GOP VP debate goal: Mr. Vance, tear down that Walz:
As Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) prepares to debate Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) in their Oct. 1 vice presidential bout, Vance will privately debate a Walz stand-in. Advisers will analyze that exchange and give feedback about what to say, how to say it, and what to avoid like the pandemic.
Those advisers who look to the history of vice presidential debates will likely warn Vance not to freeze up as former Republican Sen. Dan Quayle of Indiana did in his infamous “deer in the headlights” moment during his 1988 debate against his Democratic rival, the late Sen. Lloyd Bentsen of Texas, after Bentsen informed him, “You’re no Jack Kennedy.” They might tell Vance to avoid too many nervous gestures, such as drinking too much water, as then-Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin did in his 2012 debate as the GOP vice presidential nominee against then-Vice President Joe Biden.
Saturday Night Live mocked Ryan’s hydrating by having the actor who played him, comedian Taran Killam, drinking out of glasses that increased in size. For the punchline, he graduated to a hamster bottle.
But the late Rep. Jack Kemp set the gold standard for what not to do in the vice presidential debate in 1996. The 18-year Republican congressman from western New York-turned-HUD secretary had been out of public office for nearly four years when he faced off against the sitting Democratic vice president, Al Gore.
The opening moderator question to Kemp concerned President Bill Clinton’s ethical lapses, a couple of years before the Democratic commander in chief became the first president impeached since 1868 — and ultimately acquitted by the Senate. Kemp invoked the name of his campaign boss, the 1996 Republican nominee, former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole of Kansas. Kemp declared that it was “beneath Bob Dole to go after anyone personally.” That was all well and good, but “attack dog” has historically been part of the vice presidential nominee’s job.
Gore provided a faux embrace of Kemp, with whom he had been a House colleague from 1979 to 1985, roughly a contemporary in national politics. Gore showered Kemp with flattery from the outset. It worked astoundingly well.
The vice president said he would “like to thank Jack Kemp for the answer that he just gave” and welcomed a “positive debate about this country’s future.” Gore, known for his environmental advocacy, even archly offered Kemp, a professional quarterback in the old American Football League during the 1960s, “a deal.”
Gore continued, “Jack, If you won’t use any football stories, I won’t tell any of my warm and humorous stories about chlorofluorocarbon abatement.”
Kemp took the bait. “It’s a deal. I can’t even pronounce it,” he said, and it got much worse for Republican viewers from there. --->READ MORE HERE
Pete Buttigieg Plays Vance in Walz’s Debate Prep:
The transportation secretary, who acted as Mike Pence during Kamala Harris’s preparations for the 2020 vice-presidential debate, is again helping out as Tim Walz gets ready for his Oct. 1 clash.
Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota is intensifying his preparations for the vice-presidential debate on Oct. 1, with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg serving as a stand-in for his opponent, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, according to five people with direct knowledge of the preparations, who insisted on anonymity to discuss the private efforts.
Mr. Buttigieg, one of the Democratic Party’s most skilled communicators and a fixture on Fox News, played a similar role for Kamala Harris in 2020, acting as Vice President Mike Pence in her mock debate sessions. Mr. Buttigieg, a former mayor of South Bend, Ind., is now trying to channel another fellow Midwesterner in Mr. Vance.
Mr. Walz’s debate prep is being run by two campaign advisers, Rob Friedlander and Zayn Siddique, according to multiple people with knowledge of the process. Others who are involved include Chris Schmitter, a longtime Walz aide who has worked with the governor for nearly two decades; Liz Allen, Mr. Walz’s campaign chief of staff; and Michael Tyler, the Harris campaign’s communications director, the people said.
Mr. Buttigieg has won acclaim from Democrats for his deft performances on Fox News, parrying hosts and delivering the administration’s message behind enemy lines. He had been helping Mr. Walz’s debate team via video conference, but joined the preparations in-person on Wednesday in Minneapolis. So far the sessions have been informal — no lights, stage sets or dress rehearsals — but Mr. Walz is expected to do a more intensive debate camp before the matchup in New York City. --->READ MORE HERE
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