I believe we can all agree that the office of Vice President of the United States of America is uniquely terrible. Other than being a tiebreaker vote in the Senate (which is in reality the President's decision to make), it's basically a forever on-deck circle waiting for a "batter up" that likely will never come. Consequently, vice presidents are often kept intentionally out of the loop and/or given jobs that nobody else wants, such as defending unpopular policies they may not actually agree with.
And thus did JD Vance find himself in Michigan this week giving a speech in a manufacturing facility. It was awkward to say the least. Of course Vance is famously not just a flip-flopper, but a shape-shifter. That is, he has no problem not just changing his mind on policy but totally reinventing himself to suit his ambitions.
So I don't feel sorry for him. But I was very uncomfortable watching him try to put a positive spin on high gas prices when it's pretty clear that he was against going to war with Iran, the singular cause of those high gas prices, which are taking money out of the pockets of the American worker audience. It was like when the Michael Scott character on The Office starts talking himself into a corner and it just becomes too unbearable to watch. But not at all funny.
Editor's note: John Auchter is a freelance political cartoonist. His views are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Michigan Public, its management, or its license holder, the University of Michigan.
