The recent vice-presidential debate on CBS between democratic Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and republican Ohio Senator JD Vance was revealing. The debate between these candidates was moderated by CBS news anchors Norah O'Donnell and Margaret Brennan. It was an insight into the character of these candidates, but also a reflection of the abilities of the presidential candidates themselves in their choices of running mates. If a VP candidate did well, then his selector would get credit for making a good choice. The reverse would apply if he did poorly.
Almost all pundits agreed that JD Vance won the debate. The principal exception was far left MSNBC co-host Rachel Maddow. She said that although JD Vance appeared more polished and "very slick," Walz beat him on "all substantive points." That apart, all others agreed that JD had better control of the facts. Body language experts said that JD appeared at ease, whereas Walz was nervous and uncomfortable.
Previously Vance had been depicted by the left as being "weird." He was anything but that during the debate. NBC's Kristen Welker, the host of NBC's Meet the Press, said that during the debate several democrats texted her saying they were "panicked" because of the poised demeanor of JD Vance. They had good reason to be panicked because during the debate Walz was asked why he had said he was in China regarding the Tiananmen Square protest on a certain date when the facts revealed otherwise. His eyes bulged out and his face puffed up as he replied: "I was a knucklehead!" That was a new way of saying: "I misrepresented the truth." This self-proclaimed knucklehead could also have applied his new name when he had previously lied about his military service.
During the debate the moderators asked about immigration and in particular the Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio. JD Vance was making his reply when he was fact-checked by Margarett O'Donnell, one of the moderators.
Vance pointed out that the agreed debate rules disallowed fact checking by the moderators. He then tried to remedy the situation by providing the full background of those Haitian immigrants who were allowed by the Biden-Harris administration to bypass the standard immigration procedure. After all, he was the senator for Ohio. He knew the situation better than the moderators. But the moderator interrupted him by saying: "we have a lot to get through." Then she cut off his mic until the next question.
As an aside, here's a situation involving illegal immigration. It has just been released that FEMA has run out of money for the devastated areas affected by hurricane Helene. This is because the Biden-Harris administration has raided those FEMA funds to pay for illegals. Those payments are for the illegals to have accommodation, to attend our schools, our hospitals, and to pay for all sorts of things including sex-change operations. In New York city, for example, the plush Roosevelt Hotel in mid-town Manhattan has been taken over by illegals in that Sanctuary City. All the while our own distressed citizens in the southeast following Helene are essentially without funds that could otherwise alleviate their situation. They have been offered a mere $750 each.
Back to the debate. A moderator asked earlier about climate change. Rather than getting tangled up in the pros and con arguments on this subject, JD replied that if the democrats were really concerned about the cleanest environment, they would encourage the building of manufacturing plants in the USA where US jobs would be created. The Biden-Harris plan is to buy solar panels which are largely made in China where the environment is much dirtier thus shipping those jobs overseas. Meanwhile we are replacing clean American crude oil with "dirty" Venezuela oil. Sounds like a knuckleheaded approach to me!
Peter Gilderson, Madison.
