MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Ohio Senator JD Vance and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz meet tomorrow night for the vice presidential debate. But how much do VP debates really matter? NPR senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith takes us on a romp through recent history.
TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: Vice presidential debates are often forgettable, but the one in 1988 is seared in American popular culture. Judy Woodruff of PBS did the introductions.
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JUDY WOODRUFF: The candidates are Senator Dan Quayle, the Republican nominee, and Senator Lloyd Bentsen, the Democratic nominee.
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KEITH: Bentsen was in his late 60s, while Quayle was only 41. And that dynamic led to quite possibly the best line in debate history. Brett O'Donnell helps Republican candidates prepare for debates.
BRETT O'DONNELL: Dan Quayle compares himself to John F. Kennedy, and Lloyd Bentsen says...
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LLOYD BENTSEN: I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy.
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O'DONNELL: That was a huge moment in the debate.
KEITH: A huge moment that had no real impact on the outcome of the race. Glorious smackdown notwithstanding, Bentsen and his running mate, Michael Dukakis, lost in a wipeout. The next VP debate featured a third-party candidate.
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JAMES STOCKDALE: Who am I? Why am I here?
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KEITH: He was James Stockdale, the running mate of Ross Perot. And that three-way conversation featured a whole lot of crosstalk between Quayle and future Vice President Al Gore.
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DAN QUAYLE: That's the problem. Now, let me talk about healthcare, and I'm glad...
AL GORE: Did you require it?
QUAYLE: Just a - my turn.
GORE: Did you require it?
QUAYLE: My turn.
GORE: Did you require...
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QUAYLE: Lighten up, Al - my turn.
GORE: It's a free discussion.
QUAYLE: Take a breath, Al. Inhale.
GORE: It's a free discussion.
KEITH: In 2008, the most memorable thing happened right as Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and then-Senator Joe Biden walked onstage.
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SARAH PALIN: Nice to meet you. Hey. Can I call you Joe?
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: You can call me Joe.
KEITH: O'Donnell says it was humanizing.
O'DONNELL: What most people now learned is she was having a hard time remembering just to say Biden, was saying O'Biden in debate prep.
KEITH: So calling him Joe was actually a way to avoid a potential debate pitfall. In 2020, it was then-Senator Kamala Harris' attempt to reclaim her time from Vice President Mike Pence that created a standout debate moment.
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VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: In 1864...
MIKE PENCE: Well, I'd like you to answer the question.
HARRIS: Mr. Vice President, I'm speaking. I'm speaking. OK?
KEITH: But actually, it may have been the fly that parked itself on Pence's white hair that earned the most attention in that debate, which begs the question, do vice presidential debates really matter? Joel Goldstein is an expert on the vice presidency. He argues, yes, they do.
JOEL GOLDSTEIN: It's an important part of their introduction to the American people, along with this sort of - the vice presidential rollout and the acceptance speech.
KEITH: And these two could use more of an introduction. JD Vance is a bestselling author, but has only been in the Senate for two years. Governor Tim Walz served in Congress, but never had a national profile until now. Goldstein says one key test is whether voters can imagine them as president.
GOLDSTEIN: If somebody's not prepared to be president on day one, they're also not likely to be the sort of person who's going to be able to walk into the Oval Office and say no to the president or tell him or her that the president's wrong.
KEITH: This is especially important if the person running for president is older. As O'Donnell put it...
O'DONNELL: We just want to know, if something were to happen to the president, could these people step up? That's really what we want to know.
KEITH: Both Goldstein and O'Donnell say vice presidential debates can be an important part of the narrative of the campaign, but O'Donnell says there are limits.
O'DONNELL: I can't recall a moment in history where a VP debate has swung the race, and I don't expect that will happen this time.
KEITH: One unusual thing about this vice presidential debate is it is the last one on the calendar. Trump and Harris had their first, and so far only debate, on September 10. Harris wants another, but Trump has said no. Whether that holds may well depend on how tomorrow night goes and whether Trump is willing to let his running mate have the last word. Tamara Keith, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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