Press. http://www.voanews.com/
When Republican
Mike Pence and Democrat Tim Kaine sat across from each other Tuesday night,
voters in the U.S. got their first actual debate about the policies Donald
Trump or Hillary Clinton would pursue if elected the next country's next
president.
It was the first
and only time the two vice presidential candidates will directly face off
before the November 8 election, and the free-flowing format allowed them to
push back against their opponent's statements and press discussion on issues
like criminal justice reform and what the U.S. should do in Syria.
"It stands
in contrast to the first presidential debate, which was very personally
oriented, very focused on scandals, very focused on guttural politics and not
so much about what the future of America is going to look like," said John
Hudak, senior policy fellow at the Brookings Institution.
Watch video
report from VOA's Jim Malone:
Kaine and Pence
talked over each other so often that at several points moderator Elaine Quijano
chided them, including once saying that nobody watching at home could understand
what they were saying.
"We got
details, we got facts, we got numbers," she told VOA. "During the
presidential debate, we had adjectives and adverbs and we had insults thrown at
each other and name-calling at each other. Tonight, even though there were
interruptions, they were both stating what their policies would be."
Not
surprisingly, both Clinton and Trump gave glowing review to their running
mates. "The person at the heart of
this campaign and the heart of this debate was Donald Trump, and Mike Pence
didn't show up to defend him," said Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook.
Pence accused
Kaine of using an "avalanche of insults," and when Kaine attacked
Trump's personal tax records, Pence said the businessman utilized a tax code
that is designed to encourage entrepreneurs.
"The fact
that the Clinton-Kaine ticket that that's all they have to talk about at this
point or some other version of the insults they were throwing around tonight,
that shows that they're running a pretty limited ground there with trying to
drive any attacks against us," Miller said.
During the first
presidential debate, Trump faced criticism for his interruptions of Clinton, a
dynamic that was sharply different Tuesday, particularly early on with Kaine
interrupting Pence more often.
"What Kaine
sought to do tonight was be the attack dog and attempt as best he could not let
Pence get away with stretching the truth or misstatements," Hudak told
VOA. "And I think that effort was probably a strong one, he also likely
came on a little too strong at times."
"He (Kaine)
seemed a bit jumpy and on edge, and that kind of is unsettling as a voter when
you’re watching them because you want someone who is going to kind of calm your
nerves," she said.
Trump and
Clinton return to the debate stage Sunday with a slightly different format that
will involve some questions from audience members.
Spies said she
does not expect a continuation of the substantive, policy-oriented discussion
from Tuesday. "Tonight we
saw what should be a presidential debate," she said. "Not a vice
presidential debate, but a presidential debate. I’m not sure what circus we’re
going to see on Sunday.
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