Star of the debate: the fly

Well, I did watch the Vice Presidential debates which is probably the first. I normally don’t pay attention to politics but this year is so different. I imagine this debate is the kind of debates that normally take place, rather than the Presidential debate we had last week. And my reading of the opinions says my impression is about right.

Mike Pence seemed to do more of the interrupting and speaking beyond his two minutes allotment, so he did not comport himself very well. Kamala Harris had to tell him, “I’m speaking”, a couple of times to push him back gracefully but firmly. He deployed a little bit of the Trumpian tactics with a veneer of civility, but still, he did not treat Harris or the moderator with respect with all of his interruptions or talking over.

Also, I think he did some lying. There is one lie that sticks out, a week later: the one about how Trump has always cared about the safety and health of the American people. Really? That’s why he didn’t deploy the Defense Production Act to compel companies to get their act together and get the safety gear and equipment produced for our hospitals? That’s why he engages in rallies without social distancing and masks? That’s why he always wanted to downplay (a nicer way of saying lie) the severity of the virus? So far I’m not really seeing that he cares about his people, especially his fans, whom he is placing in danger.

I’m not sure he was honest.

The biggest star of the debate was the fly that landed on his hand. At first I thought, “Is there something on his head?” I searched through some news analysis that was going on my screen to see if someone else noticed something on his head and quickly got confirmation that I was not seeing things. That fly has become the topic of a lot of conversations. Some even ascribed to the fly ominous portents.

So, that fly was one of the very few levity in this whole vicious election cycle. I wonder when we look back upon this time if we will remember this lighthearted moment?