Pence and Harris Sidestep Like True Statesmen
It was better than name-calling, but key questions went unanswered.
The vice-presidential debate was a masterclass in evasion.
Photographer: MORRY GASH, ERIC BARADAT/AFP/Getty Images
In a refreshing change from the first presidential debate, Mike Pence and Kamala Harris were merely evasive. The vice-presidential candidates interrupted each other so little and engaged in name-calling so rarely that they appeared positively statesmanlike by comparison.
But there were more questions dodged than answered. Senator Harris had no explanation for why the Biden-Harris website touts the Green New Deal even as Joe Biden says he doesn’t support it. She refused to say whether the Democrats would pack the Supreme Court. Mike Pence had no answer for why the U.S. ranks so high among countries in per-capita deaths from Covid-19. He filled in no details about how the Trump administration would make good on its many promises to protect people with pre-existing conditions if its lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act succeeds.