It was so 2020: The moment that had most people buzzing from the Vice Presidential debate involved a fly that landed on Vice President Mike Pence's head.
That’s according to a Politico-Morning Consult poll taken in the immediate aftermath of the matchup between Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA).
The same poll found that the majority of voters gave Harris the win: 51% say she won the debate, 40% gave it to Pence. A FiveThirtyEight-IPSOS poll also found the majority of voters gave Harris higher marks for her performance and her policies, yet the event didn’t change voting decisions much.
It did give more voters a chance to evaluate Sen. Harris, who is not as well known as the Vice President. She was under intensescrutiny for a number of reasons: If elected, she’ll be a heartbeat away from the Oval Office, with a running mate who is 77 years old.
She would also be the first woman and first Black woman to occupy that position of power.
It is now well understood that women politicians are held to different standards than male politicians, and the judgment is more intense for women of color.
Studies show that voters place a premium on likability for both male and female candidates, but it matters to voters more when the candidate is a woman.
“We know that voters will not support a woman that they do not like, even if they believe that she is qualified,” Amanda Hunter, research and communications director at the Barbara Lee Family Foundation, explains. "But they will vote for a man that they do not like if they believe he is qualified.”
In other words, women have to assert themselves enough to be viewed as qualified without compromising on “likability” among voters who will judge them on looks, facial expressions, forcefulness, warmth, friendliness, policy chops and gravitas.
Since the debate, the statement that has gotten the most attention is the simple phrase: “I’m speaking.”
By CBS News’ count, Vice President Pence interrupted Harris twice as often as she interrupted him.
The challenge for Harris, the first woman of color on a major party presidential ticket, was to take back her time without the media and swing voters calling her aggressive, tough or unlikable. She did it by avoiding an accusatory statement – never chiding Pence for interrupting her, instead asserting “I’m speaking” – and by deploying a smile and some patience.
Harris’ experience isn’t unique. A Harvard Business Review study showed that male Supreme Court Justices interrupt female justices three times more often than they interrupt one another. And the Journal of Language and Social Psychology published a piece in 2014 showing that speakers are more likely to interrupt when talking to a woman than a man.
Perhaps that’s why Harris’ line – "I’m speaking" – resonated with so many women, who shared it across social media.
Despite all the attention that debate has received, the truism for Vice Presidential debates is: Unless there’s a huge gaffe, they don’t move the needle. The main goal is to do no harm.
And when a fly gets most of the ink from a debate, you know both sides hit their target.