Osler's Razor

I managed to watch or listen to this debate which is more than can be said for the first round a few weeks ago. I was talking back at VP Pence and my husband, at the other end of the house, thought I was having an animated phone conversation.

I missed the fly incident but the memes are priceless.

Harris had to walk a tightrope and did so really well. Not only did she control her prosecutorial voice but she even managed to keep her facial expressions under control. She spoke with confidence. She stood up for herself and VP Biden platform without coming across as a "bitchy", emotional/hormonal female. I was happy to learn post debate that Pete Buttigieg was one of her primary coaches and debate prep partners.

I am proud that I have cast my vote for the Biden/Harris ticket.
 

1. One big take-away, it remains true that how one views politics is mostly determined by where you stand. I can tell you that Pence's performance heartened and energized conservatives in a way that will serve as a shot in the arm (not sure that is true of Harris--but for reasons that are totally understandable: like they are faring much better down the stretch than the Trump-Pence team; they were not desperate for a glimmer).

2. Pence was polite, calm, and authoritative. I have a lot of sympathy for persons who require more than two minutes to fully flush out even a succinct point on a major issue. Debating a woman with a woman moderator is a high-wire act--as you point out. We retain a cultural distaste for men who do not treat women with respect (partly from a new collective consciousness and partly from our old collective consciousness). For example, you and I would likely interrupt the Hell out of each other in an oral discussion of almost any issue and likely not even notice. But, speaking to the natural dilemma you name, I gave Pence fairly high marks for negotiating the delicacies of conversing and disagreeing without being disagreeable.

3. The Fly. It occurred to me this morning that even without a carnival barker in the center ring the intense pressure for unseriousness seems to swamp all other concerns and we automatically land on circus no matter what we do. Having said that, the symbolism of a fly drawn to the festering corpse of a presidential campaign is too rich to resist.
 

I thought that Pence was not following the rules and was rude to the moderator by ignoring the moderator's efforts to keep him within the rules. A total boor. If all you heard was the moderator, I think you would find him boorish as well.

 

I stopped watching after Pence said, "We (the Trump administration) follow the science."

Never was a bigger lie ever told.
 

AWF - I wanted to hear VP Pence's responses but each time their was a new question he changed the topic and would say "let me address that last question..." which he didn't answer when initially asked and still didn't really answer. He changed the topic to meet his agenda and the narrative he wanted and not that of the moderator. If I was a voter on the fence, which I am not, I would have been very frustrated. Answering the initial question asked was not about verbal sparring. They were both suppose to answer the question and then the rebuttal time.

I really wish Susan Page had a mic switch because I really got tired of her having to waste time trying to politely get him to stop talking. He and his team agreed to the rules.