Author of How to Prep When You’re Broke and Bloom Where You’re Planted online course
If you tuned in to the vice presidential debate hosted by CBS last night, you may have walked away with a different opinion about both candidates than you started with. I know that I certainly did.
Here’s the debate, in case you missed it.
At first glance…
When the debate began, Vance came across as calm and confident. Walz, on the other hand, looked and sounded very nervous. Maybe this is to be expected in a contest of words between a Yale-educated attorney and a high school football coach, but Walz was outmatched, and he knew it.
Despite all this, both men were polite and courteous to one another. This wasn’t the insult-flinging debacle that we’ve become used to in these debates. Neither person directly attacked the other. They were both…dare I say it…nice.
Surprisingly, it started out with the moderators attacking a lie Walz had previously told, that he was present at the Tiananmen Square Massacre. Walz tried to tap dance his way around it by talking about riding his bike as a kid but the moderators didn’t let it go and pressed for an answer. Red-faced, Walz finally admitted simply, “I misspoke.”
Vance was gracious and didn’t bring up Walz’s track record of dishonesty throughout the entire debate. In fact, I felt that Vance clearly set the tone for it when he kindly pointed out the common ground between Walz and himself.
Things took a slight turn, however, the second time the moderators fact-checked Vance. I’ll let you see for yourself, below.
Vance completely took control of the debate from that moment on. This was the last time the moderators attempted to fact-check him, though they finally cut off the microphones when Vance refused to be subdued.
This made the rest of the debate far more enjoyable, and by the end, even the moderators were increasingly civil.
After the circuses of the past 20 years or so, I had forgotten that politics could be like this.
Vance adeptly sidestepped several minefield questions, such as his views on abortion. Walz attempted to sidestep a few questions but was visibly flustered. He also made a huge blunder when he said he’d been friends with several school shooters. (Talk about misspeaking!) Vance’s only clear stumble was when he was asked his thoughts on whether or not Trump had won the 2020 election.
When Vance talked about the biggest threat, censorship, and praised the First Amendment, I was thrilled. I do think taking away our ability to publicly disagree is an enormous threat to the way America is supposed to be.
What is the media saying
Unsurprisingly, much of the state-sponsored media disagrees with my takeaways. Here are some of the headlines you might find today:
CNN Instant Poll: No clear winner in VP debate between Tim Walz and JD Vance
NY Times: ‘He Made Trumpism Sound Polite, Calm and Coherent’: 13 Writers on JD Vance’s Debate Performance
Washington Post: At debate, Vance whines: You weren’t supposed to fact-check me!
MSNBC: ‘The most damning moment’: Vance seals debate loss by botching January 6 answer
The Atlantic: J. D. Vance Tries to Rewrite History
Some of them agreed with me, however, that the debate was civil and that Vance was the victor.
AP News: Vance and Walz keep it civil in a policy-heavy discussion: VP debate takeaways
Slate: The Brutal Tim Walz Tactical Error That Cost Him the Debate
Variety: Tim Walz and JD Vance Hold Civil Debate on Immigration, Economy and Jan. 6
National Review: Vance Dominates Walz in a Shockingly Substantive and Polite Debate
The Wall Street Journal: Vance Makes a Better Case for Trump Than Trump
The Daily Beast: First Flash Polls’ Shock Verdict on Vance-Walz Debate Clash Revealed
Who won the debate? The USA won.
This debate was quite refreshing. Both men were downright affable. Both men pointed out places where they agreed, and that’s something the United States of America needs right now. Vance could have decimated Walz, but he reined himself in, stuck to the facts, and saved his criticism for Kamala Harris.
The friend I was watching with and I both giggled when we could see on Vance’s face the moment Walz had given him the needed ammunition for a rebuttal. “Response loading,” my friend said. We also got a chuckle out of Vance’s habit of looking at the camera dubiously or glancing at us through the camera with a side-eye when Walz’s responses were dishonest or fumbling.
But here’s the thing, and this opinion may not be popular.
I walked away finding both men far more likable than when the debate began. I didn’t think that either of them showed themselves to be horrible people.
While I staunchly disagree with Walz on nearly everything, and he’s repeatedly shown that he doesn’t let the facts get in the way of a good story, I didn’t hate him. He seemed like a nice old man with whom I would never want to talk about politics but would happily chat on the subway about the weather and my favorite produce stand. This isn’t to say that I’d vote for him or that I want him to be a heartbeat away from the presidency, but I didn’t dislike him nearly as much as I expected to dislike him.
While I’ve found Vance to be unpleasantly abrasive and dismissive in the past, his actions at the debate have made me look a little deeper. He wasn’t hateful – in fact, he was kind to Walz, who was clearly out of his depth. He was firm but not rude about the moderators adhering to the agreed-upon rules, and that really set the tone for the entire event from there on out. He, too, was likable. I was also impressed with his intelligence and eloquence.
I felt like the real winner of last night’s debate was the United States of America. We were reminded that politics can be polite and we can agree to disagree.
Did you watch the vice presidential debate?
What did you think of the debate? Did your opinions on the two vice-presidential candidates change at all? What did you take away from the event?
Let’s discuss it in the comments section.
About Daisy
Daisy Luther is a coffee-swigging, adventure-seeking, globe-trotting blogger. She is the founder and publisher of three websites. 1) The Organic Prepper, which is about current events, preparedness, self-reliance, and the pursuit of liberty; 2) The Frugalite, a website with thrifty tips and solutions to help people get a handle on their personal finances without feeling deprived; and 3) PreppersDailyNews.com, an aggregate site where you can find links to all the most important news for those who wish to be prepared. Her work is widely republished across alternative media and she has appeared in many interviews.
Daisy is the best-selling author of 5 traditionally published books, 12 self-published books, and runs a small digital publishing company with PDF guides, printables, and courses at SelfRelianceand Survival.com You can find her on Facebook, Pinterest, Gab, MeWe, Parler, Instagram, and Twitter.
I chose not to sit through the debate. I get physically ill listening to people on the left, or even the main stream news. Not a good choice. Thanks for the update.
Yep, I only watched the first 5 minutes and moved on. Based on how the MSM is, I just didn’t want to watch the “performance”. Better use of my time spent putting up produce.
It was a good debate overall. I agree with your take aways.
I personally don’t want either candidate we have been presented with but found myself actually listening to these two men debate.
So much better than the other debate with Trump and Cackle. JD made Trump look inarticulate and absolutely no comparison with Cackle. A hamster could make her look bad!
One would like to believe the things the Trump team says but I find myself highly doubtful that they will do as they say they will. I can’t even listen to the other platform. Such lies and overt socialism or whatever you want to call it. The underpinings of Karl Marx are everywhere when Cackle tries to speak.
Sigh* overall, good debate last night. Really appreciate how JD handles himself.
I agree completely with you Daisy. I was surprised Walz handled himself as he did (though flustered & shifted a lot looking like he had too much coffee). Vance is a very good speaker. I’ve always said you can get your point across politely, firmly & with respect than by calling names (hate that about Trump, it’s childish). Vance did very well. He called out the moderators when they tried to fact check him & I’m glad he did, bout time.
I went to bed thinking, hmm, I didn’t disagree with Walz on some things except how to pay for all his feel good ideas. We are more alike in this nation than not.
Trump could use some speaking tips from Vance. Kamala could take some pointers from Walz. Who knew?
One of the moderators reminded me of Jane Curtin on SNL News lol. Waltz reminded me of a subdued Don Rickles (I’m showing my age lol). I don’t think the debate moved the needle as early voting has already started and people already know who they’re voting for. Anyway, I expected Vance to bring up the 2020 riots in MN and how Waltz did nothing for his burning city and his wife’s crazy comment how she loved the smell of burning rubber. I thought he would bring up the gender issues and tampons in boys bathrooms. I thought he would bring up Waltz’s wanting to or did allow illegals to get drivers licenses and vote. So much he could’ve brought up to show the world how radical Waltz really is!!! So I’m unhappy a lot was not said.
*Walz (oops)
There are several issues on the line in this election. The first amendment of free speech and to a lesser degree the Constitution. Just recently John Kerry said our first amendment and free speech were threats to them to govern.
If that does not scare the bejeezers out of you, it should.
Women’s rights and I am not talking about abortion either.
Parents rights and the state interfering in parents rights to raise their own children.
That is to just name a few.
But what we also need to look at is past this election and to the next. Trump wins, then Vance is the presumptive 2028 candidate. While we would have to see how he preforms as a VP, his track record both in his personal life and as Senator speaks well for him. I think he would made a good VP and as a president.
That is what we are voting for in this election.
When you ask who won the debate, my best answer is the American people. We were shown what politics should be. Our political system has turned into a circus with flying monkeys and a host of wacky sideshow freaks. The VP debate was, shall I say, normal. I would even call it cozy. It was politicians from different sides affirming that they have common ground. That this is not supposed to be an us VS them situation. It is supposed to be we the people, all the people, coming together to decided who can best serve us for the next 4 years. And after a civil election we all are supposed to work together for the betterment of the country. My prayers to God, are that the American people will remember that we are all one people. That politics are not a dividing factor. That people can have different opinions but still be friends. God bless America.
I didn’t like that the mod tried to force Vance to say thay Biden had won fair and square. There are truckloads of proof that Dems stole the election by many different means, including wheeling in tens of thousands of fake ballots in the middle of the night. Over half the American population knows this. It was never adjudicated. OK, gross injustice has always occurred everywhere. This caused the wreck of our country and immense deprivation and suffering of millions. At a certain point you just have to move on, as Vance has done. We hope that happy days will be here again. But how dare the mod put Vance’s feet in the fire and refuse to release him until he lied and said it did not happen?
I watched it and I was pleasantly surprised, just as you said. It’s so refreshing not to hear people slinging insults at one another.
PS: Vance won, hands down.
The mods were unfair and disruptive. I had read there were noy going to be moderators, just question readers. No “fact checking.” And then they interrupted many times, saying untrue things like every expert in the entire world agrees that human activity is the cause of climate change. And tens of millions of immigrants from the Third World cause no problems at all. You disagree? Well, look, I’m turning off your mike, which means I win.
I liked Tim Walz, much to my surprise. He was at a disadvantage, but was civil, even friendly, and for most of the debate kept it classy. But Vance was a rock star!