The most important takeaway from the vice-presidential debate between Senator J.D. Vance and Governor Tim Walz is that this is what a serious debate for high office should look like. It was calm but impassioned, thoughtful, and truly helpful to any voter who wants to understand the policy differences between the two tickets. The candidates actually listened to each other, acknowledged some agreements and identified genuine areas of difference. Equally important, each managed to put forward a coherent case for his own ticket, stressing the key issues in their respective campaigns.
Both the tone and substance of the debate was far superior to the two presidential debates. The Trump-Biden debate was the most consequential, of course, because it showed what the White House had hidden for months: the sitting president is saddled with serious cognitive problems. The public concluded he could not serve for another term and might not be fit to serve now.
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