Video: Vice Presidential Debate, Mike Pence and Tim Kaine, Full, 10/4/2016

[bsteadman]

Watch the 2016 Vice Presidential Debate between Mike Pence and Tim Kaine

Published 10/4/2016 by 'PBS NewsHour'

[bsteadman]

Five takeaways from the vice presidential debate

The Hill
by Jonathan Easley
10/5/2016

Excerpt:

The buttoned-up and supposedly boring vice presidential candidates turned in a ripper of a debate on Tuesday night, yet another fascinating twist a wholly unpredictable campaign.

Democrat Tim Kaine and Republican Mike Pence clashed early and often in Farmville, Va., battling to be heard over one another as they let loose with attacks against Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

Here are five takeaways from an entertaining debate that has the potential hit reset on the presidential campaign just 34 days before the election.

Pence wins on style

Pence has long been hailed by fellow Republicans as one of the party’s most effective conservative communicators.

The Indiana governor got his start in politics as a conservative radio commentator, and his skills in front of the microphone were on display Tuesday night.

Pence was polished and crisp. On the radio broadcast, he sounded smooth. On television, he appeared confident, directly addressing the camera and remaining still in his seat.

Kaine, on the other hand, was shifty and appeared overly eager, something exaggerated by the split-screen with Pence. His constant interruptions were poorly received.

Overall, Pence did his job. The Indiana governor badly needed to reverse momentum in the race after Trump followed a shaky debate performance with a disastrous week of controversy.

The Republican ticket may only ride this high until Sunday, when Trump and Clinton square off for their second debate.

But in the short term, Pence’s performance recalled Vice President Biden’s strong debate against Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) in 2012. Then, Biden rode to the rescue after President Obama laid an egg in his first debate against GOP nominee Mitt Romney.

Kaine struggles with change election

Clinton and Kaine are favored to win. If they do, it will be in spite of their resumes.

Both are long on government service and running in the year of the outsider.

That dynamic was abundantly clear on Tuesday night as Kaine twisted to defend the status quo, often setting up Pence for some of his strongest moments.

Kaine noted that he’s worked in “all levels of government.”

“And God bless you for it,” Pence responded. “Career public servants. Donald Trump is a businessman.”

Kaine argued that the economic recovery has been a success.

“The people of Scranton know different,” Pence responded. “The people of Fort Wayne know different.”

And Kaine’s extended riff on how the U.S. is safer today from the threat of terror than it was eight years ago — before the rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria — will certainly be used against Clinton.

Over and over again, Pence swatted away Kaine’s defense of the Obama years as the scripted pablum of lifelong politicians.
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View the complete article, including image, at:

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/...dential-debate

[bsteadman]

Winners and losers from the vice-presidential debate

The Washington Post
by Chris Cillizza
10/4/2016

Excerpt:

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence and Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine stood toe-to-toe for 90 minutes in the lone vice presidential debate of the 2016 election. I watched, tweeted and took some notes on the best and the worst of the night that was. There was a lot more bad than good.

My picks are below.

Winners

* Mike Pence: From the very beginning, Pence was the more comfortable of the two men on the debate stage. Pence repeatedly turned to the camera when he answered questions, making clear he understood that the real audience wasn't in the room but watching on TV. The Indiana governor was calm, cool and collected throughout — a stark contrast to the fast-talking (and seemingly nervous) Kaine. Did Pence respond to Kaine's dozens of attacks on Donald Trump? Only sort of. What Pence seemed to be doing was making the case for Pence-ism, a, dare I say it, compassionate conservatism — a case for Pence 2020 or 2024. Regardless, Trump will very much take it, as Pence's performance will offer a reset of sorts for a campaign that is scrambling badly due to self-inflicted wounds from the nominee. Win or lose next month, Pence did himself real good in the eyes of the Republican world on Tuesday night.
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View the complete article at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...ential-debate/