Bloomberg confirms <\/a>as much noting that “Donald Trump\u2019s weeklong slide in the presidential race started when he showed up to the first debate unprepared and spoiling for a fight. On Tuesday evening, Mike Pence helped slow it by doing the opposite.” <\/strong><\/p>\n Calm and measured, Pence showed off his preparation for his vice-presidential showdown with Democrat Tim Kaine, fending off a slashing, interrupting opponent. The Indiana governor prepared for the debate \u201csince the night he received the call from Mr. Trump,\u201d a campaign aide told ABC News, enlisting Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker as Kaine\u2019s stand-in during practice sessions last week.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n A CNN poll agreed<\/a>: 48% of voters who watched said Pence won the debate while 42% said Kaine won. In an Ohio focus group for CBS News by Republican pollster Frank Luntz, 22 participants said Pence won while just four said Kaine won, though when he asked how many would change their votes as a result, the answer was zero. Pence took up a larger share of the debate conversation than Kaine on Twitter and Facebook, the companies said.<\/p>\n Pence could have won the debate but failed Trump, said Joel K. Goldstein, a law professor and expert on the vice presidency at the St. Louis University School of Law. \u201cGovernor Pence’s way of defending Trump was to attack Clinton,\u201d said Goldstein. \u201cKaine was making the point that what Trump has done is indefensible and even Pence can’t defend him.\u201d<\/p>\n Kaine, chided by the moderator for interrupting Pence dozens of times, goaded his rival to defend Trump. \u201cHe’s asking people to vote for somebody he cannot defend,\u201d Kaine, 58, said. Pence responded with serene head-shakes and mumbles of \u201cthat’s nonsense,\u201d saying he was \u201chappy to defend\u201d Trump as a businessman rather than \u201ca polished politician like you and Hillary Clinton.\u201d<\/p>\n Much of the early part of the vice presidential debate was taken up with squabbling over issues such as which side had run the most \u201cinsult-driven\u201d campaign. The moderator, Elaine Quijano of CBS News, battled to keep the debate civil against steep odds. Pence, perhaps drawing on his experience of being a radio talk show host earlier in his life, appeared the more confident and controlled of the two candidates. By contrast, some of Kaine\u2019s attacks had a canned quality, and he spoke over both Quijano and Pence repeatedly.<\/p>\n That said, the battle to shape public perception of debates is often won and lost in the 24 or 48 hours afterward rather than during the events themselves. Kaine\u2019s central strategy of highlighting as many of Trump\u2019s inflammatory statements as possible could pay off as the 90-minute debate gets reduced to sound bites in the hours and days to come.<\/p>\n An interesting observation was made by Bloomberg which noted that both figures were vastly overshadowed by their deeply unpopular celebrity running mates. (Kaine and Pence each mentioned their running mates by name more times than any other No. 2 candidates since the vice-presidential debates started in 1976, according to a transcript analysis.)<\/p>\n\n
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