Vancementum!

Guess how people in and around Athens, Ga. reacted to a chance to see Vice President Whatshisface and Erika Kirk on the same stage, for free.

Fresh from a marathon trip to Pakistan that failed to reach a deal for ending the war with Iran, Vice President JD Vance jetted to this Georgia college town for a campus tour organized by the conservative powerhouse Turning Point USA.

But instead of showcasing the youthful energy that the organization harnessed to return President Donald Trump to the White House less than two years ago, there was a mostly empty arena, awkward questions and unusually sharp criticism.

How mostly empty? So mostly empty you can hear it. But you can also see it. If you’re wondering the venue’s website, Akins Ford Arena has a capacity of “over 8,000.” The arena is also the home of the hockey team with the best name ever.

Kirk backed out at the last minute, citing concerns from her security team. I assume that’s not the same team that was working when her husband was shot. Or maybe she saw the advance sign ups, decided not to fly across the country to be humiliated, but didn’t tell Vance.

Vance, whose presence ensured significant Secret Service and other law enforcement protection around the venue, said he’d been worried that the event would be canceled altogether.

How or why? Who knows. Many people have noted that surely he has other things he could be doing, but he’s shown that sitting on his ass, performing bad faith baby law debate tricks and harumphing “Preposterous” like some interbellum codger Wodehouse liked to lampoon is all he’s good for.

Kolvet asked Vance directly about the war and Trump’s back-and-forth with Leo. Audience questions were more aggressive. Vance jousted with at least one heckler over the war in Gaza, and he was pressed by another person over the administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case files.

Based on the AP article, Vance also performed his other party trick: Opinion presto-changeo.

A day before coming to Georgia, Vance tried to laugh off the meme as a joke that “a lot of people weren’t understanding.” The vice president also seemed to echo Trump’s assertion that Leo should concentrate less on global affairs.

“It would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality, to stick to matters of what’s going on in the Catholic church and let the president of the United States stick to dictating American public policy,” Vance said in a Fox News interview.

On stage in Athens, he shifted his arguments, saying he welcomes Leo’s comments even if he disagrees with them.

“At the very least, it invites conversation,” said Vance, who converted to Catholicism as an adult.

According to Conventional Wisdom Vance is the next GOP nominee for president. But he faces several hurdles. One is the orange carcinoma currently flatulating up the the White House. If he’s breathing he’s not leaving without a nasty fight. This means we might be treated to the spectacle of a sitting POTUS actively sabotaging his Veep’s campaign. Another is Vance himself. Whoever that is. He doesn’t even have what Pratchett called charis’ntma. He does generate a massive cloud of antithenticy, which is just plain repulsive.