The Politics of a Boring Suit

A night of few fireworks between the candidates was also a night of little sartorial flair. And that was the goal.

Before either Gov. Tim Walz or Senator JD Vance uttered a single word at Tuesday night’s debate, they’d already found consensus on one matter: They would appear unremarkable.

The candidates walked onto the stage at the CBS News studios in Manhattan in nearly identical, ho-hum dark suits and starched white shirts. Each man had an American flag tacked to his left lapel. Their ties were not-so-subtle beacons of their political teams: Mr. Walz in blue, Mr. Vance in red (though his suffered under the harsh lighting, rendering the shade more of a candy pink on many screens).

There were no signs of idiosyncratic quirkiness here. No plaid pocket square for Walz. No gingham button up for Vance. On display was the same unremarkable armor that male presidential and vice-presidential candidates have favored for the better part of the last century.

But, if their outfits were boring, perhaps that was the point. During this frenetic sprint of a presidential race, each candidate has been branded, often in fiery terms, as an extremist by his rival — conveying that staid continuity might be seen as strategic.

Mr. Vance, with his false comments about pet-eating migrants and polarizing views about women, has been a sitting target for progressive pundits. Mr. Walz himself soared up the Democratic Party ranks by hurling the term “weird” at Mr. Vance and his fellow Republicans. At the same time, the Minnesota governor, with his legislative track record and history of visits to China (even the exaggerated versions), has been branded by Republicans as a Marxist radical.

There was certainly nothing radical in how either man looked at the debate.