Why the VP debate was all offense and no defense

Both VP candidates seemed intent on trashing their opponent's boss instead of defending their own

On the attack.
(Image credit: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)

If you can count on a vice-presidential candidate for anything, it's going after the opposing side's presidential candidate. And at Tuesday's vice presidential debate in Virginia, Mike Pence and Tim Kaine did not disappoint on that score.

Despite a seesawing, unstable race, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton remain two of the least popular nominees in American history. Suitably enough, their running mates determined to give up on defending them and attack, attack, attack.

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James Poulos

James Poulos is a contributing editor at National Affairs and the author of The Art of Being Free, out January 17 from St. Martin's Press. He has written on freedom and the politics of the future for publications ranging from The Federalist to Foreign Policy and from Good to Vice. He fronts the band Night Years in Los Angeles, where he lives with his son.