings in Sacramento.

Qwinn said...

Readering:

Republicans aren't worried about manipulated biased polls. Usually polls get more accurate as the election gets closer so they can preserve some credibility, but we all know at this point that Dems feel if they lose this election, mass numbers of them will go to prison for their real and heavily documented crimes and the party will be wiped out after the convictions. Remember Hillary admitting "we'll hang from nooses" if they don't stop Trump? Therefore, criminal penalties for things like voter fraud or loss of reputation or credibility no longer matter to them. This one is for all the marbles, and no lie or tactic or weapon or poll manipulation is too brazen or vile for the Dems to pass on it. But the desperation is obvious, so obvious that you will lose anyway, and you'll end up in the dustbin of history where you and your vile criminal conspiracy masquerading as a political party belong.

Qwinn said...

Rosalyn:

What's your government plan for bringing down the price of LASIK eye surgery?

Wait, what? The price keeps dropping every year, affordable to nearly anyone now, with better and better outcomes every year. How can that be, when the government isn't involved in it at all? And hardly any insurance covers it?

The only rational plan for health care is obvious, but actually letting the free market work is instantly and widely depicted as monstrous, so, sorry there's no "plan", but that's cause leftists are incapable of perceiving every government "plan" that has come before as the cause of, rather than the solution to, any problem.

Terry Ott said...

I was waiting for this question: “Senator Harris, how is it that you, a woman of color, are on the same ticket as the candidate you looked in the face and called a racist? AND, should the voters wonder how (1) you could NOW be so praising of that same man; and how (2) that man you called out so boldly and personally was willing to diminish HIMSELF by offering the VP slot to you. How does that compute?"

Ken B said...

Pence did a smart thing: he questioned the plexiglas. Then the Democrats argued it was effective and he agreed. This knocks Biden's coming excuse hard.

Qwinn said...

Just to drive the point home about "polling"... new Republican registrations in Pennsylvania since 2016 outnumber Democrat registrations 7-1.

Seven to one.

But the polls show Biden leading in PA by several points.

As a resident of a historically Democrat suburb of Philly, I can tell you that I am seeing Trump signs outnumbering Biden signs by at least 30-1. Seriously.

Your VP candidate literally lied with every single word out of her mouth tonight, and the media plays along and repeats them. Why would we believe their/your ridiculous polls in light of information like that?

Qwinn said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
buwaya said...

This was horrible.

I find it inexplicable (from a purely personal POV) at this point why that LA lawyer fellow married her.

She is a one-date reject.

There is either something badly wrong with that guy or he is being paid, somehow, in cash or favors, a business arrangement. It stands to reason that K.Harris needed a husband of some sort, even in competition with other Democrats, to win statewide offices, and she married him months before her election to State AG.

stephen cooper said...

I was worried that Harris would do the one thing she needed to do - come across as likeable, as the sort of person you can work with and like, or live down the street from and think of as a good neighbor who you wouldn't mind getting to know better.

I figured SOMEONE would have told her that was what she needed to do, and that was ALL she needed to do.

Either nobody told her that, or she didn't listen.

No VP debate has ever swung an election, I think (I could be wrong, I don't really follow this stuff). That being said:

Happy people tonight:
the 50 or 60 people who are not insane, who are Democratic politicians, and who (without being completely unrealistic) want to run for President in 2024.

A year ago, I thought Harris, although wrong on almost every issue, was a good politician. Well, she is still young, as future presidential candidates go, but after tonight ....
it is almost as if she does not care whether people instinctively dislike smirking arrogance.

I could be wrong, but it seems that way.

hombre said...

Pence was very good. The moderator was “moderately” unfair. Harris was marginal only because she lied often and shamelessly.

It would have been out of character for Pence the get shrill and a mistake against a woman. He said much of what needed to be said.

Terry Ott said...

Biden apparently chose Harris (as his likely successor) because of her stellar managerial reputation. Wonder who’s doing his vetting. I recalled this story from November 2019 (Business Insider), but then she’s had a whole year to remake herself. The story:
===============

Sen. Kamala Harris' presidential campaign is in free fall.

"This is my third presidential campaign and I have never seen an organization treat its staff so poorly," Mehlenbacher [the campaign's former state-operations director] wrote in her [resignation] letter, which was published by The New York Times in a lengthy report on her campaign.

According to the report, Harris' campaign aides are divided and in constant competition, in part because Harris maintains two campaign headquarters — one in San Francisco and one in Baltimore. And two top aides, Harris' sister Maya Harris and the political strategist Juan Rodriguez, simultaneously lead the operation. Campaign aides say the candidate has struggled to settle on a message, instead moving from one poll-tested catchphrase to another. And while progressives have regularly attacked Harris on Twitter over her positions on key issues, like healthcare and her record as a prosecutor, she hasn't successfully asserted herself as a moderate alternative.

Rep. Marcia Fudge, the former chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus who has endorsed Harris and regularly advises her, publicly pushed Harris to fire Rodriguez. "I have told her there needs to be a change," Fudge told The Times. "The weakness is at the top. And it's clearly Juan. He needs to take responsibility — that's where the buck stops."

Rodriguez defended the campaign and its decision to lay off staffers earlier this month. "Our team, from the candidate to organizers across the country, are working day in and out to make sure Kamala is the nominee to take on Donald Trump and end the national nightmare that is his presidency," he said in a statement to The Times. "Just like every campaign, we have made tough decisions to have the resources we need to place in Iowa and springboard into the rest of the primary calendar."

Harris raised just $11.6 million in the third quarter of this year — less than half of what some of her rivals raised in the same period. The campaign hasn't been able to afford TV ads or polling for almost two months and has drastically cut back on Facebooks ads, The Times reported. Former Harris aides are expressing concern and criticism of the campaign. Gil Duran, an opinion editor at The Sacramento Bee who used to advise Harris in California, suggested Harris' campaign issues indicate she's not prepared to be president. "You can't run the country if you can't run your campaign," he told The Times.

wishfulthinking said...

So sad that your son cant see the forest from the trees. The first ever presidential candidate who gave gays equal support and recognition under the law was Trump. Yet your son is so brainwashed by the left that he cant see the lies from the left. Shame on you for not teaching him critical thinking.
Go ahead ban this post. That's how you and him become slaves.

gadfly said...

What’s with Mike’s eye?

Based on data so far, doctors believe that 1%-3% of people with COVID-19 will get conjunctivitis, also called pinkeye.

Kirk Parker said...

Bob Smith,

If you really want to see the fur fly, have somebody ask her "What does your current fellow think of your doings with Willie?"

gadfly said...

@Joe Smith said...
Apparently the moderator is a woman who is writing a kiss-ass book about Pelosi.

A potential conflict of interest has arisen in the vice-presidential debate. In late 2018, moderator Susan Page hosted a party in honor of Mike Pence’s protégé Seema Verma, who runs the Medicare and Medicaid programs for the Trump administration. As New York’s Ed Kilgore notes, the controversy centers on “whether a working journalist at Page’s level who has been hobnobbing with Mike Pence’s best-known associate in the Trump administration ought to be moderating his debate with Kamala Harris.”

All night, Pence was allowed to interrupt and to overrun his time limits. For violating the rules, all we heard from the moderator too often was: "Thank you, Mr. Vice President."

effinayright said...

If they ever bring back a new "Game of Thrones" series, Kamala should get the gig to replace the smirking woman that Cirsei Lannister blew up (along with everyone else.)

effinayright said...

Gunner said...
THE SNL SKETCH WILL FOCUS ON THE FLY REACTING TO EVERYTHING. That is how predictable they are.

You heard it here first.
************

I think they will do a Hitchcockian "Psycho" re-take, with Pence imagining all sorts of crazy things as he ignores that fly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYDxxHrlmUg

Greg The Class Traitor said...

Readering said...
Perhaps Republican panic will set in over next 2 days when they see no improvement in the polls after this evening.

We've got a 14 and 12 point Biden lead in two pools

So, when teh polls next week are saying 8 points, are you going to comment on how Trump is roaring back?

Or will you then admit those two polls are garbage?

Greg The Class Traitor said...

Comment on time:

CNN claims that Pence spoke for 3 seconds more than Harris.

Now, add up all teh times teh moderator interrupted Pence, compared to the number of times she interrupted Harris. They both spoke for 36 minutes and ~40 seconds, according to CNN.

If her interruptions had been legit, Pen would have had 3 -4 minutes MORE than Harris.

There's your objective test that the "moderator" was a dishonest hack

effinayright said...

Readering said...
Perhaps Republican panic will set in over next 2 days when they see no improvement in the polls after this evening. What will be left besides a deus ex machina?
**********

Wanna 'splain to us why Puerto Rico's governor just endorsed Trump?

wishfulthinking said...

Everything white western women have and have accomplished has come to them through the kindness of white western men. No other culture in the history of humanity has given females as much power and ability to move up as western civilization. And yet here we are with western women biting the hand that feeds them. I'll have to enjoy the rapes and murders of white women for they will have brought it on themsselves.

PhysicistDave said...

Kathryn51 wrote:
>"Folks like me (who loathe Trump, but won't vote for Biden) know very well how this will play in the morning "analysis" - "Harris Ate Pence's Lunch" or something similar. The only potential dig at the moderator will be on Rushbo and probably Fox and Friends. Otherwise - it's win-win for the elite in crowd."

Kathryn, I voted for "Tricky Dick" Nixon over McGovern, even though I thought Nixon was a fascist (not to mention a crook), because I knew McGovern was an idiot who would wreck the country (look at his "DemoGrant" plan, especially the numbers).

I was quite pleased when Nixon was forced from office. (Yes, Gerald Ford was an idiot, but he was basically a temporary placeholder.)

Is the Donald a seriously flawed human being? Yeah, a loudmouth, a blowhard, and a clown, who has been in incredible jerk in how he treated his wives.

Has Trump been as bad for the country as Richard Nixon? No. And the contemporary Dem opposition truly hate the American people.

I think "loathsome" fits Tricky Dick better than the Donald. I'm willing to vote for Trump as the only way to vote for the hard-working, decent, productive members of our society, while knowing that Trump is a very imperfect representative.

Readering said...

Ok

mikee said...

I had a serious argument with my wife tonight that started about an hour into the debate. She had asked about a thousand times by then, "What is Harris talking about? Where is she getting this crap she's spewing?"

I finally replied that Harris just made stuff up, and lied, and repeated long-debunked smears. My wife got angry at me, because she thought I was being condescending. No, really. I'm in big trouble now, and expect no respite when the sun rises. All I can hope for is a Trump blowout win so big nobody ever mentions Kamala Harris publicly again.

Crazy World said...

Brown dog nailed it, I think 9:20 awesomeness

eric said...

I feel sorry for Kamala. She had to debate a man. Why is that fair?

While it's true that women are equal to men, women aren't equal to men so it's so unfair that a man can't to speak while Kamala was there.

And sometimes, when he spoke, it was in a debate fashion against Kamala. How dare he! How can, in 2020, a man, MANSPLAIN to a woman?!

Poor Kamala. They put her totally equal female self up against a man, where she wasn't up to the task.

Shame on them for doing that to her.

DeepRunner said...

While "going to the candidates debate," Ann Althouse said:
"4. Harris is going big and emotional."

We'd like to help you learn to help yourself, Professor. Of course Mistress Kamala would go emotional. How else can she get through to the low-information Latte Ladies? Grifters always appeal to the emotions, it's about lions and tigers and bears, oh my! It's like a preacher, who, without much to add in his sermon, raises his voice to excite the faithful while adding nothing of substance.

Ethos, Logos, and Pathos...of these three, those with nothing to say and even less to offer use Pathos as the treatment, rather than as the sealant. Mistress Kamala is as real as those fake eyelashes.

rehajm said...

Democracy needs the ability to be critical of its leaders, of the executive. Kamala is being defended with mansplaining and she-had-to-pull-punches-because-she's-woman-black-indian memes.

She's not qualified.

rhhardin said...

From the headlines this morning my conclusion is that Pence has really dull zingers.

Rusty said...

Can John Answer this?
What is so compelling about Biden that you would vote for him?
I see a worn out, demented old man who has wasted his life on grifting the American public. What can he and Harris possibly offer the American people?
Genuinely curious.

wendybar said...

Rush Limbaugh should moderate the next Trump/Biden debate. It's only fair since we ALWAYS get stuck with biased Democrats who actually suck at doing their job and their bias is stunning.

wendybar said...

If you like Shit hole cities, vote for Harris. San Francisco isn't a good walking city anymore, unless you want human poop on your shoes.

Kai Akker said...

---it is almost as if she does not care whether people instinctively dislike smirking arrogance. [s coop]

Harris has been that way her whole life, I would bet, AND it has helped her get to where she is. She implies she is smarter, wiser, and way ahead of the "others," including you, her listener; she knows the secrets and you do not. Many people, especially low-information Democrats, are susceptible to that kind of manipulation.

She also has the nasty edge, the streetfighting blade, that is meant to tell you she will cut you up if you displease her and she will be happy doing it.

It's all 100% bluff because she knows she really has next to nothing.

buwaya said...

Its not Biden and Harris. In most cases you are really electing a faction, not an individual. Most Presidents do not have the talent and strength of character to be effective as an individual. You are actually electing a faction, with a mass of relationships with other factions. The individual you elect is only marginally the source of an independent will. Mostly he is just the individual face on a collective, a committee, consisting both of people with official positiins, and many without.

I recall that when George Bush came in he was hailed as having his government fully in order long before the election. That meant his clique was well organized by his faction of the Republicans.

Biden and Harris are a particularly weak "face" for such a collective. They will not rule at all.

And then there are the very rare cases like Trump, or perhaps he is unique, in not having had much of a collective at all behind him. In his case, the "face" actually does rule, with a weak committee.

JAORE said...

I just read the CNN "fact check" list. They totally ignored the "good people on both sides" lie....

THIS is CNN.

Birkel said...

gadfly, the dumbest Althouse commenter, thinks Pence took too much time.

Yet if you time the responses Pence took three more SECONDS over the hour and a half.

gadfly's statement against interest admits that with equal time Pence still dominated Harris.

And ask yourself this: Why did Pence have to fight the moderator just to achieve a parity of time to speak?

I enjoy our dumbest commenter because Xe cannot even understand itself.

Temujin said...

My God- Browndog did nail it.

Barbara Boxer- that's who Kamala reminds me of. Same empty headed platitudes, wrapped up in a smug smile and knowing nod. She's not very smart though she has the degrees and had the job positions of someone who you would expect to be smart. She is an empty suit who was put in place by the party leaders. Even the Dems hated her when it was objective voting time in the Dem primaries. No Dems even voted for her. Now they serve her up on a platter for us to swallow?

No one likes Kamala except Kamala. And maybe her husband. Maybe. He could just be along for the ride, wanting to be First Husband as much as she wants to be Dame Lady President Kamala.

jim said...

What can he and Harris possibly offer the American people? Sanity.

jim said...

I think people just saw what they were predisposed to see. I liked Harris and thought Pence was a robot repeating familiar phrases.

I suspect that Harris was trying to appeal to the few undecided voters, to come off as a pragmatic moderate. I wish her well in that. ON the smirking at Pence's entirely predictable answers and wooden delivery: I was too.

Pence appealed only to the Trump base, which, I'm glad to say, seems to be shrinking. I think people are starting to see through Trump and the republicans like Pence who sold out to him.

TJM said...


"Voters found Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris to be "abrasive and condescending" at various points throughout Wednesday's debate with Vice President Mike Pence, pollster Frank Luntz told the Fox News reaction panel"

I guess the Dems overlooked that this "exciting" candidate finished 4th in the presidential primary in California. LOL

M Jordan said...

Woke up this morning and rethought the debate. I still think Pence won but the criteria is complicated. A debate judge would give him the win. He scored more points, more touches. The media will likely non-admit he won by talking about the fly and the eye (Pence’s supposed pink eye). Pusillanimous Republicans will claim a big victory because he was so unTrumpy.

But Harris looked good, wasn’t rattled for the most part, scored a few minor hits, and didn’t seem cowed. Her facial affectations were off-putting to me but not to her supporters. They liked it.

The problem for Pence is it wasn’t memorable. Trump’s was. Everyone who still thinks Trump lost his debate due to his boorish behavior is wrong. Trump debated viscerally, archetypeally, at the Id level. Within the next couple weeks the polls will close and Pence’s performance will be credited and that will be mostly wrong as well. They will close because 1) the election nears and pollsters must move towards the actual result, 2) the negative numbers post-Trump’s debates were a media-induced response which will fade and 3) the nerve Trump touched deep in the American soul will have transmitted its energy to the cognitive brain.

I give Pence an A but Trump an A+. Harris gets a B from me, Biden a D. Since I know nobody’s read this far let me also say bla bla bla.

Thank you.

Rusty said...

jim said...
"What can he and Harris possibly offer the American people? Sanity."
You say that and offer absolutely no evidence to back it up.
What, in your opinion, is sanity in the political arena? I assume that's what you meant.

phwest said...

Local Philly sports talk radio twitter poll this morning - who won the VP debate -

Pence - high 30s
The Fly - low 30s
Harris - high 20s

To be honest, I'm surprised the fly isn't polling better.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Gadfly likes to cover for his vile corrupt party - the democratics

Gadfly down with Hunter Biden's stripper fucking at tax payer expense - to the tune of millions.

Birkel said...

The polls are precisely where they were in 2016.
Both Trump and Pence "lost" all four debates in 2016.
All the "experts" said so.

Trump won three states that mattered.
This year he will win those plus Nevada, New Mexico, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Maine.
The board has expanded to favor Trump.

And Michigan will have a Republican senator, to boot.
Alabama days good bye to Jones by ~30 points.

Good times.

wendybar said...

jim said...
"What can he and Harris possibly offer the American people? Sanity."

So rioting and violence are sanity to you??

steve uhr said...

She could have scored more points and the moderator should have insisted on answers to her generally good questions. Btw pence is an asshole. No wonder the fly was attracted to him.

Michael K said...

Blogger jim said...
I think people just saw what they were predisposed to see.


We all knew what you would see.

Michael K said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Michael K said...

And then there are the very rare cases like Trump, or perhaps he is unique, in not having had much of a collective at all behind him. In his case, the "face" actually does rule, with a weak committee.



Which is why he is so hated by the establishment of both sides.

jim said...

Actually, I meant personal sanity. Trump is a maniac.

jim said...

My evidence is in plain sight, just open your eyes.

Drago said...

jim: "My evidence is in plain sight, just open your eyes."

LOL

Democrats stated plans for the first 100 days of a democrat controlled government:

Get rid of the 60 vote Senate filibuster rule
Pack the courts at all levels with leftist judges by expanding number of slots in the SC and Circuit Courts
Admit DC and PR and probably Guam as states
The dems are also speaking about breaking CA up to give them more Senators
Immediate citizenship for all illegals in the US and flood the US with more illegals via open borders while guaranteeing free stuff to any who can get here

That's just what they'll do in the first 100 days

And that's the end of the republic.

Drago said...

phwest: "Local Philly sports talk radio twitter poll this morning - who won the VP debate -

Pence - high 30s
The Fly - low 30s
Harris - high 20s

To be honest, I'm surprised the fly isn't polling better."

Actually, the plexiglass polls better than Harris.

There is a reason obama's handpicked candidate for the dem primaries had to bail out before Iowa.

Drago said...

jim in 2020: "My evidence is in plain sight, just open your eyes."

jim and all lefties from 2017-2020 on russia collusion: My evidence is in plain sight, just open your eyes.

jim and all lefties in 2018 on Kavanaugh being a rape gang leader: My evidence is in plain sight, just open your eyes.

Yeah, we've "seen" all this lefty "evidence" before, haven't we?

buwaya said...

Trump came in without a real committee or faction.
He had few friends in the systems of power.

This comes with the territory of being a revolutionary, pledging the overthrow of the system ("draining the swamp"). Its not easy to be a revolutionary from within.

That has hindered him badly, in the normal course of governing.

Francisco D said...

M Jordan said... Woke up this morning and rethought the debate. I still think Pence won but the criteria is complicated. A debate judge would give him the win. He scored more points, more touches.

I am old enough to remember the Kennedy-Nixon debates. (I was 7). Nixon easily won on points but Kennedy won on appearance.

If you watch Kamala operate, is this someone you would even want to have a conversion with? Pence is boring, but Kamala comes across as smug, arrogant and condescending. She is worse than Hillary, but in a different way.

On that basis, Kamala lost the debate. That is why both Harris and Biden are hiding. The more people see of them, the less they like.

Basically Trump is running against the DNC Media not Biden and Harris.

Drago said...

Orthodox Jews in NYC are dancing in the streets while waving Trump flags...

...because Trump is anti-semitic and literally Hitler...according to all the lefties/LLR-lefties who believe the evidence is in plain sight....

gadfly said...

I wish Harris were not wearing false eyelashes. It's causing her to blink a lot, which isn't good for making a connection with the viewer.

It occurs to me that the problem could be the bright lights required for the broadcast.

It also occurs to me that that Trump's orange make-up is a far more serious problem because someone applied it, not because it was necessary, but because Donald's vanity surpasses all dangers to others.

Rusty said...

jim said...
"Actually, I meant personal sanity. Trump is a maniac." In what way?
How has the Trump administration effected you personally?

Bilwick said...

"What can he and Harris possibly offer the American people? Sanity."

If statism were sanity. History and economics indicate otherwise.

tim d said...

I can't believe this cleared the interestingness bar.

Readering said...

And now oppoetunity for imminent turnaround recedes further as Trump campaign agrees to move next debate back to date of last debate in order to keep it in person, not remote. I guess because realizes harder to cut mike in person. But early voting makes this a bad decision. Another bad decision.

Doug said...

You should link to a more balanced livevblogger than that nitwit, your son was he listening, or did he just make his shit up?

Drago said...

The Most Inga-like Poster at Althouse, Readering: "And now oppoetunity for imminent turnaround recedes further...."

LOL

Meanwhile, in the real world, states where the Harris-Biden campaign should have it in the bag if even 5% of the "polls" (wink wink) were correct seem to be requiring many more visits by the Harris-Biden team and their surrogates than you wouldthink necessary: PA, Nevada, MN, etc

Apparently in addition to being an historical ignoramus, readering also lacks the ability to even notice where campaigns are pouring resources.

And all that, mind you, just one week after the Harris-Biden campaign announced they were radically altering their campaign strategy by hastily and haphazardly launching a Ground Campaign, something they had claimed for months wasnt even necessary AND by suddenly imploring their base to actually go and vote at the polls after spending months saying mail in alone was just fine!

Oh yeah, its really "slipping away" from Trump alright....

Heh.

Rusty said...

Still waiting on Jim.