Unsolicited advice to an over-intense Mike Pence
Quin Hillyer
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Former Vice President Mike Pence should do some work with his, well, style, but before getting to that, let’s dispense with something he said today on ABC’s This Week that nobody should say, ever.
In a fascinating interview in which Pence, as is usual, said a lot of thoughtful things, he, unfortunately, began on the wrong note. It’s a note lots of people have sung in recent weeks, but it’s a note that is way off-key.
EVERYBODY SHOULD STOP PRE-JUDGING A TRUMP INDICTMENT THAT HASN’T HAPPENED YET
“Well, first, let me say, I’m — I’m taken aback at the idea of indicting a former president of the United States.”
Stop there. Full stop. Why should anybody be taken aback at the very idea of indicting a former president? Granted, we all should be taken aback by the idea that a former president would do something that merits indictment. Still, that is different than suggesting that a former commander in chief should be immune from indictment if he does stray.
Here in the United States, nobody is or should be above the law, not even by unwritten rule. Imagine if a former president trying to return to power paid a kickback to a foreign agent. Of course, he should be charged and tried. Even if extra care is taken to ensure he isn’t tried for political motives, nobody in this country should believe power provides protection from equal justice.
OK, let’s move on.
Pence’s chances of winning the presidency are hampered less by anything he says or doesn’t say about former President Trump or about any particular issue than by his dour demeanor. For fifteen years, I have touted Pence as a potentially excellent president one day, and for fifteen years, I’ve heard pushback, largely from women, not on grounds of substance but of style.
“He’s wound too tight,” they say. “He never smiles. He has no charisma. He sounds too programmed. No spontaneity. No inspiration.”
They say he might be dependable on issues, competent, and committed to the Constitution. But they want to see something, well, relatable.
On This Week, the reasons for those criticisms were on full display. There’s nothing buoyant about Pence’s attitude on any subject. As the cliché goes, he is serious as a heart attack. And when given a question he doesn’t want to answer, he repeats the same talking point in the same emotionless voice with the exact same words that he has used before.
How many times can he say that he will rely on the “judgment of history” or that he is “disappointed” in Trump’s behavior surrounding the Capitol riots before he sounds like either an automaton or maybe Star Trek’s emotionless Dr. Spock?
Nobody is suggesting that Pence should fake some frivolity, that he should be something he is not, or that he tries to turn into a comedian. Surely, though, underneath that mask, there’s a man who can lighten up, have some fun, and enjoy life. Surely, without scripting some cue-card instructions such as “now give a half smile; then a muted chuckle,” Pence can let people see a bit more of him than the oft-repeated line that he is “a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican, in that order.”
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This is not meant as a harsh critique. It’s more like words to the wise.
Mike Pence has a distinguished record as a congressman, governor, and vice president. He stands firm on most issues. He did the right thing, against immense pressure, before and during the Capitol riot. He would make a good president. First, though, he needs to win. To win, he needs, just a little, to lighten up.