J.D. Vance's impressive performance in last Tuesday's vice presidential debate was hailed as a PR win for the Trump team. The less than calm CBS News host and his reasoned responses to the mistakes of his opponents left many viewers feeling that Vance was in the wrong. did my job well. He remained polite and generous while answering often left-leaning questions, and calmly handled Tim Walz's stumbles. As I watched the debate, I was impressed by Vance's calm demeanor and eloquence. I told my wife, and she agreed that Vance was one of the most effective and likeable politicians she had ever seen.
Nevertheless, both left and right criticized his performance. MSNBC's picky commentators expressed frustration that Vance came across as “smart” and felt he wasn't being challenged enough. They argued that Walz should have been more proactive in highlighting Donald Trump's controversial past, including his alleged role in the January 6 attack and sordid relationships with sexists. . Women on “The View” say Waltz could have benefited from a more confrontational approach, including hurling obscenities to shift the focus from Vance's “lies.” These tactics, they suggested, may have been the only way to prevent “skillful reactionaries” from swaying the masses.
Vance did not provoke feminist anger or outrage, but as a politician he has to deal with it.
A feminist I know was upset that Vance was allowed to borrow Kamala Harris' story of her modest upbringing. She claimed that Vance's testimony during the debate about his impoverished upbringing in Appalachia was completely fabricated and suggested that his best-selling memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, was false as well. I dismissed such criticism as woke insanity and unrelated to what I saw during the debate.
But the traditionalist right has also criticized Vance's performance, and I find those concerns more persuasive. My friends Dan McCarthy and John Zmirak both thought Vance gave too much to the left. McCarthy claimed that the host forced Vance to appear. answer the questions To these critics “within the framework of the left,” and to me, Vance is trying too hard to appease “childless cat women,” a group that ultimately cannot be appeased. It looked like. For example, Vance should not have apologized for not paying enough attention to the concerns of the feminist left.
Like other right-wing critics, I was troubled by Vance's enthusiasm for providing federally funded child care for working women. Why should the government pay taxes for women to take up positions outside the home and find other women (who are supposed to be compensated by the state) to take care of their offspring? If you want public money to go to women with children, give it to the mothers who are watching their children at home. If possible, I would keep the government out of any family matters. Because we see no evidence that public managers can refrain from social engineering whenever the opportunity arises.
I felt Vance gave too much to the left, but I wonder if he had any other options. He faced a tough situation. Tens of millions of feminist voters remain focused on “abortion rights” and related issues in their fight against what they see as a long-gone male-dominated society. Vance did not create this anger and resentment, but as a politician he must address it.
Additionally, Vance participated in last week's debate after enduring months of media criticism for past sarcastic comments about women who choose to remain childless and prefer cats to children. did. Although he had made those comments years ago, the media consistently supported the state party and kept the public's attention focused on his statements. Expected mistakes. Over the past three months, his comments about childless feminists and his efforts to clarify his views on abortion have been used to further undermine his popularity.
Vance acceptability assessment fell behind by 5 points or more He was behind Waltz at the time of the debate. This disparity caused concern, especially since Vance performed well in interviews with hostile networks, while Walz avoided even contact with friendly media. After the discussion, Waltz maintains a slight lead It surpasses Vance in popularity.
It is clear that Vance worked hard to gain support from women with left-leaning views on social issues. In a close race that shouldn't have been that close, Vance did what he needed to do as a debater. It's not entirely his fault if he doesn't sound like a total traditionalist on some issues. as John Zmirak points outVance's response highlighted the fragility of American conservatism.
