Much of the discussion of last night’s vice presidential debate has rightly focused on how Republican Mike Pence was unable to make amends for Donald Trump’s history. But the media also ought to square with a parallel reality: Tim Kaine also had to evade the facts of his running mate’s record. When Pence brought up Hillary Clinton’s “basket of deplorables” comment, Kaine found himself in the same situation as did Pence when Trump’s behavior came up — namely, he had to defend the indefensible. He was forced to admit Clinton was wrong to call so many voters deplorable, and tried to move quickly back to the topic of Trump. This pattern repeated itself as Pence brought up the facts of Clinton’s record, and it is one of the reasons he won the debate handily. – READ MORE
