Last night’s debate was certainly more watchable than the first.
There was no name-calling or histrionics. Issues were discussed, to a point. And both debaters remained civil.
But, like the first debate, there was rudeness and many lies. The rudeness came from VP Pence, who continuously ignored the moderator’s reminders when he went beyond his allotted time. And he did interrupt several times, but in a quieter way than the president did last week. Kamala Harris handled his interruptions by calmly letting him know it was her time and he did stop and let her speak, most of the time.
Both candidates mis-stated some points, but a fact-check shows Pence lied or exaggerated many more times than Harris did.
Both were guilty of not directly answering questions, but Pence did so many more times than Harris. He is very smooth at obfuscating.
The highlight of the evening seems to have been the fly that perched itself for a full
two minutes on Pence’s head.
When I first saw it, I assumed the fly was on my TV screen. But then it moved as Pence moved his head, and my full attention went to that fly rather than Pence’s words. Actually, it was a welcome distraction from the lie he was telling at that moment.
The fly may have gotten more attention on social media that the actual content of the debate. I saw many comments reminding us what flies are attracted to. My sister Shari felt Kamala should have smacked Pence in the head, using the fly as an excuse. And Shane DeBlasio (no relation to New York’s mayor) noted that the fly may be Pence’s only black friend.
A CNN poll showed 67 percent felt Harris won, and 37 percent gave it to Pence. At this point, the debate may not have changed many minds in terms of who they’ll vote for. But at least it didn’t cause America’s collective blood pressure to spike, as it did a week ago.