It’s been two days since the meaningless Vice Presidential debate between Senator Tim Kain and the soon-to-be ex-governor of Indiana, Mike Pence. If you’ve been following the post-debate analysis of who won and who lost, you’re most likely aware that many pundits give this one to Governor Pence, though some did so guardedly.

Even MSNBC’s Chris “Obama gives me a thrill up my leg” Matthews gave Pence the win due to his so-called presidential demeanor when compared to Tim Kaine’s childish and whiny temperament, and his frequent interruptions whenever Pence was speaking.

While I agree that Pence was the winner of the affair due to his demeanor, he was a complete failure on substance, specifically when it came to his defense of the indefensible Donald Trump. Using lies and made-up answers, Pence attempted to pretend Donald Trump didn’t exist as he weakly defended the New York liberal. Here are a few examples:

• When Kaine accurately pointed out Trump’s call for mass deportations of illegals, Pence called it “nonsense.” (To be fair, Trump has recently “softened” his promise to deport illegals)
• When Kaine called out Trump for his controversial and dangerous man-crush of Vladimir Putin, Pence responded with a weak retort about how he was “offended” by the accusation.
• When Kaine accurately challenged the Trump campaign about his threats towards NATO (calling them obsolete), his claims about how much smarter he is than the generals and his belief that more nations should have nuclear weapons, Pence replied, “oh, please, come on.”

And, as Ben Shapiro noted in his piece at National Review yesterday, “when Kaine ran though the list of horribly offensive things Trump has said, from Miss Universe insults to his ‘Mexican’ judge comments, Pence simply pretended that the incidents in question never happened…”

The Donald Trump that Pence defended was so imaginary, that it prompted Erick Erickson to tweet during the debate:

Boy, I could vote for the Donald Trump who exists in Mike Pence’s mind. I just can’t vote for the actual Donald Trump.

— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) October 5, 2016

Many of my peers hold Pence up as a principled Conservative. But as we learned last year when he caved to the Gay Mafia by essentially voiding the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in Indiana–forcing Christian business owners to violate their deeply held religious beliefs–yesterday’s principles become today’s cowardess, and today’s cowardess becomes tomorrow’s compromise.

Of course, when compared to Trump–a pretty low bar–I can see how there may be those who think that Pence is the next Ronald Reagan.

During the debate, Pence proved what we know all too well. Becoming a member of Trump’s inner circle will always cost you your integrity and principles . . . as your character slowly and agonizingly dies.

Originally posted at The Strident Conservative

David Leach is the owner of The Strident Conservative, your source for opinion that’s politically-incorrect and always “right.” His articles can also be found on RedState.com.

His daily radio commentary is nationally syndicated with Salem Radio Network and can be heard on stations across America.