This is going to be something. I’m actually looking forward to this. I don’t think this debate can possibly matter in this election. And the two guys who are debating are actually pretty representative of their parties. Democrat Tim Kaine is hardly my kind of a politician, but he’s a standard Democrat at this point. And while Republican Mike Pence is a vile piece of garbage, he’s very much in keeping with his party. If the economy collapsed and 50 million people lost their jobs, Mike Pence would be against doing anything to help if a Democrat was in the White House, because, like virtually all Republicans, he places party above nation.

What I wonder about the vice-presidential debate is if the two candidates are going to go after the presidential nominees. That will be sad — at least for me. Jerry Bowles wrote a good primer, Think Trump Is Scary? Check Out Mike Pence on the Issues. But it doesn’t much go into economics. On that, he’s a typical supply-sider. He voted against the 2009 stimulus, although to be fair, he likely would have voted for it if a Republican had been in the White House. He was against foreclosure relief. Basically, you can determine the correct economic policy by choosing whatever Mike Pence is against.

Tim Kaine is a mixed bag. On a personal level, I like it. I like people who surprise me. And Kaine seems all over the map, well, all over the map. But he isn’t vile. He’s just wrong. Like on the Trans-Pacific Partnership — he’s just wrong. It would be great if the debate allowed me to get a better handle on him as a politician. But I fear that won’t be the case.

What I Expect

I’m afraid the whole thing is going to be dueling charges of how the other’s running mate is awful. “You’re part of a racist campaign!” And, “You’re complicit in Hillary’s lies!” I expect the worst from Pence because he’s been very public in defending Trump’s lies. He seems to have no shame whatsoever. Of course, if he doesn’t become vice-president, he will have no political career either. At least Tim Kaine has a political future regardless.

But none of this really matters. I have two friends that will help me through this vice-presidential debate. The first is Modern Romance by Midnight Sun Brewing Company. The second is Denogginizer by Drake’s Brewing Company. They are both very tasty. But more important in a situation like the vice-presidential debate, they are both almost 10% alcohol. I may not be able to type by the end.

Two Beers: Modern Romance by Midnight Sun Brewing Company and Denogginizer by Drake’s Brewing Company by Frankly Curious is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.