A Civil Debate
After watching the vice presidential debate between Sen. J.D. Vance and Gov. Tim Walz Tuesday, I came away thinking that that was more like it.
Calm and rational conversation…not being afraid to agree when there was agreement…providing more light than heat.
Remember when these debates used to do that? I barely do, but it was on display Tuesday night.
I almost got the sense that if Walz was still in the house, Vance as senator might call him up to be a bipartisan co-sponsor of something in that chamber. That’s how we used to do things; find areas of agreement where you can, dispense with that to move the ball down the field, and then fight about the rest.
But our hyperpartisan world won’t allow that these days, and it’s only getting worse.
Yes, each had good moments and bad; yes, each gave opponents fodder for social media memes and each gave supporters plenty of reason to feel good.
It changed no one’s mind, and certainly didn’t seal the deal with any undecided voters. But there were no fatal mistakes, no implosions, nothing of that sort.
I was kind of hoping the two would leave the moderators behind and just have a chat over a beverage. As opposed to all the hyperbole these days, it was actually worth the time to watch.
Granted, both got back on the partisan high horse the day after on the campaign trail, but at least for one night, I didn’t feel dumber for having watched one of these things.
