NEWT GINGRICH: At VP debate a star is born and Trump is vindicated

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The vice presidential debate on Tuesday night was staggeringly one-sided.

Sen. JD Vance was poised, calm, friendly, likable, and in control of the facts and himself.

By contrast, Gov. Tim Walz began the debate so nervous it was painful to watch. Then he made a series of mistakes which were cumulatively disqualifying. It was hard to believe he is on a national ticket.

VANCE VS. WALZ DEBATE: TOP TAKEAWAYS FROM VP CANDIDATES' FACE-OFF

Callista and I went to bed on Tuesday night convinced that Sen. Vance had won a substantial triumph. In that victory, he also vindicated President Donald J. Trump’s gamble in selecting a running mate so early in his career. At 40, with only two years in the U.S. Senate, Vance is only a few months older than Richard Nixon when President Dwight Eisenhower picked him to be the Republican vice presidential nominee in 1952. Nixon would remain a major part of the political scene for 42 years. That would give Sen. Vance a potential role in American government and politics until 2066.

When I got up on Wednesday morning, virtually all the commentaries validated the sense that the debate was something extraordinary.

This new reality was best summarized by Mark Halperin in the Wide World of News newsletter:

"1. One can pretend, as most of the Dominant Media does, that Tim Walz was not ‘clobbered’ by JD Vance, but, as honest Joe Klein (fully credentialed as second-to-none in contempt for Donald Trump and Vance) told the world, Walz was indeed clobbered, so badly that it ‘wasn’t as bad as Biden’s debilitated performance in June, but it was close.’ Remember: Biden’s perf[romance] was so bad it ended his candidacy and career."

Pollster Frank Luntz tweeted that his