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The Guardian
Appearances speak louder than words as Harris presents a citable case against Pence
The vice presidential debate was more polite than last week’s horror show, but it still showed two contrasting faces of America. It would always be about the two faces of America: one: white, male, Midwestern, evangelical Christian. The other: black, feminine, coastal, progressive. What wasn’t so predictable about the head-to-head in Wednesday’s US vice presidential debate was that Mike Pence would show up with the bloodshot eye, which never looked good during a pandemic. Or that a fly would nest in her snow-white hair. Equally surprising was Kamala Harris’s ability to turn facial expressions into weapons. The barrage of raised eyebrows, pursed lips, and withering glances at her California senator opponent will live in Democrats’ memory long after the words are forgotten (and likely viewed by Republicans as mocking elitism). work than your bosses in last week’s apocalypse debate. They were both adept at avoiding questions, as if they had discussed “the issue of presidential disability” with their septuagenarian running mates, in favor of talking points. At times, it almost felt like a brief break from political normalcy, which may also have been a preview of the 2024 election. Harris was on her game and seemed poised to replace Trump’s Democratic presidential challenger Joe Biden. Pence, the current vice president, used attack lines on taxes, the Green New Deal and the supreme court that Trump failed against Biden last week. It was no surprise that Pence reeked of white male privilege; less expected the target would be the moderator, Susan Page of USA Today, as well as Harris. Showing no respect for her questions, rules, or timing, he kept talking and often called her “Susan.” Struggling to gain control, she pleaded, “I didn’t create the rules for tonight … I’m here to enforce them.” So with that, Republicans may have lost more suburban female voters, if that’s possible. But the The bottom line is that this vice president debate will not change the race. It was held in Salt Lake City, Utah, with the candidates separated by two Perspex screens, a metaphor if there ever was one for America’s divisions and bubbles of Self-assertion. Pence wore a dark suit, white shirt, and red Trump tie; Harris wore a black jacket, dark blouse, and necklace; Both wore Stars and Stripes insignia. that would be impossible to overcome: “The American people have witnessed the greatest failure of any presidential administration in the history of our country.” He added in good measure that “this ad The ministry has lost its right to reelection for that reason ”. Pence had the unenviable task of defending the indefensible. “From day one, President Donald Trump has put America’s health first,” he stated unconvincingly, during a pandemic that has claimed more than 210,000 American lives and infected more than 7 million people. Harris brought out another one of his scathing lawyer expressions. Pence, head of the White House coronavirus task force, went on to offer a very bogus defense that had little to do with Harris’ criticism: “When you say what the American people have done for the past eight months.” it hasn’t worked, that’s a disservice to the sacrifices of the American people. ” Pence also claimed that Biden-Harris’s plan to deal with Covid-19 looks terrifyingly like what the Trump administration is already doing. “It seems a bit plagiarism, which is something Joe Biden knows a little about.” It was a reference to Biden not giving credit to British Labor leader Neil Kinnock in a speech 33 years ago. Harris shook his head wryly. Yet twice in the debate, Pence used the phrase, “You have a right to your opinion, but you have no right to your own facts,” without giving credit to the man who coined it, the late Democratic Senator Daniel Patrick. Moynihan. “Good line,” Harris said sarcastically. It was a bold line of attack for a campaign and an administration that has been caught up in thousands of lies or misleading claims. Would Harris take a Covid-19 vaccine if it were available? “If the public health professionals, if Dr. Fauci, if the doctors tell us that we should take it, I will be the first in line to take it,” she said. “Absolutely. But if Donald Trump tells us we should accept it, I will not accept it.” Pence demanded: “Senator, I only ask that you stop playing politics with people’s lives. The reality is that we will have a vaccine, We believe, before the end of this year. And it will have the ability to save countless American lives. And its continued weakening of confidence in a vaccine is simply unacceptable. ” Harris smiled and shook his head. Later, he delivered a memorable warning about the Trump administration’s concerted efforts to undo Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law. “If you have a pre-existing condition – heart disease, diabetes, breast cancer – they come for you. If you love to someone who has a pre-existing condition, they will come for you. If you are under 26 in your parents’ coverage, they will come for you. ”Perhaps it was the most quotable riff of a night that was more polite than the horror show. in Cleveland last week. When Trump interrupted like a jackhammer, Biden finally blurted out, “You wanna shut up, man?” Harris had a more elegant reprimand prepared: “Mr. Vice President, I speak.” He deployed it several times, but once During a tangle about Biden’s tax policy, Pence chimed in: “It would be important if you told the truth.” Harris smiled and paused, fatally, allowing the vice president to take the lead and declare, “Joe Biden said twice in debate last week that he is going to repeal Trump’s tax cuts.” on, it is unlikely to change many minds. Perhaps tellingly, Pence was denying the existence of systemic racism when the fly passed two minutes on his head. The lie will be forgotten Thursday afternoon. The fly will not. It evoked comparisons to Alfred Hitchcock’s ending of Psycho in which Norman Bates, channeling his mother, sees a fly and says, “Wow, she wouldn’t even hurt a fly …” In the end, Pence’s wife, Karen joined him on stage and was not wearing a mask. Pence reportedly calls her “mother.”
