Pence: one of the best VP picks of all time

[Statilius the Epicurean]

In terms of winning the election at least he was a fantastic choice by the Trump campaign, keeping religious conservatives in the tent (in fact he helped them turn out strongly). No way Trump would have won if he had picked Christie (lol) like he wanted to.

[Lord Admirale]

Yes

[TPIG]

I agree. If he had gone with Christie or Gingrich, he would not have won. You can't have two loudmouths on one ticket. Pence provided the calm, conservative persona that I'm sure got some disaffected Republicans off the sidelines and back into the Trump column

[Arbitrage1980]

Pence was the best VP pick since Gore. He bridged the gap between Trump and the religious right; he also brought maturity and depth to the ticket. And of course, Pence kicked whiny Kaine's butt in the VP debate.

[Bismarck]

Picking Pence also had the effect of putting a less controversial figure on the Indiana governors race. Gregg had much more he could attack Pence on than Holcomb. I think in addition to bridging the gap with social conservatives, Pence also reinforced Trumps strategy of running up the vote in the Midwest.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Pence was the best VP pick since Gore. He bridged the gap between Trump and the religious right; he also brought maturity and depth to the ticket. And of course, Pence kicked whiny Kaine's butt in the VP debate.

Why was Gore a good vp pick , Clinton was already going to do very well in the upper south

[wxtransit]

I agree. If he had gone with Christie or Gingrich, he would not have won. You can't have two loudmouths on one ticket. Pence provided the calm, conservative persona that I'm sure got some disaffected Republicans off the sidelines and back into the Trump column

[Holy Unifying Centrist]

Pence ended up being a pretty strong VP pick. Biden was also a strong VP pick but nowhere near the level of Pence. Palin was a fantastic VP pick for about 2 weeks until she started gaffing every other minute.

Pence was the best VP pick since Gore. He bridged the gap between Trump and the religious right; he also brought maturity and depth to the ticket. And of course, Pence kicked whiny Kaine's butt in the VP debate.

Why was Gore a good vp pick , Clinton was already going to do very well in the upper south

Al Gore helped maintain the advantage.

[Mister Mets]

It didn't look it at the time, given Pence's problems running for reelection in a pretty conservative state, but it helped get Evangelicals and wary establishment Republicans on Trump's side, while avoiding pushback that would come with a more controversial figure.

[Mister Mets]

Pence ended up being a pretty strong VP pick. Biden was also a strong VP pick but nowhere near the level of Pence. Palin was a fantastic VP pick for about 2 weeks until she started gaffing every other minute.

Pence was the best VP pick since Gore. He bridged the gap between Trump and the religious right; he also brought maturity and depth to the ticket. And of course, Pence kicked whiny Kaine's butt in the VP debate.

Why was Gore a good vp pick , Clinton was already going to do very well in the upper south

Al Gore helped maintain the advantage.

Gore also amplified what was attractive about Clinton, with a ticket with two young men from a politically useful region.

[Fuzzy Bear]

Pence ended up being a pretty strong VP pick. Biden was also a strong VP pick but nowhere near the level of Pence. Palin was a fantastic VP pick for about 2 weeks until she started gaffing every other minute.

Pence was the best VP pick since Gore. He bridged the gap between Trump and the religious right; he also brought maturity and depth to the ticket. And of course, Pence kicked whiny Kaine's butt in the VP debate.

Why was Gore a good vp pick , Clinton was already going to do very well in the upper south

Al Gore helped maintain the advantage.

Gore also amplified what was attractive about Clinton, with a ticket with two young men from a politically useful region.

Gore enabled Clinton to carry Tennessee.  I am not convinced this would have happened had Clinton not picked another Southerner. 

The 1992 Clinton campaign was the campaign of the "New Democrats" which rejected expansive, Great Society big government programs, and promised Welfare Reform.  Gore reinforced that image; he was perceived as a moderate Democrat on economics, and his position on the environment at that time was less controversial because its full economic impacts hadn't been subjected to public debate yet. 

One thing Clinton was better at than Jimmy Carter was avoiding the "wishy-washy" image.  Carter, of course, ran in a different era where he had opposed busing, endorsed Lester Maddox, and had toyed with the issue of swinging the Georgia delegation to the 1972 Democratic National Convention to support George Wallace, before Carter announced his support of Sen. Henry Jackson.  (Wallace was surprisingly forgiving; he endorsed Carter in 1976 once Carter became the nominee.)  At any rate, Carter had far more of a conservative record than Clinton did, and Carter's record provided a degree of dissonance with the Democratic Platform in 1976 than Clinton's did in 1992. 

Trump didn't need Pence to keep evangelicals in line; that was going to happen by itself.  Trump needed Pence not just for his steady demeanor, but for his firmness in his commitment to Trump.  Pence never wavered in his support for Trump at a time where he was being pressured to, and at a time where it would have been tempting for him to jump ship.  And, yes, Pence looked much more like a President than Tim Kaine in debate.  I generally have thought well of Kaine, but he certainly appeared the lap dog for Hillary in debate. 

[TDAS04]

Sad but true.  A Trump/Christie or Trump/Gingrich ticket probably would have lost.

I personally hate Pence more than I hate Newt or New Jersey fatso, but for the same reason the fundies love the current VP.  Trump picked someone possibly worse than himself, and unfortunately, that excited enough of the religious right to show up and vote.

[Lechasseur]

Pence ended up being a pretty strong VP pick. Biden was also a strong VP pick but nowhere near the level of Pence. Palin was a fantastic VP pick for about 2 weeks until she started gaffing every other minute.

Pence was the best VP pick since Gore. He bridged the gap between Trump and the religious right; he also brought maturity and depth to the ticket. And of course, Pence kicked whiny Kaine's butt in the VP debate.

Why was Gore a good vp pick , Clinton was already going to do very well in the upper south

Al Gore helped maintain the advantage.

Gore also amplified what was attractive about Clinton, with a ticket with two young men from a politically useful region.

Gore enabled Clinton to carry Tennessee.  I am not convinced this would have happened had Clinton not picked another Southerner. 

The 1992 Clinton campaign was the campaign of the "New Democrats" which rejected expansive, Great Society big government programs, and promised Welfare Reform.  Gore reinforced that image; he was perceived as a moderate Democrat on economics, and his position on the environment at that time was less controversial because its full economic impacts hadn't been subjected to public debate yet. 

One thing Clinton was better at than Jimmy Carter was avoiding the "wishy-washy" image.  Carter, of course, ran in a different era where he had opposed busing, endorsed Lester Maddox, and had toyed with the issue of swinging the Georgia delegation to the 1972 Democratic National Convention to support George Wallace, before Carter announced his support of Sen. Henry Jackson.  (Wallace was surprisingly forgiving; he endorsed Carter in 1976 once Carter became the nominee.)  At any rate, Carter had far more of a conservative record than Clinton did, and Carter's record provided a degree of dissonance with the Democratic Platform in 1976 than Clinton's did in 1992. 

Trump didn't need Pence to keep evangelicals in line; that was going to happen by itself.  Trump needed Pence not just for his steady demeanor, but for his firmness in his commitment to Trump.  Pence never wavered in his support for Trump at a time where he was being pressured to, and at a time where it would have been tempting for him to jump ship.  And, yes, Pence looked much more like a President than Tim Kaine in debate.  I generally have thought well of Kaine, but he certainly appeared the lap dog for Hillary in debate. 

This analysis is spot on

[Lechasseur]

I agree. If he had gone with Christie or Gingrich, he would not have won. You can't have two loudmouths on one ticket. Pence provided the calm, conservative persona that I'm sure got some disaffected Republicans off the sidelines and back into the Trump column

Agreed. Honestly I like Christie and Gingrich better than Pence but yeah with either of those two on the ticket Trump would have probably lost. Pence was the right choice for the reasons you mentionned.

[Fuzzy Bear]

I agree. If he had gone with Christie or Gingrich, he would not have won. You can't have two loudmouths on one ticket. Pence provided the calm, conservative persona that I'm sure got some disaffected Republicans off the sidelines and back into the Trump column

Agreed. Honestly I like Christie and Gingrich better than Pence but yeah with either of those two on the ticket Trump would have probably lost. Pence was the right choice for the reasons you mentionned.

I, too, thought that Christie or Gingrich would have been better (particularly Newt) because they were guys who NEEDED Trump to bolster THEIR sagging careers, and, as such, would not screw Trump over when things got tough.  Picking Pence did diminish the idea that Trump would only pick flunkies and yes-men/women who needed him. 

Pence got Trump through the scandal of the Billy Bush tapes and the allegations.  Just imagine what it would have been like if he picked Gingrich.  Two (2) Dirty Old Men!  Christie would have gone out on the campaign trail and angrily demeaned an accuser, turning opinion against Trump to the point where folks would have concluded that the accusations had merit, and would have generated public sympathy for the accusers beyond what already was.  Pence stayed cool in the crisis, and I believe his cool demeanor enabled the campaign to not implode until a brighter day, courtesy of James Comey, came Trump's way.

[Young Conservative]

Strategically, Pence is the best VP pick I can think of. He is also one of the best Vice Presidents of all time (and will be an amazing President!)

[America's Sweetheart ❤/𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕭𝖔𝖔𝖙𝖞 𝖂𝖆𝖗𝖗𝖎𝖔𝖗]

Strategically, Pence is the best VP pick I can think of. He is also one of the best Vice Presidents of all time (and will be an amazing President!)

The only way Pence is going to be POTUS is if Trump is impeached/removed from office or dies before his term(s) is up.

[wxtransit]

Strategically, Pence is the best VP pick I can think of. He is also one of the best Vice Presidents of all time (and will be an amazing President!)

The only way Pence is going to be POTUS is if Trump is impeached/removed from office or dies before his term(s) is up.

Or...he could run for election in the distant future. Or Trump could just say that one term would be enough, and in 2020 Pence would be one of the front runners for the nomination.

[Kingpoleon]

Mitch Daniels would have been better, in my opinion.

[Young Conservative]

Mitch Daniels would have been better, in my opinion.

His suburban appeal would have been good, but he is little known among the broader electorate. Mike Pence was fairly well known among Republicans.

[Pennsylvania Deplorable]

Pence was a great pick because he had experience in Congress and as Governor of Indiana which had made him friendly with the establishment but he also had a reputation for social conservatism that helped boost evangelical turnout. He really united the GOP behind Trump and also won the VP debate for what that's worth. Pence also doesn't have a big ego. Had Trump brought on another big personality, they might have ended up clashing. Pence was able to deflect questions designed to bait him into criticizing Trump on the issues where they had some disagreement. He's well positioned as a candidate acceptable to the Bannon wing, the establishment, and the social conservatives, should he run in 2024 (or 2020 if Trump doesn't run again).

[tschandler]

People forget pre Inconvenient Truth Al Gore was a fairly conservative figure.   

[mvd10]

Like I said before: Magic Mike is the cause of all of this. If he wasn't so awesome the US wouldn't be governed by an incompetent demagogue. Unless he makes up for this by becoming president himself he shall burn in hell for eternity because of Trump's presidency (which wouldn't have been possible if Pence hadn't been such an amazing VP pick).

[DFL]

Trump didn't need Pence to keep evangelicals in line; that was going to happen by itself.  Trump needed Pence not just for his steady demeanor, but for his firmness in his commitment to Trump.  Pence never wavered in his support for Trump at a time where he was being pressured to, and at a time where it would have been tempting for him to jump ship.  And, yes, Pence looked much more like a President than Tim Kaine in debate.  I generally have thought well of Kaine, but he certainly appeared the lap dog for Hillary in debate. 

This so much

[All Along The Watchtower]

In addition to what others said (Pence reassuring the white evangelicals who had concerns and doubts about Trump) I would also like to point out that the Pence pick likewise reassured some of the powerful (conservative) elites in the United States that Trump would sign-on to their ideological agenda - or at the very least, not obstruct it.