Petaluma columnist interviews infamous ‘Debate Fly’

In a special “Oliver’s World,” the Argus-Courier’s resident humorist digs deep into the VP debate’s most meme-inspiring moment.|

Every four years we go through our presidential election process. During these campaigns, sometimes certain odd things will stick out. I think many people remember the name "Joe the Plumber," but maybe not recall how that came about. This year is no different. Recently, a little creature caught the country by surprise.

A fly.

It landed on Vice President Mike Pence's head during the vice presidential debate that took place with Senator Kamala Harris on Wednesday night. It was there a while, and as a black fly on Pence's white hair, it really stuck out.

It was, as they say, very noticeable.

So, of course, people noticed.

Millions of people saw it, as demonstrated by all of the screenshots, videos and rewinds posted since then. It was a stand-out moment that for some was the most attention-grabbing event of the debate, and people immediately began sharing it in a very viral manner.

I had a rare opportunity to reach out and interview that very fly.

For the suddenly well-known creature, it's a level of fame that some insects and bugs might find hard to deal with — millions, if not a billion people, all looking at you. How has it handled the fame?

"Oh, I don't get actually recognized, myself, believe it or not,“ the fly told me, kicking off our interview. ”I hear people making jokes and getting reactions, talking about flies in general, but I haven't had anyone explicitly connect me to the vice president.“

After such debates, there is always much debate about who won. Who had the better talking points? Who do we feel is the stronger candidate? We, as a people, have to digest it all and deliberate within ourselves to decide which candidate seems like a better fit for our country.

So, who won this particular debate?

The fly had the following to say.

"Oh, clearly I'm the winner. For some people, people are not talking about Pence or Harris today. They're just talking about me. I totally stole the spotlight. It was not at all my intention. It was a complete accident, but there you have it. I’m the winner."

An accident indeed.

While I did reach out to secret service personnel about how a fly got past them, they declined to comment. The fly has since been cleared of any wrongdoing, but the question a lot of people still want to know is, why choose Pence over Harris?

"Well, when I was on the stage, I didn't really know where I was or what was happening,“ the fly admitted. ”It was all a little confusing. Why the vice president? I tend to go for warm carbon dioxide and well, they were both full of it. I guess the vice president was a little fuller."

It’s no surprise that all of this post-debate fame has done a lot for the fly community. Countless people are posting fly-themed memes, and the rich dialogues and energetic discussions about flies are perhaps only just beginning. Will it be long before we’ve got posters with his photo on it, a slogans saying he is a pretty fly guy? Or pointing out that flies are often an identifier of the presence of certain bovine excrement?

Does Jeff Goldblum have an opinion?

"Look, I was not making a statement," the fly insisted. "I was landing on all kinds of people off camera. I was landing on a lot of things. You know, it's funny that we're called flies, cause we don't just fly, we land too. Anyway, I was there to get information. I feel bad people are focusing on me. I just wanted to be informed on what was going. I wish more people looked at what the two debated about, rather than anything I did."

The fly admitted the fame has been enjoyable, since flies don’t live very long, and the end, in this case, is coming up fast. Sadly, this now-famous fly won't even get to see the results of the election.

I asked the fly if it had any final statements or opinions to share.

"I don't have a strong opinion about much,“ the fly stated, ”I will say though ... windshields. What’s with windshields? They're too transparent, and I'm just a simple-minded fly. Anything that transparent confuses me."

(“Oliver’s World” runs every other week in the Argus-Courier. You can reach Oliver at OliverGraves.com)

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