The 2016 election is upon us and it is one of the most interesting in the past century. You have one campaign that is based of American ideals, moral rights, and is inclusive of all people. The other campaign is solely based of false facts, misleading statements, and childish insults. The only question is: Which party is which? Well according to both Mike Pence and Tim Kaine, the opposite party was nothing more than an “insult driven campaign”, while their party had American values. If you had to ask any pundit who people would have said were going to be the Vice Presidential candidates, almost nobody would say Mike Pence, and even less people would say Tim Kaine. In fact, the only thing they would say is, “Who are these people?”
Even though almost nobody knew who Tim Kaine was, he definitely has done a lot and has been involved in almost all forms of politics. He has served on the Richmond city council, he was the mayor of Richmond, he served as lieutenant governor, Governor of Virginia, and head of the Democratic National Convention from 2009 to 2011, and is now the senator of Virginia. He is a very “boring” candidate, but with connections in Virginia, he is a good choice to help with the election.
If you ever needed to find the exact opposite of Donald Trump, you will find it in the form of Mike Pence. Mike Pence is “ a Christian, a conservative and a Republican in that order.” Mr. Pence is currently the governor of Indiana, and has served as a congressman for six terms. He has a lot of connections within the Republican party, which is exactly what Trump has been lacking throughout his entire campaign.
The Vice Presidential debate was more of a vicious Q&A rather than a moderate debate. Tim Kaine was putting Mike Pence on the stand and questioning him on every statement that Donald Trump had said, and even the moderator was mainly asking the tough questions to Pence. Rather than blowing up on stage like Trump is prone to do, Mike Pence was relatively calm throughout the debate, getting straight to the point and answering every question that was thrown his way. While he was calm, Mike Pence also may have forgotten that he was Trump’s running mate. Mike Pence has disagreed with a few things that Donald Trump had said, including topics such as abortion, no fly zones, and deals with foreign dictators. Tim Kaine, on the other hand, appeared to be a clone copy of Hillary Clinton. He was accused of using, “pre-rehearsed lines” when he stated that Trump was using a “you’re fired” plan while Clinton was using a “you’re hired” plan. Both candidates had their fair share of pointing out the faults in their opposing candidate’s running mate– whether it was Trump’s taxes or Clinton’s emails, both candidates were busy all night.
In the end, this Vice Presidential debate was anything but a snooze fest. It was a back and forth battle which may have been even more rowdy than the presidential debate. There was even a time where the moderator, Elaine Quijano, had to tell both candidates to settle down, and only allow candidates twenty seconds to plea their position. As far as a winner goes, Mike Pence was definitely good at laying the heat of Trump and was able to answer almost every question that was asked. Both parties have now added more fire to the flame, and have definitely made this election more fun to watch.
