Opinion Today: Who won the vice-presidential debate?

A majority of our writers named one clear winner.

View in browser|nytimes.com October 2, 2024 By John Guida Senior Staff Editor, Opinion In their first and only scheduled debate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio and Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota discussed lots of issues, from the Middle East to abortion to affordable housing and health care. Shockingly, at least by the standards of recent presidential debates, the two candidates seemed pleased with each other in finding areas of common ground. Still, Times Opinion kept score — and the consensus was that, as Ross Douthat put it, "it was a commanding performance" for Vance. A majority of our columnists and contributors agreed. The contributing Opinion writer Megan Stack said, "Vance nimbly reframed questions to his advantage, sounded deeply concerned about ordinary Americans and managed to appear forthright even when sidestepping or dissembling. Vance ran circles around Walz." Several writers who scored it for Vance were nevertheless lukewarm in their praise. Take Jamelle Bouie, who wrote: "He has spent most of his adult life selling himself to the wealthy, the powerful and the influential. He is as smooth and practiced as they come." We had two counts of a draw. Farah Stockman, a Times editorial board member, was one of them. She wrote that "Vance did an excellent job of impersonating a decent man." Walz got faint approval for his debate skills, with Charles M. Blow remarking that "you could tell that he was a teacher, because he clearly did his homework." Vice-presidential debates have not typically made lasting impacts on presidential elections. We don't know how voters will respond to this one — or if they'll respond at all. But the Times contributing Opinion writer Pete Wehner suggests one surprising potential response: "Vance's excellent reviews will enrage Trump. So will the fact that Vance seemed more interested in repairing his own image than being Trump's attack dog." Read the scorecard here: Illustration by The New York Times; source images by Kenny Holston/The New York Times and Matt Rourke/Associated Press Guest Essay 'He Made Trumpism Sound Polite, Calm and Coherent': 13 Writers on JD Vance's Debate Performance Our columnists and contributors rate Tim Walz's and Vance's debate performances. By New York Times Opinion Here's what we're focusing on today: Editors' Picks David French This Is Why MAGA Loves JD Vance Trump's running mate is no Mike Pence. By David French More From Opinion Guest Essay Why Nicole Kidman Drives Her Critics Crazy She's everywhere, and she's giving a lot of work to female talent. Is that such a bad thing? By Jennifer Weiner It Will Take a Lot More for America to Trust Vance on Family Policy I don't care how many women he claims to know. By Jessica Grose Walz Failed to Expose Vance's Debate Masquerade Walz missed multiple opportunities to demonstrate how Trump and Vance are unfit for office. By David Firestone Guest Essay Donald Trump, Crypto Bro The former president's views of virtual coins have shifted markedly in recognition of the emergence of this sector as a major player in campaign finance. By Thomas B. Edsall Guest Essay Climate 'Abandonment' Zones Are Coming to the American South The exodus of the young means high-risk towns could enter a population death spiral. By Abrahm Lustgarten Guest Essay We Need Tornado Warnings for Disease Outbreaks Public health experts too often fail to sound the alarm. By Caitlin Rivers Serge Schmemann 'If Germany Can Do It, Why Can't We?' Germany's unilateral decision to close its borders has angered its neighbors in Europe. By Serge Schmemann Vance's Dominant Debate Performance Shows Why He's Trump's Running Mate He's making a case for Trump's record far more effectively than Trump has ever been capable of doing. By Ross Douthat Guest Essay Why a Racist Professor Doesn't Scare Me Having grown up in an increasingly diverse America, I find Amy Wax's resentments more pathetic than threatening. By Zaid Jilani Bret Stephens Actually, We Absolutely Do Need to Escalate in Iran Iran now presents an intolerable threat to Israel, America and the liberal-international order. By Bret Stephens The Opinions Thomas Friedman: 'This Is Code Red Time in the Middle East' The columnist weighs in on Iran's retaliatory strike against Israel and what comes next. 7 MIN LISTEN Tim Gruber for The New York Times letters Trump Insults Harris's Mental Fitness, Adding to Questions About His Own Readers condemn the former president's attacks and cite examples of his incoherence and unfitness. Also: Jimmy Carter at 100; Christian women; the Oakland A's. We hope you've enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times. 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