To get these quotes, all Kaine had to do was memorize the litany of Trump’s offensive statements. He had to memorize the exact quotes in case Pence wanted to attack him for misquoting Trump, instead of just denying they ever happened as he did. Pay attention to Kaine’s specific recitation of the quotes and canned lines. They make the sparring cleaner for the tape. This shouldn’t be a surprise; Kaine was a trial lawyer for eighteen years, and he has debated at the local, state, and federal level numerous times. He has experience setting people up like this in deposition, getting the record clean and exactly how he wants it so sections can be quoted in briefs or at trial, or, in this case, in an ad. And Pence walked right into it. Did we really believe Kaine, with all this experience and the hyper-managed Clinton campaign, would go in guns blazing unless it was part of some grand scheme? Mark it down, you’ll see this ad, and others like it, from now until election day.

Ultimately, this is what happens when you have a smart campaign team and a cohesive long-term strategy. You can make a plan like this, stick to it, and have your team ready to capitalize as soon as it comes to fruition. That’s what we just saw, and we should all be glad we got to witness it.

Mike Pence and Donald Trump may have won the battle, but Tim Kaine and Hillary Clinton are going to win the war.

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