Far be it from me to criticize someone for under acting. I hate hams. I preferred Gary Cooper to Charlton Heston to mention two Republican actors: one understated, one hammy. Former Veep Mike Pence takes understatement to a whole new level.

The quintessential Mike Pence moment was during the 2020 Veep debate. A fly on the head would annoy the living shit out of most people. Not stolid, solid Mike Pence. It’s unclear if he’s calm or emotionally embalmed. I wrote a post about this right after the Dipshit Insurrection: Mike Pence Is Made Of Calmer Stuff.

Calm or emotionally embalmed? You decide.

The former Veep is back in the news with a mild, under the circumstances, rebuke of the Impeached Insult Comedian:

Pence was asked his reaction to Trump’s J6 tweet that he “didn’t have the courage” to do what had to be done: “It angered me. It doesn’t take courage to break the law. The president’s words were reckless. It was clear he decided to be part of the problem.” pic.twitter.com/rV8Ru2kEgI

— Ron Filipkowski 🇺🇦 (@RonFilipkowski) November 14, 2022

Trump incited a mob to attack you and he was merely reckless? Reckless rhymes with feckless, which is what Mike Pence is.

It would have been nice if the former Veep had had the guts to say this when it really mattered, during the second impeachment. Republicans blew their chance to rid themselves of the Kaiser of Chaos. Last week’s terrible showing has given them a second chance to kick Trump when he’s down. A few are doing it but what will happen if the 1/6 chant returns?

It took an election defeat and a book tour to stir Mike Pence to criticize his former boss in measured terms. Calm or emotionally embalmed?

Because of its simultaneous importance and insignificance, I’ve always been interested in the Vice Presidency. It’s like being a backup QB, you’re only called on when the starter gets hurt. The wave of articles criticizing Kamala Harris are inherently unfair: It’s always hard for Veeps to put their mark on the office.

The most influential Veeps such as Mondale, Gore, Cheney, and Biden made their mark behind the scenes. Biden insisted on being the last guy in the room after any meeting. Mike Pence never insisted on anything. His view of the office was blind loyalty to his lord and master. Trump had him by the balls, he just squeezed too hard in the run up to the Dipshit Insurrection.

Mike Pence has underplayed his way to the sort of irrelevance described by the first Veep:

Pence has also lived down to this quote from FDR’s first Veep Cactus Jack Garner:

The press of the time turned piss into spit, which is the sort of euphemism Mike Pence lives for.

Repeat after me: Mike Pence is feckless, former President* Pennywise is reckless.

The last word goes to The Roseline: