This isn't a ridiculous as it initially sounds. Of course for it to be effective Pence would have to be Cheney II.
After reflecting for a day, I think the "winner" of the debate depends on the person watching. If you are well informed, you knew that Pence was flat out lying when he kept denying all the stuff Trump said which Kaine was quoting verbatim. And that smug, condescending look while shaking his head just made him look like a real asshole. Why would anyone believe anything that came out of his mouth, much less vote for him? OTOH, if you are not well informed, he came off looking more "presidential." So it is especially unsurprising that each side thinks their guy won - as Trump brags, the uneducated are his friends.
lol, most debates that is how it works. (for the very partisan people) most other people don't care who "won" just if they personally liked something's that were said.
I only saw a couple of highlights, but there was something nostalgic about seeing two white party establishment men debating each other. "Make America great again!"
We'll have plenty of time to debate the above (bolded party, specifically) after the election. I do find it odd, though, that Pence performing reasonably well in the VP debate somehow propels him, in the minds of some pundits, into position for taking over as party frontrunner. If, as expected, Trump loses this election, the GOP, as it did four years ago, will once again go through a soul-searching process. The Trump campaign has been a disaster for the party and Pence is associated with it. Maybe he wants to be president. If so, he'll probably need to run against a large crowd of crazies in four years, including guys like Cruz and Rubio. If Trump loses in November, there will be no frontrunner of the GOP.
I thought the frontrunner was Cruz. Anyway it's pretty unusual for a failed VP nominee to get the nomination, isn't it? Dole did, but not the next election. Mondale did, but he had actually served as VP.