Veep Faceoff

Plus, good bones.

October 03, 2024

The Flag

Good morning and Happy Thursday! Here are the Flag’s Top Five stories that should be on your radar to start the day:

  • US: Biden travels to North and South Carolina as Hurricane Helene death toll rises (The Guardian)

  • World: Iran's Khamenei warned Nasrallah of Israeli plot to kill him, sources say (Reuters)

  • Business: US port workers union backed by White House in strike (Reuters)

  • Technology: OpenAI raises $6.6B and is now valued at $157B (TechCrunch)

  • Sports: Michael Jordan’s 23XI and a 2nd team sue NASCAR over revenue sharing model (AP)

And of course, some good news: Man thought about scaling back Halloween display until it became a surprising source of joy to a cancer patient.

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Right: Why Hasn't Harris Implemented Her Great Plans? Kylee Griswold, The Federalist

Left: Who Are the 'Undecided'? Rick Pearlstein, The American Prospect

Left: The Conflict In the Middle East Is Growing, Editorial Board, The Guardian

2024

Veep Faceoff

Today’s Top Story: Sen. JD Vance and Gov. Tim Walz faced off Tuesday in the sole vice presidential debate before the November election, held three weeks after the only debate between former President Trump and Vice President Harris.

Reporting from the Right: Who won the VP debate? Voters weigh in on how Vance and Walz performed. (Washington Post)

Reporting from the Left: JD Vance, Tim Walz Face Off in New York as World Deteriorates into Chaos (Breitbart)

RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Polite and Substantive

The Top Argument From The Right: Vance Dominates Walz in a Shockingly Substantive and Polite Debate, Jeffrey Blehar, National Review: “The final debate of the 2024 campaign is done, and perhaps the biggest surprise of all — given this gauzy, unreal season we have suffered through — is that it was worth waiting for. As the lone vice-presidential debate between Ohio senator J. D. Vance and Minnesota governor Tim Walz, it seemed fair to say in advance that this was likely to be the least commented upon of them all. … But instead J. D. Vance delivered a master class in intelligent populist politics, and even Tim Walz conducted himself with notable decency, if not grace or visible comfort. The major takeaway is this: J. D. Vance won, and he won in the best possible way: by universal acknowledgement, and by surprising his enemies. In a strange way, I can almost convince myself that he benefited from his demonization by the media and the Harris campaign up until now: because nobody who saw tonight’s debate as an undecided voter is going to walk away thinking he was ‘weird,’ that I can guarantee. Vance was smooth, personable, fluent in the deep details of policy…and basically ran rings around a flustered, jittery Tim Walz. It was a knockout in nearly every round of questioning, on style alone.”

Honorable Mention #1: JD Vance and Tim Walz restore civility to the stage, Tom Rogan, Washington Examiner.

Honorable Mention #2: J.D. Vance Will Never Be Allowed On Live TV Again After He Dominated That Debate, Eddie Scarry, The Federalist.

LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Neither Brought Much Substance

The Top Argument From The Left: The vice presidential debate left me with one big, lingering question, Alexander Nazaryan, MSNBC: “I doubt they did much to convince undecided voters. And they did nothing at all to inspire. At the end of the night, I was left with just one question: Is this the best we’ve got? … Vance declined to walk back the lies he has promulgated about Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio. And his thoughts on school shootings were crushingly meager: ‘We have to make the doors lock better,’ he said with what appeared to be a straight face. … In old clips from the Minnesota State Fair, Walz perfectly plays the part of the normie dad. But in a suit, onstage, he is just like another politician — and not an especially adept one, at that. … He looked nervous, and his voice sounded thin. Asked about a lie he’d told about being in Hong Kong during the protests in Tiananmen Square in Beijing in 1989, Walz stammered through a largely incoherent response. … To be clear, I don’t think the two candidates, or presidential tickets, are equal. Asked about election integrity, Vance repeated shameless lies about the 2020 election and the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, which Trump instigated and most Republicans defended.”

Honorable Mention #1: J.D. Vance Won the Debate. But Tim Walz Got the Clip., Jim Newell, Slate.

Honorable Mention #2: One Slick Performance Can't Change Danger of Trump, Margaret Sullivan, The Guardian.

FLAG THIS

Instant Response

In a CNN instant poll conducted by SSRS of registered voters who watched Tuesday’s vice-presidential debate, 51% felt JD Vance performed better, while 49% favored Tim Walz. Pre-debate expectations had favored Walz, with 54% predicting he would outperform Vance, compared to 45% for Vance. Despite the split views, the debate led to improved perceptions of both candidates, with majorities viewing them as qualified for the presidency, although the event did not change voters' intentions (CNN).

Who do you believe performed better in the debate?

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WATERCOOLER

OJ Simpson Acquitted, Pumpkin Patch, Pizza Memorials

On This Day in 1995, at the end of a sensational trial, former football star O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the brutal 1994 double murder of his estranged wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman.

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