Americans who watched the vice presidential debate between Democrat Tim Walz and Republican JD Vance were in for a big surprise: a cordial tone and an emphasis on ideas the two have in common.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, running mate of Dem candidate Kamala Harris, drove home the civility of the debate when, as the event neared its conclusion, he admitted, “I’ve enjoyed tonight’s debate, and there was a lot of commonalities here, and I’m sympathetic to misspeaking on things, and I think I might have with the senator.”

Minnesota nice” can mean being unfailingly polite and kind. Or going to extremes to avoid conflict. Or being deeply passive aggressive.

More policy and fewer made-for-TV zingers offered less opportunity for members of Congress to immediately go after either vice-presidential candidate.

The civility between Walz and Vance made for an unusual face-to-face meeting. The Republican was determined to improve his image among his fellow Americans

The stakes were high for a vice-presidential debate, so The Washington Post once again asked uncommitted, swing-state voters in real time about their reactions to Tuesday’s debate. They thought Vance performed better,

The event was one of the last opportunities for each candidate to attack to the other's campaign and introduce themselves to voters.

Iran’s attack against Israel and the devastation from Hurricane Helene, plus possibly the dockworkers’ strike, risk injecting chaos in the presidential campaign’s final month.