Why This Veep Debate Matters a Lot

Let’s face it, most Vice-Presidential debates don’t matter very much, whatever the outcome. In October, 1988, I was in Omaha, Nebraska, for Lloyd Bentsen’s famous takedown of Dan Quayle: “Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy, I knew Jack Kennedy, Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy.” The next morning, on the campaign plane, Quayle still looked stunned, but, ultimately, it didn’t count for anything. A month later, Quayle’s running mate, George H. W. Bush, crushed Michael Dukakis by a margin of almost eight percentage points and carried forty states.

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