It's still a rarity in American politics, but what a surprise, two very impressive women will play key roles in this week's vice presidential debate (open in new tab). Standing across from current Vice President Mike Pence on the stage of Kingsbury Hall at the University of Utah will be, of course, Kamala Harris, Joe Biden's running mate and the third female vice presidential candidate on the major party ticket. And moderating the debate between the two vice presidential candidates will be Susan Page, the current Washington bureau chief for USA Today.

Page is arguably the most qualified person on the planet to moderate this debate. Throughout her decades-long career, she has covered 10 presidential elections and six White House administrations (opens in new tab) and has sat down with the last nine presidents. Here's everything else you need to know about the award-winning journalist before she takes the stage in Salt Lake City on October 7.

Paige has been on the USA Today staff for a quarter century. A native of Wichita, Kansas, she was hired as a White House correspondent in 1995 and became the current Washington bureau chief in 2000. Prior to that, she spent several years as the White House correspondent for Newsday in the early 1990s. He may also be seen providing political insight as a guest on such programs as "PBS NewsHour," "Face the Nation," "Fox News Sunday," and "CBS This Morning."

In the world of political journalism, Page served as president of the historic D.C.-based Gridiron Club for journalists in 2011 and led the White House Correspondents' Association in 2000. She has twice been named to the Pulitzer Prize jury and chaired the committee for the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Awards.

As if her resume had not already been stacked, Page also published a New York Times bestselling biography of Barbara Bush, The Matriarch (opens in new tab): she is currently working on a biography of Nancy Pelosi, 2021 It is scheduled for release in early 2021.

She certainly is. She is a two-time recipient of the White House Correspondents' Association's Aldo Beckman Award, the association's Merriman Smith Memorial Award for Deadline Reporting on the Presidency, and the Gerald R. Ford Award for Exceptional Reporting on the Presidency. No big deal.

It's complicated. While many have praised her journalistic background, especially her decades of experience covering the White House, a congressional report released in early September revealed that she was nominated by President Donald Trump to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in 2018, Seema Verma It was revealed that she had hosted a taxpayer-funded party to celebrate, prompting some to call for her resignation as moderator.

Paige has not responded to criticism that the "Girls' Night Out" event constituted a conflict of interest, but her employer quickly issued a statement (open in new tab) defending her. according to USA Today spokesperson Chrissy Terrell, Paige paid for the event paid for much of the costs of the event out of her own pocket and was unaware that CMS had been billed for it. According to Terrell, the event was one of many similar get-togethers "routinely hosted by women journalists" to "honor the important accomplishments of both Democratic and Republican women."

Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace's moderation of the first presidential debate was frustrating to say the least (opens in new tab). In preparation, "I thought through what approach would be effective to keep the debate on track," she told USA Today (opens in new tab), adding that while Wallace's appearance did not change her game plan, "it very, very much It reinforced the idea that this is an event," she added.

Part of her preparation included picking nine topics for Harris and Pence to debate. She said, "If you like it, that's great; if you don't like it, that's great. But if you don't like it, I will be blamed," she said of this "awesome responsibility."

Above all, the "North Star" in Paige's plans for conversation topics, abrupt interruptions, and unscheduled detours is the idea that debates are, at their core, "a chance for the American voter to look at these two candidates and see both what they think of them personally and what they think about their policy ideas The idea is that it's a chance."