JD Vance hitting the Jim Halpert on Walz… pic.twitter.com/CsUAOF23Hb
— Geiger Capital (@Geiger_Capital) October 2, 2024
I have to admit that it was gratifying for America at large to get a glimpse of what we Minnesotans (at least those of us who acknowledge reality) have known for some time: Walz is major dork. Also, the fact the Minnesota media rarely (if ever) pressed Walz on his questionable background or insane policy proposals played a major role in his being ill-prepared for this debate.
Jim Geraghty at National Review noticed this, too.
(Tuesday) night, Walz’s inexperience with tough races and tough questions showed. Once the Bubble Wrap came off, he was supposed to demonstrate toughness, a steely spine, a righteous anger over Republicans’ outrages, and the strong will of a man who’s ready to be commander in chief. Instead, Walz looked and sounded like he was made of Nerf.
The Minnesota governor looked like a guy who had no expectation of being on a nationally televised debate stage three months ago, and who realized early in the night that the moment was too big for him. His default facial expression is one of worry; he does not have a commanding presence. He looked down to take notes so often, someone on social media asked if he was working on a crossword puzzle.
Typically debates are a pointless exercise simply because each side will declare their candidate won. But Vance so dominated this affair that for any credible Dems to suggest Walz did well would be utterly delusional. In fact, you know Vance prevailed when prominent leftists downplay what occurred.
This spin from the senior advisor to President Barack Obama is Exhibit A:
Here's the thing:
— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) October 2, 2024
VPs don't make policy. Presidents do.
Who talks about the Pence years?!?
While that may be a valid point, the fact of the matter is the current presidential team has consistently been referred to as the Biden-Harris administration for more than 3-1/2 years. The current VP was touted as having a key role in overseeing the southern U.S. border as well as actively decrying voter reform legislation in certain states. I get why progs wanna hide that fact given Kamala Harris's abysmal failure in both areas, but the fact is Veeps are more prominent in this current political climate. Specifically, you have Donald Trump living under the threat of assassination on an almost daily basis, including actually being struck by a bullet in mid-July. Given what the American people witnessed Tuesday evening, Vance likely wouldn't be overwhelmed were he to be elevated to POTUS in the event something happened to Trump.
Like VP Mike Pence in 2020, Vance is much more dignified and coherent messenger for the MAGA movement than Trump himself. As such, if anyone had ever looked back at Vance's previous performances on a debate stage (specifically in 2022 against his Ohio Senate opponent Tim Ryan), Tuesday's performance shouldn't have come as a huge shock. That's why the left's caricatures of Vance were so stupefying. If they underestimated his ability to do what he did to Walz, they clearly weren't engaging in even basic opposition research.
So with there being no more debates (we think?) among the candidates, it's now crunch time. What can we expect over the next five weeks that could possibly sway this election one way or the other? I have no idea, but given what we've endured in just that past few months alone likely means there isn't a whole lot more that can shock us from here on out.
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