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The Vance-Walz VP debate was overshadowed by war and disaster
The Vance-Walz VP debate was overshadowed by war and disaster
Iran’s attack against Israel and the devastation from Hurricane Helene, plus possibly the dockworkers’ strike, risk injecting chaos in the presidential campaign’s final month.
Analysis by Dan Balz
October 2, 2024 at 5:00 a.m. EDT
Vice-presidential debates rarely matter much in presidential campaigns, and Tuesday’s clash between Democrat Tim Walz and Republican JD Vance may matter less than ever — not because of what was said or not said, but because events have suddenly interceded in ways that could affect the election in its closing weeks much more than what happened onstage in New York.
Iran’s ballistic missile attack against Israel, which came just hours before Tuesday night’s CBS News debate, represented a dramatic and dangerous escalation of a Middle East conflict that has now raged for nearly a year. Further escalation is likely as the Israelis prepare a response and as President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris weigh their options as they stand with Israel.
Biden and Harris also are consumed with the federal response to the deaths and destruction caused by Hurricane Helene, a storm that has killed at least 137 people and has left towns and communities in the South crippled as they deal with wrenching devastation. The storm’s widespread damage forced Harris to abandon the campaign trail and return to the White House on Monday.
Added to that, dockworkers along the East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico went on strike Tuesday, after efforts by Biden and his administration failed to prevent the walkout. The strike brought immediate interruption to shipping and could threaten the economy if longshoremen stay out for an extended period. Biden and Harris will be under pressure to bring the strike to an early end, but they risk a rift with organized labor in the process.
{snip}
By Dan Balz
Dan Balz is chief correspondent at The Washington Post. He has served as the paper’s deputy national editor, political editor, White House correspondent and Southwest correspondent.follow on X @danbalz
Iran’s attack against Israel and the devastation from Hurricane Helene, plus possibly the dockworkers’ strike, risk injecting chaos in the presidential campaign’s final month.
Analysis by Dan Balz
October 2, 2024 at 5:00 a.m. EDT
Vice-presidential debates rarely matter much in presidential campaigns, and Tuesday’s clash between Democrat Tim Walz and Republican JD Vance may matter less than ever — not because of what was said or not said, but because events have suddenly interceded in ways that could affect the election in its closing weeks much more than what happened onstage in New York.
Iran’s ballistic missile attack against Israel, which came just hours before Tuesday night’s CBS News debate, represented a dramatic and dangerous escalation of a Middle East conflict that has now raged for nearly a year. Further escalation is likely as the Israelis prepare a response and as President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris weigh their options as they stand with Israel.
Biden and Harris also are consumed with the federal response to the deaths and destruction caused by Hurricane Helene, a storm that has killed at least 137 people and has left towns and communities in the South crippled as they deal with wrenching devastation. The storm’s widespread damage forced Harris to abandon the campaign trail and return to the White House on Monday.
Added to that, dockworkers along the East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico went on strike Tuesday, after efforts by Biden and his administration failed to prevent the walkout. The strike brought immediate interruption to shipping and could threaten the economy if longshoremen stay out for an extended period. Biden and Harris will be under pressure to bring the strike to an early end, but they risk a rift with organized labor in the process.
{snip}
By Dan Balz
Dan Balz is chief correspondent at The Washington Post. He has served as the paper’s deputy national editor, political editor, White House correspondent and Southwest correspondent.follow on X @danbalz