Pence calm, cool, collected; Kaine like a yelping little dog (and this has nothing to do with who was right or wrong); Pence for President?

Oops, I’m afraid the leftist commentators on PBS did not watch the same debate as I just did. They seem to think Tim Kaine did well. No doubt in my mind, irrespective of Trump and the reality of what an ignorant and dangerous person he is, and irrespective of facts I cannot immediately check (but I keep informed), Mike Pence bowled over Kaine. That’s the debate I saw.

Now they just acknowledge that maybe Pence won on style.

Pence did win the debate, period, I think. He is a smooth salesman and is more handsome than Kaine and in this world that always helps.

Trump’s campaign manager was quoted as saying Pence hit it out of the park. I would agree. If I came into all this knowing nothing, I’d almost want to vote the Republican ticket. Because the people who know nothing vote Republican? I realized what I just wrote in the sentence before last so had to add the last.

But seriously, why isn’t Pence at the top of the ticket? This question I think is already seriously being asked or it will be now. And I know nothing about him.

I was not impressed with Kaine at all. I also know nothing about him either, though. I’m just reacting to this one debate.

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I just wrote the above as soon as the debate concluded and while the PBS pundits were just beginning their analysis.

You see, Kaine came in prepared with attack lines and then went after Pence like a pesky little dog nipping at his heels. Pence stayed calm and cool and collected and to me seemed to easily deflect. One commentator said Pence was on the defensive. Maybe so, but a good defense can win a game (and that is as far as I can go with the sport analogy stuff).

Yup, no doubt about it, the Republican establishment must be kicking itself asking — where was this Pence guy when we needed him?

One more thing: Pence cheated and cleverly so on one question: They both were asked where their faith came into conflict with their actions in government. While Kaine took the Michael Dukakis route (trying to be painfully honest) and said even though his faith was against the death penalty as governor he had to enforce the law of his state, Pence sidestepped conflict. He just said he was pro-life and, well, he was pro-life (no conflict, such as I am pro-life but I have to uphold the law of the land).

O.K., I meant Dukakis was given the unfair and nearly impossible to answer correctly question of if his wife were attacked and murdered or whatever would he call for the death penalty even though he was against capital punishment. He fell for the trap and said he would not and so and came off as heartless. 

Oh, and in fact the pro-life thing did come up here, with Kaine saying even though he was anti-abortion he did not think government should decide for women, While Pence simply said he was pro-life.

So regardless of what I might think of the issues and all the background, Pence I thought had the more commanding performance and Kaine came off as a yelping little dog. And if you did not watch, you will hear about all the interrupting Kaine did (Pence did some of his own too, but I think Kaine more).

It will be interesting to see how this is reported as to win or loss the next day and after or what the poll and social media reaction is.

And I can’t stop. Why is not Pence running at the top?

It is because it has been decided celebrity and shock power is what was needed, at least on the Republican side. No one ever heard of Pence, so he probably would not have been able to win enough primaries.

And Trump’s defense for saying shocking things is that unless he did no one would listen. While I don’t buy that as an excuse for all the terrible and ignorant things he has said, I have noted in my own small world that unless you make a fuss no one listens — like trying to get a table or service at a restaurant sometimes.