But then, after President Joe Biden's debate face-plant on June 27, and his exit from the campaign a few weeks later, Walz decided he might as well get himself out there a little more. He would shed his camouflage hat, throw on a tie, and try to fit some TV interviews into his busy schedule of changing air filters, hunting pheasants, and governing Minnesota.

And wouldn't you know it, Walz was an instant sensation: He relentlessly touted Harris and crushed Donald Trump and dismissed certain Republicans as "weird" in a punchy procession of appearances. Next thing he knew, in early August, Harris was on the phone asking him to be her running mate, and Walz was saying, Sure, why not, he'd be happy to help - just as he would if, say, Harris were his friend down the road who needed help shoveling out her car after a blizzard.

"As I told the vice president, whatever I can offer, I will do," Walz said in Grand Rapids, recounting Harris's fateful "Let's do this, buddy!" invitation. A sensation was born.

When Harris picked Walz, she knew that this would be an abbreviated race, with limited time to make an impression. The campaign clearly saw Walz as embodying an archetype of American masculinity that would stand in contrast with the noisy grievance guys in the red MAGA hats and creepy venture-capitalist types like Vance, who can't order a damn doughnut without breaking into hives. Walz is a much more approachable avatar for would-be Harris supporters, those classic rockers, tellers of dad jokes, and football-watching wearers of Taylor Swift friendship bracelets. They are content to sit at home and mind their own damn business unless called upon, in which case they're happy to pitch in and help. How could these dudes - who ideally live in places like Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin - not relate to Tim Walz?

To judge Kamala Harris on hers is to instantly recognize what a perfect choice Tim Walz has been in contrast to everything JD Vance isn't, namely an actual humane soul, comfortable in his own skin with a lifelong record of service to both his nation and community.

I guess it shows how "regular" Tim Walz is in comparison to Vance's excentricities that I seldom see him mentioned in the news with the regularity of Vance and his sycophantic miming of Trumpisms often without the intentional ambiguity that is Trump's entire trademark and political brand.

Hopefully the upcoming debate will again focus America's attention on just who's better prepared to take over the White House if either presidential candidate has to be replaced.

Yea, I would not have gone with "perfect" in that sentence.

I think you missed that I used the word only as in a direct comparison to Trump's pick, JD., not in the sense that Walz is any more perfect than the rest of us imperfect beings.

In, THAT comparison, it's easy to call Walz a "perfect" choice by, and more importantly for Harris, namely for the very reasons you mentioned above added to my own: JD doesn't project a humane spirit - with his racist attacks on Haitians; he's visibly uncomfortable around regular people - namely because he doesn't see himself as one, so he can't help but reek of elitist superiority; and he's spent scant few months of his adult life helping or serving the public good and has no experience in government management outside of possibly his Senate staff - who's probably managed by his chief of staff. Yet he may end up heading the whole thing, something he's incredibly inexperienced to do.

Walz was a hit at the game today. They lovingly chanted 'Get out of here!'

What do you expect when Michigan fans were left standing in the pouring rain for 30 minutes to allow Walz inside before them?

Human or AI, you're scum.

That applies to Commondolt as well.