Contrary to what you may think, or even what you might be expecting us to say, the Vice Presidential Debate matters. It takes place tonight. Most of you probably didn't know that because you don't care about it but you should. Tonight, 6:00 pm PST marks the first time an actual Republican will have to answer for Donald Trump and his policies, or lack thereof.
Tonight Indiana Gov. Mike Pence will have to offer America a non-radicalized version of Trump's broken policies with little room for steering the conversation elsewhere. It's an awful condition for a vice-presidential nominee to enter a debate this way, and you can count on Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine to take advantage of the situation.
Look, we're all well aware that Donald Trump's personal bravado will be missing from tonight's festivities, but that is perhaps the debate's biggest draw. Pence enters the debate faced with the idea that Trump may not concede defeat. While this, in and of itself, is horrifying the reveal of his near billion dollar tax loss in 1995 only adds to potential problems for his campaign.
Additionally Pence might be made to answer for his strange views on abortion, his Syrian refugee fear mongering, or how his views on banking align with big business (Spoiler: they don't). His personal policies may be more sound than Trump's, but can he spin rhetoric far enough to bail his running mate out of the fire?
If Pence doesn't hold it together this could be the turning point toward Trump's ultimate defeat.