"The answer is ... no. The American people will not change their votes based upon anything Mike Pence and Tim Kaine might say this evening. The two presidential candidates are so much larger than life that it all depends on them, not their seconds. In my lifetime, only Sarah Palin brought enough charisma to benefit her ticket. Other than that, the VP candidates have been pretty much used as surrogates. Does anyone remember what Joe Biden said to Paul Ryan or vice versa four years ago? So tonight's debate will be interesting because of the joust, but it will not influence the vote. So all eyes will turn to Sunday night, round two between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Polling this week is not good news for the Trump campaign. Many Americans apparently believe that Hillary Clinton won the first debate and she has gained in most of the polling. Also, Donald Trump remains on defense. While the Miss Universe thing is going away, the tax deal is big. As we reported last night, corporations take big losses all the time and that's what Mr. Trump did. The fact that he turned his companies around to make big profits is to his credit. But we all know that the two debate moderators - Martha Raddatz and Anderson Cooper - as well as Hillary Clinton herself, will try to paint Trump as a greed head who doesn't care about his country. That presents an interesting challenge to the candidate. Trump must calmly state his case, that his economic vision on taxes and everything else will benefit the country. If Donald Trump goes on the defensive and lashes out in any way at all, he will lose the second debate. And if that happens, well I think we all know how the November vote will turn out. But Mr. Trump is a talented communicator, so it would be foolish for anyone to count him out at this point. But he needs a big win on Sunday, not just holding his own. If that happens, the polls will turn around because Hillary Clinton still has not defined herself to independent American voters."

The Factor invited reaction from Brit Hume. "The vice presidential debate could matter," he theorized, "because remember how many vice presidents have gone on to become president. So you may be getting an early audition for someone who may someday run for the Oval Office itself. And there is the possibility that one of these vice presidential candidates could open up a line of attack that will prove useful going forward. But beyond that, there has never been a case that I can think of that a vice presidential debate mattered in the election." The Factor regrettably added, "Almost 50% of the American population doesn't know who Tim Kaine and Mike Pence are."

For another view of the VP matchup, The Factor turned to Democrat and former Obama aide Austan Goolsbee. "Mike Pence has had credibility," Goolsbee conceded, "and there is a certain element of the Republican Party that is questioning Trump but has thus far put faith in Pence. But Pence is also running up against some prominent Republicans who are criticizing Trump. If he has to back the things Trump has said in the last week, he could alienate these traditional Republicans." Turning to Democrat Tim Kaine, Goolsbee disputed the notion that the senator from Virginia is dull. "He's not boring and I am hoping that he can change that perception. He can beat the expectations."

Juan Williams and Lisa Boothe also opined on the Pence-Kaine showdown. "Tim Kaine is a former mayor, governor, and senator" Williams began, "and he speaks Spanish and has great relations with Latinos. Race is a big point for Kaine. Meanwhile, Mike Pence has to try to change the narrative so that people aren't talking about Trump's taxes." Boothe contended that both nominees have already been effective. "This is not going to move numbers, but these candidates have already done their job. Tim Kaine has helped Hillary Clinton shore up Virginia and Mike Pence has helped get Republicans behind Donald Trump."

Legal analysts Kimberly Guilfoyle and Lis Wiehl looked west to Southern California, where a fatal shooting after a car chase has led to protests. In this instance, though, the 18-year-old dead man clearly had a gun and was an imminent threat. "There is an overall perception," Guilfoyle groused, "that has been perpetuated by a number of stories in the media. That's true even if it's an African American police officer trying to defend himself against an armed suspect." The Factor also criticized the knee-jerk anti-cop sentiment that seems to be growing: "There is a small segment of the population that doesn't care about the circumstances. Many of the protesters have been roughed up by the cops themselves or disrespected, they are anti-cop and don't want to hear the facts. And the media sympathizes with them!" Wiehl turned to a Connecticut school district that has banned clown costumes because can be perceived as a 'symbol of terror.' She defended the school board, saying, "You can be biased against clowns if those clowns are disrupting your school."

Greg Gutfeld and Bernard McGuirk, the antitheses of second bananas, cracked wise on the vice presidential debate. "We're going to learn a lot from these men," Gutfeld predicted, "because each is the appealing spouse to the shocking candidate. As a drinker, I am aware of the phrase 'a shot and a beer.' Trump is the shot, Pence is the beer. He's Shirley to Laverne, Bonnie to Clyde, Garfunkel to Simon." McGuirk laid out the challenges facing both vice presidential hopefuls. "They are going to start on a note of bipartisanship by expressing relief that America's 'first lady' Kim Kardashian is back on American terra firma, safe and sound. Actually, Pence will prosecute the case against Hillary Clinton and reassure the country that Trump is not a wild-eyed screwball who hates fat chicks. And Kaine has the Johnny Cochrane-like task of disproving the notion that Hillary Clinton is a greedy crook and a liar. Kaine will speak Spanish so much that even Latinos will be saying 'no mas.'" The Factor boldly predicted, "I think Pence will win the debate on points, he'll be very authoritative and methodical."