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Vice Presidential Debate 2004: A draw?

Oct 05 '04 Write an essay on this topic.

The Bottom Line A draw? Only if you didn't feel strongly about either candidate.

The understudies have completed their task of convincing the American public that their course is the right one. Unlike the first presidential debate, this matchup wasn't all that clear who won -- if victory is a measure of success.

Nevertheless, it became clear who 'runs' the Bush administration. Where the president mutters and stumbles with gestures of unease at the unscripted event, Cheney presents himself more calmly and plays his experience card wisely.

Only Cheney can say that there are connections between Iraq and 9/11 then shortly agree that the report did not prove such claims, just to finish up with the renewed claim that there are ties and that's why this war has been fought. The true genius here is his ability to say something that's clearly proven otherwise and still make it sound like the truth. (Especially clever was the move to include Iraqi losses in the alliance numbers and this way reduce the American contribution to 50% from 90%.)

Sure, Cheney seemed a few times on the verge of an outburst but avoided the collision quite well. While I don't agree with Cheney's ideology, I have to admit that he sure made a strong case for his side and the ones that believe in it. No reason to be ashamed if you're Republican.

John Edwards may be young by political standards (still he looks much younger than the 51 years he actually is), but he sure has an unmatched likeability bonus. He is handsome and articulate. However, sometimes a little bit too stuck on one issue and, while his points were valid, it seemed a little bit like beating the proverbial 'dead horse'.

Nevertheless, he came across strong on social issues and held his own in the Iraq question. In my view not as strong as Kerry, and even missing a few opportunities to counter his opponent's points more effectively. May I say that there were a few times a short and concise answer would have been more effective.

In the end, Edwards was quite able to take the bite out of the experience question by stating that a long record doesn't mean it's automatically a good one ... and of course by pointing out that the Bush administration likes to present facts about their achievements with a more than appropriate positive spin.

Surprisingly, the question "What's wrong with a little flip-flop every now and then." seemed to have come unexpectedly for either candidate. In fact Edwards missed a chance here by basically coming back to the previous question instead of simply stating the obvious. One of the 'undecided' voters on CNN hit the nail on the head when conceding that "he who doesn't adjust his strategy to a changing environment over 3 years is simply stupid" (loosely quoted).

In the question about same sex marriage Edwards made a respectable move and honored the Cheney family for respecting their own lesbian daughter and concluding that they sure want the best for her too -- despite Cheney's position against gay and lesbian marriage. This seemed to have touched Cheney so much that he almost seemed a little soft for a short time there after.

Overall, I am a little surprised by the clear victory (70% - 82%) the polls on several websites showed for Edwards immediately after the debate. Then again, he is more likable and has a firmer handle of social issues - something that Cheney didn't know exactly how to compete with. (I am not counting nor honoring any possible FAUX 'data'.)

However, unlike the presidential debate I will be surprised if many voters will change their mind based on what they saw tonight. Having said that, the fact that Edwards seems to have scored a draw according to analysts and won the online polling sure won't hurt the Kerry-Edwards campaign. In fact, one might count that as an advantage for the challengers.

My name is Thomas*,
and I approve this message.

*...not affiliated with any of the mentioned parties

PS: Somebody may notify the vice president that the independent website he courageously mentioned is "www.factcheck.org" (and not *.com). Here the link to their thoughts on this debate ...

http://www.factcheck.org/article.aspx?docid=272

FactCheck.Org: "Cheney wrongly implied that FactCheck had defended his tenure as CEO of Halliburton Co., and the vice president even got our name wrong. He overstated matters when he said Edwards voted "for the war" and "to commit the troops, to send them to war." He exaggerated the number of times Kerry has voted to raise taxes, and puffed up the number of small business owners who would see a tax increase under Kerry's proposals.

Edwards falsely claimed the administration "lobbied the Congress" to cut the combat pay of troops in Iraq, something the White House never supported, and he used misleading numbers about jobs."

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