Has there ever been a presidential election that was moved by the running mates debating? The only moment from any of them that most people remember is Lloyd Bentsen telling Dan Quayle "You're no Jack Kennedy"…and the ticket Quayle was on won that election. The one I just watched won't set a new precedent.
Both candidates dodged questions. Pence wouldn't say how his administration would protect pre-existing conditions if the Affordable Care Act goes down. Harris wouldn't say if Biden would pack the Supreme Court. Neither one would say what their home state should do about abortion if Roe V. Wade is overturned…though I think with that one, their answers would not have been surprises.
It seemed to me Kamala Harris was playing the game from the position of someone who's way ahead and the goal was not to create a big controversy that might shake things up. They have to be happy in the Biden camp with how things are going right now. And it felt like someone — gee, I wonder who — told Pence to keep hammering her and interrupting and not letting her finish sentences.
The one moment where I went "whoa" was when Harris pointed out that the Trump administration has appointed fifty judges and not one of them has been black. That struck a blow, especially since she was sharing a split-screen with the whitest man in America.
Other than that, let me be the one-millionth person on the Internet to say that I think the debate was won handily by that fly that landed on Mike Pence's head. All the jokes are just too, too easy.