The Good, The Bad, And The Bizarre From The Vice Presidential Debate

A Vice President doesn’t actually have the power the President has and serves mostly as a placeholder for the Commander in Chief in case something unfortunate were to befall the President.

But this election cycle is different. When the two presidential candidates are 74 and 77 years old, the probability of the Vice President potentially coming into power is significantly higher. Hence, this debate is extremely important because it’s more probable than before that we might end up with either a President Pence or a President Harris. 

The Good

Let’s start with the good. This was certainly a better debate than last week’s presidential debate. It was articulate, organized, and (for the most part) calm. Everything was done in a civil manner, and the moderator, Susan Page, did a better job than Chris Wallace. 

It was articulate, organized, and (for the most part) calm.

We should all take a moment and just be grateful that Susan Page handled the debate fairly well. Sure, like all political debates, there were some questions that were probably unfair. However, one thing is for certain, Susan Page wasn’t a racist white supremacist, like so many of her critics on Twitter claimed she was, just because she let Pence finish what he had to say. 

The Bad 

Twitter is insane, that wasn’t the worst part of the debate. The worst part of the debate was the number of questions that were left unanswered. The American people are still left in the dark about many policy issues because there were so many questions dodged during the debate. 

COVID-19 Deaths 

So, as a first-generation immigrant to America, I still keep in touch with a lot of my childhood and school friends from overseas. One of the things that completely baffles them about America is the mass protests and riots that are organized during the time of a global pandemic. 

While most of us in America are concerned about the violence and unrest on our streets (which is why we want the protests to end), the rest of the world thinks it’s utterly ridiculous that anyone would think that protesting during a pandemic is a good idea. How could anybody condone a nationwide mass protest where hundreds and thousands of people come together to chant and yell and scream in public?

The rest of the world thinks it’s crazy that Americans think protesting during a pandemic is a good idea. 

Obviously, the number of coronavirus cases would spike from these activities. So whenever the Trump administration is accused of mishandling the pandemic, apparently causing the death of 200,000 Americans, could we remember to hold the mass protests accountable for spreading the coronavirus and causing these deaths too? 

Court-Packing

One of the biggest questions that was asked multiple times yesterday had to do with the Democratic Party’s intention to increase the number of Justices on the Supreme Court. Vice President Pence asked Senator Harris multiple times if the Biden-Harris administration will engage in packing the Supreme Court. The answer should be an easy yes or no. 

Adding four or six more Supreme Court Justices would change the face of American jurisprudence forever.

This is an important question because the addition of four or six more Supreme Court Justices would change the face of American jurisprudence forever. We deserve a straight answer to this. But we received none.

The Bizarre 

The Ghost of Abraham Lincoln 

So how did Senator Harris respond to the question about court-packing? Don’t laugh, but she evaded answering the question by giving a “history lesson” about how Abraham Lincoln didn’t appoint a new Supreme Court in the last year of his presidency. If you’re confused, then you’re on the right track, because everyone else was confused too. What does Honest Abe have to do with increasing the number of Supreme Court Justices?

Lincoln couldn’t appoint a new Justice because the Senate was out of session from July 4 to December 5.

In fact, the ghost of Abraham Lincoln himself would be confused as well, since the story Harris told about Lincoln wasn’t even true. The reason why Lincoln didn’t appoint a Supreme Court Justice in the year of his re-election has nothing to do with “wanting the people to decide.” Lincoln simply couldn’t appoint a new Justice because the Senate was out of session from July 4 to December 5.

The Fly

Okay, so I think everyone will agree that this debate wasn’t as entertaining as last week’s high-octane presidential debate between Trump and Biden. That is, until a fly decided to land on Mike Pence’s hair. Bless its heart, could it be the same fly that landed on Hillary Clinton’s face when she was on the debate stage? I’m kidding, obviously. It’s just funny that a housefly effectively stole the show. 

Kamala’s Husband’s Overkill Mask

Not to be outdone by the show-stealing housefly, Kamala’s husband emerged from the backstage of the debate donning the biggest mask anyone has probably ever seen. I get it, it’s a symbolic gesture to show how the Biden-Harris administration takes the coronavirus crisis seriously and would mandate compulsory mask-wearing for everyone, but man, it was such bad optics on so many levels. 

Kamala has a tarnished reputation for being an opportunistic homewrecker, and having her husband on stage wearing that gigantic mask was just a bad look because it just seems like he was doing everything he could to avoid showing her affection with a kiss. Yeah, I know, I might be “reaching,” but you know what, that’s the vibe I received from her husband. 

As a woman, we value being loved and love it when our significant other shows us affection, especially after a harrowing battle (the debate). There’s no logical reason to be wearing the mask on stage next to your wife who you’ll be sleeping next to once you’re at home. But I suppose political theater means more to Kamala than genuine spontaneity, and who am I to judge? To each her own. 

Closing Thoughts

Overall, this was a better debate, for sure. It brings back memories of current Presidential nominee Joe Biden debating another a woman in the Vice Presidential debate – the Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin. Oh? Have we forgotten that? Well, Kamala wasn’t the first woman Vice Presidential nominee.