ANALYSIS: Mr Slick versus Mr Earnest Nice Guy? Civilised US VP debate stuck to policy ideas, but won’t move dial for voters
Politics tamfitronics Well, okay, it was not a blow-out, especially since initial polling indicates a basic 50-50 split among registered voters about who bested whom. Concurrently, it will not be a debate that will go down in history the way the John Kennedy-Richard Nixon, the Jimmy Carter-Gerald Ford, or the Ronald Reagan-Walter Mondale, let alone the 1858 Abraham Lincoln-Stephen Douglas, debates have been recognised.There were no decisive “gotcha” lines; no shut-the-door on an opponent, rapier-like one-liners sealing the deal. Instead, this debate was, taken as a whole, a civilised, even respectful conversation over actual policies, plans and hopes between two coherent candidates. Again, drawing upon initial polling, both candidates somewhat improved their reputations with voters on things like their suitability to step in as president, if necessary. Similarly, the likability quotient for both candidates...
