Eric Levitz: “The vice-presidential debate was jarringly normal. The candidates spoke in complete sentences. They interrupted each other (though the Republican interrupted more), ignored the questions they were asked (though the Republican ignored them more), and misled viewers about inconvenient truths (though the Republican lied more) — but they did it all with passive-aggressive politesse, just like it was done in the olden days of 2014, when “President Donald Trump” was still just a twinkle in Satan’s eye. Pence struck me as more visibly comfortable and smooth in his sophistry. Or maybe he was just whiter and more male. (CNN’s instant poll of debate watchers found Harris winning handily.) Regardless, it’s clear that Pence failed to trick Harris into committing some viral “gaffe” that could compete for attention with our very bronze president’s latest hijinks. Given the present state of the race, that makes the evening a loss for Donald Trump.”