In what has been a seemingly boring week in the October race for the Presidential election, neither of the two candidates have had to do much work to cover for their Presidential counterpart or present their plans on important issues that may be potentially debated in the final debate this Wednesday evening. Following a week of sexual assault allegations, Republican Vice Presidential nominee Mike Pence is probably very thankful for a relatively slow week while Democrat nominee Tim Kaine has had to do little “attack” work on Trump and the Republican party thanks to the continuous number of women coming forward with allegations. In saying that, the two have been able to address issues specifically regarding their campaigns and plans for the future, finally providing some insight to voters on where these candidates stand and how they could potentially represent our country. Kaine has spent the last couple of days in Detroit delivering his plan on how to fight poverty while highlighting his own background to explain why he sees confronting poverty as a “moral responsibility“. This was important for two reasons: first, because it gave insight into some of Kaine’s policy ideas and potential plans for improvement and second, because it finally gave voters insight into who Kaine actually is as an individual and as an American and why he views poverty the way he does. After the first Vice Presidential debate, little could be said of either of the two candidates as both parties attacked and defended their respective Presidential counterpart, leading to voters knowing almost nothing personally of the two VP candidates. This speech, while not huge or incredibly noteworthy, at the very least allowed voters to peer a little more into the background of Kaine and made him a little more human and vote-worthy to the average American. Pence, while not having to defend Trump and his sexual assault allegations, did have another adverse situation facing him and the Republican party this week. Early Sunday morning, a GOP office in Hillsborough, North Carolina was firebombed and burned to the ground. On Tuesday, Pence visited the charred remains of the office and delivered a speech, saying “I wanted to come by to call attention to this cowardly attack on our supporters in North Carolina and to no less extent an attack on the American political system. This was an act of political terrorism.” This cowardly act of arson allowed Pence to do two things. One, it presented him with a very easy opportunity to attack the Democrat Party and label them as “cowards” and “arsons” and two, it gave him a chance to encourage and praise Republican supporters for the way they have rallied around the community and around one another.
Overall, this was a very slow week for both Vice Presidential candidates but it did allow the two nominees to encourage their respective parties while also allowing viewers to finally begin to see who the two candidates are on a more personal, intimate level.
I find it interesting that Pence labeled the firebombing incident as “an attack on the American political system” while his running mate is publicly questioning the validity of the American electoral process and therefore the American political system. This discrepancy in the Republican ticket shows the greater discrepancy between Donald Trump’s beliefs/actions and those of the GOP and its traditional political candidates (i.e. Gov. Mike Pence).
I agree that Pence and Kaine both defend their partners and without much going on this week they could focus more on themselves and show the American people what they can bring to the table in association with their counterpart. After the firebombing, when Pence praised the republicans for rallying together and being unified even in hard times, this was a very strategic rhetoric move. He praises his side while putting down the other democratic side saying that it was an attack of terrorism really showing the divide between the “good” republicans and the “bad” democrats.