The tradition in American politics is that vice-presidential candidates don’t really matter beyond healing intraparty rifts and throwing a bone to a rival. But with one major party candidate of such an advanced age that he may not live through the term and the other renowned for word salads and a seemingly constant state of unpreparedness, the running mates take on special importance this year. It’s thus interesting that both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have chosen VPs that appeal almost entirely to the party faithful, with little thought to expanding their bases.