Susan Millsap, communications professor at Ohio’s Otterbein University and adviser to the student debate team
Overall: "I didn't like it much," Millsap said, because both candidates kept pivoting from the questions asked by moderator Susan Page of USA Today. "Nobody gets an 'A' today," she added, while "the moderator I would give an 'F' to. She couldn't get control of the debate."
Pence: "Kept interrupting or speaking longer than he was supposed to. It just drove me crazy," she said. As for his arguments, "all he does is deflect. I think at one point he was up eight straw men arguments and red herrings."
Millsap noted that the vice president pivoted whenever Harris mentioned that the administration was trying to get rid of the Affordable Care Act in court.
She also said that Pence, like President Donald Trump last week, didn't say much about plans for a second term — just that Joe Biden's policies would be terrible. "I don't think that's going to change any minds," she said.
Harris: "She came across as well-prepared," Millsap said. While she was "more direct" than Pence in her answers, "there are a couple of times I got frustrated with her because she didn't answer the questions that she was asked," citing Harris's dodges on questions about the Green New Deal and packing the Supreme Court.
But Millsap said Harris had some standout moments, such as when she was speaking about the deaths of Breonna Taylor and Kayla Mueller, whose family was in the audience. "It felt very honest and came across as sincere," she said.
Millsap's report card:
Pence's grade: D
Harris' grade: B
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