Pence Has the Far More Difficult Job Tonight

First Read: “We don’t envy the task in front of Republican Mike Pence in tonight’s vice-presidential debate. Not only does he have to defend the controversies from Donald Trump’s brutal week (the taxes, Alicia Machado, the 3:00 am tweetstorm), but he also has to defend Trump on issues where the two men are at odds. Indeed, before Pence became Trump’s running mate, he:

• Opposed Trump’s Muslim ban
• Supported the TPP trade agreement
• Voted for the Iraq war authorization
• Praised NAFTA

“Folks, those aren’t ordinary campaign issues; they are central to Trump’s candidacy. What’s more, Pence has often been running a parallel campaign to Trump’s.”

What Tim Kaine must do: “Every time that Pence will want to talk about traditional issues, Kaine will have to turn the conversation back to Trump.”