EDWARDS OUTMATCHED
By DAVID WINSTON
The New York Post
October 6, 2004 --
JOHN Edwards' imper sonation of an attack dog in last night's debate was a little like watching a yapping terrier taking on an old Golden retriever. Dick Cheney was calm, collected, thoughtful and incapable of being ruffled.
Edwards had his talking points down pat. He came out of the box with a tough attack on Cheney, claiming, "You are still not being straight with the American people" on the question of Iraq.
That was just his opening act. He followed with 90 minutes of harsh attacks in which he questioned the judgment, integrity and truthfulness of both Cheney and President Bush. He lived up to his reputation as a silver-tongued trial lawyer — but, in the end, he simply couldn't close the stature gap with personal attacks.
What the vice presidential debate showed was that clever quips and overdone charges are no substitute for strong leadership and a lifetime of experience in public service and public policy.
Cheney scored a number of direct hits on Kerry-Edwards. Most important, he put Edwards on the defensive by immediately putting Kerry's 20-year Senate record on national security issues back in play.
The vice president was at his best when he stated in a direct and firm style that tough talk in a campaign doesn't erase a 20-year record of being on the wrong side of national security and defense issues.
Cheney spent much of the first half of the debate outlining Kerry and Edward's national-security records — their votes, actions and words that ably proved his point. Edwards, like Kerry last week, tried to deflect the attack by claiming that their positions on the Iraq war have been totally consistent. Even their supporters must find that one hard to swallow.
But it was Cheney's listing of Edward's sorry attendance record on the Intelligence Committee and on the Senate floor that seemed to take Edwards aback — as did the devastating comment that in nearly four years presiding over the Senate, Cheney had never met Edwards until last night. It was clear the young senator was caught off guard without a prepared quip.
Edwards' performance was also marred by his strange behavior on camera whenever the vice president was responding. At times, as he sipped delicately from his coffee cup, he assumed a strange air of disdain — conduct unbecoming for one seeking the second highest office in the land.
Throughout the debate, Cheney refused to be baited by Edwards and showed his remarkable command of the facts and his depth of understanding on issues of war and peace, jobs and the economy, and perhaps, most important, the responsibilities of a vice president.
The big dog won. |
