Readers respond to Question of the Week:

Who won tonight’s VP debate on CBS?

I would call it a draw

Free of party affiliations, both men seemed to respect each other and be willing to cooperate for the betterment of the country and its people.

As it stands, both parties’ only goal seems to be to vilify the other and do anything to guarantee their own reelection.

Term limits are desperately needed as is an end of the career politician.

Perhaps it is time to consider declaring the winner of an election as the president and the loser the vice president. This might encourage cooperation and compromise instead of constant bickering.

— Dale Hardin, La Habra

VP debate winners

The “winner” of last night’s vice presidential debate were the two moderators: Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan. Their professionalism, ability to control the time and persistence in getting questions answered made one thing abundantly clear: we need to elect a smart woman as president of the United States.

— Mary Harrison, Pasadena

It depends entirely on how you look at the situation

If you see it the way you would a high school debate, with points for poise, confidence and overall optics, content be damned, then JD Vance won going away. But if we instead rate the performances on questions answered versus those dodged, then the winner becomes the far less polished but more honest Tim Walz. Furthermore, I find it hard to give the nod to a man who can’t recall who won the 2020 presidential election, who claims there was a peaceful transfer of power and who lied about his own already well-documented position on abortion.

— Robert Archerd, Rancho Palos Verdes

2024 VP debate

In the 2024 VP debate on CBS, JD Vance came across as more confident and controlled than Tim Walz. Vance did a good job tying Kamala Harris to President Biden’s record, which helped him dominate the conversation.

Walz had a rough start and seemed nervous, but he got better as the debate went on, especially when discussing abortion rights. Overall, Vance was seen as the stronger, more polished candidate that night .

— Vivian Sallah, Montclair