Al Gore

Little attention has been paid by news media to the upcoming Vice Presidential debate, but it really does matter.

One of these two men–Virginia Democratic Senator Tim Kaine or Indiana Republican Governor Mike Pence–will be a heartbeat away from the Presidency, and with their “boss” being either the second oldest or the oldest President at inauguration, that raises the possibility of succession, either by natural causes or by the hated thought of assassination, something that cannot be limited as a potential possibility in a very unsafe environment, both domestic and foreign.

And even if everything goes well, either man could be the heir apparent, and run for the Oval Office four or eight years hence.

It will be interesting to see their body language, their expressions, their knowledge level, their depth, their personality, as neither is known well by the general public.

While both can be said to be basically competent for the job they seek, a look at the public record and utterances of both makes clear that Tim Kaine is, by far, the preferable choice, as he is a mainstream Democrat, while Pence is connected to the right wing of the Republican Party, and has consorted with the Tea Party element in the party in his earlier years in the House of Representatives. Pence has come across as mean spirited, as in the case of an African American man convicted without just cause, finally gaining his freedom with a reversal of his wrongful conviction, but wanting a complete pardon so that his record is expunged, and unable to move ahead in his private life until such happens. But Pence is slow and reluctant to do anything, and one has to wonder, if the race of the individual is a factor.

Being willing to support Donald Trump, no matter what he says or does, might be understandable for a running mate, but it also indicates a lack of principle in asserting his own freedom from the most outrageous Presidential nominee in American history.

Kaine, by comparison, is a humane, decent, genuine, sincere man, who works well “across the aisle” in the Senate, and is admired and liked by many Republican Senators. He has social compassion for the poor, as when he did church work in Honduras, and learned the Spanish language. This is the kind of a man we need to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency, and one can be sure he will be utilized by Hillary Clinton effectively, as has been the case with Joe Biden under Barack Obama, Al Gore under Bill Clinton, and Walter Mondale under Jimmy Carter.