VP Debate: Don't Do Something Stupid
If Vice Presidential choices don't much matter, then a Vice Presidential debate is irrelevant ... except in a toss-up race where everything is on the table.
The J.D. Vance-Tim Walz debate next Tuesday is likely to join most of the other eleven vice presidential debates in the dustbin of forgotten history.
Expecting a smaller audience, Jill Normington, a Democratic pollster, ventures it only will matter "if somebody does something stupid."
The strategies are no secret. Walz will target the Trump-Vance duplicity on abortions, the dangers of the right wing Project 2025 and the risks of their proposed huge tariffs. The Republican running mate opened himself up to trouble when he talked about changing the popular Affordable Health Care Act; look for the Minnesota Governor to pounce on that.
Vance will charge Harris and Walz are weak on immigration and radical big spenders and big taxers on the economy. He will go after his opponent's Minnesota record including the response to demonstrations after the George Floyd murder and maybe for providing tampons in school bathrooms though most states do likewise.
There may be sharp disagreements if foreign policy comes up, especially on Ukraine which was invaded by Russia in 2022. Vance opposes efforts to help the Ukrainians; Walz supports those policies.