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WHAT TO WATCH IN THE VICE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE
By Lisa Desjardins, @LisaDNews
Correspondent
 
In any election, it is important and deceptively difficult to sort out what matters.
 
In an election that is a dead heat? Even more so. 
 
Will the CBS Vice Presidential Debate tonight turn out to be one of those things that really matter? 
 
Here are three things to watch.
 
The expectations game
 
Democratic nominee and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has been on a ballot — congressional or gubernatorial — since 2006. That’s eight campaigns. Republican nominee and Ohio Sen. JD Vance has run in exactly one election. He won his only U.S. Senate run two years ago.
 
Walz far outmatches Vance in years of on-stage political experience, but the Walz team is going out of its way to try to reverse expectations. In a CNN report, a campaign source spoke of Walz having anxiety about the debate and warning Harris that he is not a good debater.
 
It is true that Vance’s Senate debate performances stood out. He can be quick on his feet, as The New York Times said in its analysis of the politician’s debating style.
 
However, the Vance team also is using the “we are outmatched” line. Trump campaign spokesman Jason Miller told reporters Monday, “Tim Walz is very good in debates.” (He stressed “very.”)
 
Watch for which candidate seems more comfortable on stage and in their own skin. Few words these two men say may be remembered, but their body language and confidence level could stick in voters’ minds.  
 
Whoever wins that battle of impressions will win the expectations game.
 
Who attacks, and who gets attacked
 
Both men face a decision over when to go on offense and how much to turn up the heat. 
 
On Monday’s call with reporters, the Trump-Vance team laid out a long list of items on which they are ready to attack Walz, from his past statements to his record in office. We counted more than a dozen separate items. 
 
And no doubt, with Vance’s own repeated controversial statements and his conversion from anti- to pro-Trump, the Harris-Walz team is also ready to go on the attack.
 
But let’s add another layer: Will they attack one another, or end up focusing on the top-of-the-ticket candidates not on stage?
 
Why does this matter? This election is largely about which team manages to define the other. How these candidates approach their own ideas and whether and how much they go on the offensive will reveal a lot about the nature of each campaign and how they think they can win.
 
The facts, and where to check them
 
The CBS moderators do not plan to verbally fact check the candidates during the debate. Instead the network will offer a QR code during its broadcast that will take viewers to a real-time fact check on its website. 
 
But the problem for viewers remains: There will be a torrent of claims during this debate, some coming so fast it may be hard to discern fact from spin – or worse, a lie made for political gain – in real time.
 
At Here’s the Deal, we swear by our friends at PolitiFact. They have already fact-checked many of the repeated claims that could come up again Tuesday night. Note that at the top there are fact checks available in English and Spanish. Their live fact check, which you can follow during the debate, is also on our website.
 
We highly recommend looking through these during the day today as you can, so you’ll be armed with context around some of the common talking points going into the debate. 

One last source: I will attempt to post pertinent fact checks in real time on my feed on X.