LIVE THREAD>>>>Vice Presidential debate..Oct. 4th...9pm ET

[HonestJohn]

I think Centrists were put off by Kaine, and with Hillary's health issues,   he might scare them off a lot more than normally a VP candidate would.

I doubt any centrist saw this debate.  VP debates are snooze-fests and with the Presidential candidates as polarizing as they are, these two look even more 'snooze' inducing in comparison.

[cato potatoe]

I just watched some clips, after listening to the debate on the radio.  Kaine is creepy as hell, and obnoxious to boot.  How did he get elected?  He reminds me of that weirdo from Rhode Island, Sheldon Whitehouse.

This has to be the most unlikable Democratic ticket since ... ever?

[DB]

I just watched some clips, after listening to the debate on the radio.  Kaine is creepy as hell, and obnoxious to boot.  How did he get elected?  He reminds me of that weirdo from Rhode Island, Sheldon Whitehouse.

This has to be the most unlikable Democratic ticket since ... ever?

And virtually any sane Republican could have won in a landslide if not for the primary voters who where determined to burn the GOP to the ground whether the candidate was conservative or otherwise...

[geronl]

Pence acts as if Trump does not insult people and then pretends Trump is pro-life.

I have no respect for the guy.

[Jazzhead]

John Podhoretz  wrote this morning that Kaine "turned in the worst debate performance" since Dan Quayle was squashed by Lloyd Bentsen:

Tim Kaine was no Lloyd Bentsen. This time the Republican guy from Indiana—Mike Pence, Donald Trump’s running mate—crushed the Democrat. Pence never delivered a knockout blow, he just jabbed and parred and ducked and weaved. Kaine kept trying to deliver roundhouses, but almost every time he swung and missed and fell on his posterior as he did it.

He seemed determined to bait Mike Pence, but his constant interruptions and preachy assertions that Pence couldn’t possibly defend his running mate succeeded only in making him look annoying and insubstantial.

Pence’s ju-jitsu was masterful. After Kaine said Trump was running an “insult-driven campaign,” Pence asserted Kaine’s accusation was itself a mark of an “insult-driven campaign” run by Hillary Clinton—and continued to use the line against Kaine throughout the campaign.

From the first minute, Pence found an almost perfect tone—calm, reasonable, fluent, and understated. He responded more in sorrow than in anger when Kaine kept doing whatever he could to interrupt and throw him off his talking points. Like Kaine, he came well-prepared but unlike Kaine, he wore his preparation lightly.

I sure wish that Pence were at the top of the ticket.   

[montanajoe]

John Podhoretz  wrote this morning that Kaine "turned in the worst debate performance" since Dan Quayle was squashed by Lloyd Bentsen:

I sure wish that Pence were at the top of the ticket.

If he were the GOP, instead of Hilliary, would be coasting to victory

[Jazzhead]

If he were the GOP, instead of Hilliary, would be coasting to victory

That's the tragedy of this election year.   The Dems were so vulnerable.  We could have had a GOP Presidency and Congress.  So close -  and the Trumpsters pissed it all away.

Kudos to Pence, though - he did a masterful job of defending the seemingly indefensible,  and IMO put himself out front for the 2020 nomination.   

[jmyrlefuller]

Kudos to Pence, though - he did a masterful job of defending the seemingly indefensible,  and IMO put himself out front for the 2020 nomination.   

He was in an impossible situation all along.

Maybe he becomes frontrunner, but I have total faith in the GOP screwing it up and forcing the wrong candidate upon us again.

[Suppressed]

He was in an impossible situation all along.

Maybe he becomes frontrunner, but I have total faith in the GOP screwing it up and forcing the wrong candidate upon us again.

I fear you are right. The Trumpsters aren't a bright bunch, in general, and I don't foresee them getting a clue before the next time. They will help GOPe disrupt conservatism yet again.

[Suppressed]

Interesting results with more Dems than Pubs...
http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2016/images/10/05/vp.poll.pdf.pdf

[Jazzhead]

I fear you are right. The Trumpsters aren't a bright bunch, in general, and I don't foresee them getting a clue before the next time. They will help GOPe disrupt conservatism yet again.

Maybe I'm optimistic, but I don't think Trump has coattails within the GOP.   His is a cult of personality,  and Trumpism will,  I think, die with his defeat in November.