The CBS veep debate wasn’t as bad as ABC, but the moderators quickly broke their own promise not to “fact check” the candidates (meaning the Republicans). After weeks of portraying Vance as a woman-hating, immigrant-baiting monster, Vance confounded CBS and other outlets by sticking to civil discourse and hitting soft notes for swing voters.
Managing editor Curtis Houck brought his notebook to describe what he saw during and after the debate. The turn toward civility led to a strange result: Democrats seemed frustrated with Tim Walz for being too civil to Vance!
Vance talked about his three kids, he felt sympathy for Tim Walz’s son being on the site of a school shooting, and he empathized with young women in unwanted pregnancies. This was quite a contrast with hypernegative network news coverage since Trump selected Vance as his running mate. His…
