THERE MIGHT NOT be 67 million putative American voters tuned in – not to mention tens of millions more around the globe – as there were for the joust in Philadelphia between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on 10 September. That said, a massive audience will watch the clash between the Democratic and Republican nominees for vice president, Tim Walz and JD Vance, in Manhattan tonight at 9 PM (2 AM Irish time). And plenty here will sacrifice a night’s sleep.
Vice presidential debates have occasionally produced memorable lines. In 1988, for example, Michael Dukakis’s number two, Lloyd Bentsen, delivered this stinger to a manifestly outmatched Dan Quayle, who had compared his experience in Washington, DC to President John F Kennedy’s: “Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy.
Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy.” It was a knock-out punch that will live forever in the annals of American politics.
Perhaps underscoring the historical truth that these sparring sessions have meant precious little, Dukakis/Bentsen were annihilated later that year by Quayle and his boss, President George HW Bush. In this extraordinary and in many ways unprecedented 2024 campaign, pundits are venturing that Vance v Walz could be pivotal. Before assessing what each man should do when the spotlight is shining in the Big Apple – and possibly more importantly, should not do – it is worth examining where they are now in the estimation of the el.