Who the hell debated Tim Walz last night?

I understand he was introduced as “Vice-Presidential candidate JD Vance,” and I saw, on the stage, the familiar shaggy visage and guyliner of the ex-singer of some emo Appalachian family jamboree standing beside the governor of Minnesota.

But this JD Vance bore little resemblance to Donald Trump’s awkward running mate who always looks somebody snuck itching powder down his shirt. Nor did he look like the bookish author from several years ago, speaking empathetically about the people he threw under the bus in his best-selling Hillbilly Elegy. Nor was he the nerdy Peter Thiel acolyte bemoaning the coming matrifelinocracy worshipping their oracle, Taylor Swift.

The JD Vance who showed up at last night’s vice-presidential debate was none of those people and all of them: the bright young thing, the steely-eyed venture capitalist, the tech bro, the law school grad, celebrated author, Appalachian kid in bare feet, and now the man most ill-equipped to serve as Trump’s political assassin. The JD Vance I saw last night was somebody new, a bespoke creation for a single evening. Ersatz Vance.

Tim Walz, on the other hand, was just like the Tim Walz I’ve been seeing since he made that goofy video with his teenage daughter at the Minnesota State Fair. I expected, and got, a person who is half man/half labradoodle. And Walz played his part fine, arching his eyebrows and bugging out those eyes when the occasion warranted. Goofy Tim could be substantive, sure, and he got his jabs in, but I got the sense that the guy I was watching was the guy I’ve been watching,........

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