Here's an interesting point of view.
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CHUMP CHECK 2004
THE DANGEROUS DEBATE
VP's Sqaure Off, And The Results Could Be Devastating
by John S. Ashton
OCTOBER 5, 2004 - In 2000, it was the Vice Presidential debate that put Bush into the race. Then-cadidate George W. Bush had done horribly in his debate, but his spinners had, to put it plainly, played Gore like a chump in the post-debate spin, and so Bush survived his horrible performance. Yet still, America had seen what it had seen, and so people were not comfortable getting on board with the Texas Governor.
Then, came the Vice Presidential debate.
It was expected that Lieberman, who had gotten rave reviews after his announcement as Vice President and his speech at the Democratic Convention, would show up the old, uncharismatic Cheney. But in the end it was Lieberman - and Gore in absentia - who got clobbbered, and Cheney's performance helped erase a lot of the unease people had about backing Bush.
And again in 2004, it was Cheney's speech at the Republican Convention that did the most damage to Kerry as he, with great skill, tore apart the Democratic candidate and bolstered the cause of his runningmate.
Less than a week ago, the nation again saw a babbling, incoherent Bush get shellacked in a debate. The main thing that has contributed to Kerry's gains are the unease that night planted in the American public's minds. It was clear Bush was not up to the task, and that was a frightening and sobering realization for many.
But memories are short and the right-wing-loving media effective. While they couldn't help but report that Kerry indeed did very well, looked Presidential, and won a lot of people over, they didn't have the courage to report Bush's end accurately, that the President had a complete meltdown and showed that the reason he avoids holding press conferences and wouldn't testify before the 9/11 commission alone was, indeed, because he is an incompetent puppet. Instead, the media fed the Republican storyline, that Bush had done okay, just Kerry did a lot better. They commented on some of the President's mannerisms but not on the fact that he was largely incoherent. In fact, they made it sound as if he actually presented a solid case of some sort, just not as well as Kerry did.
Now the American public did see what they saw again, and this time, not buying the low-expectations argument of last election, that the President was just green on that foreign policy stuff, and expecting instead that someone who has served as commander-in-chief for four years would be at least base-level competent, the American people did hold the President accountable for his performance. They were made uneasy and their confidence in him thrown into doubt.
Dick Cheney is no George Bush.
Intelligent, extremely well-informed, witty, and brutal, Cheney is what Bush is projected to be. To many Bush/Limbaughians, he is in fact the ideal. His calm demeanor gives him a confident credibility. But most importantly with Cheney, his bold comfort with saying horrible things directly to an opponent's face without even varying his calm tone, and his distortive ability to tear his runningmate's opponents apart, make him a truly dangerous debater.
People do not like to believe realities that are truly ugly, and so right now there are lots of people who want someone to tell them that what they saw of their President, that he is an incompetent fraud, isn't really the case. The media has done its best to reassure them they didn't see the ugly truth they saw. And now Dick Darth Cheney will do his best to assure them it wasn't real, that it was just a fictional creation of a "liberal" media, and that of course he and his runningmate are strong, competent people.
And Cheney will tear Kerry apart deftly and dishonestly. He is not a skilled debater in the truest sense - someone who can really work a strategy in terms of back and forth exchange. But he is a great casemaker and a reassuringly authoritative presence who will, in addition to reassuring America about Bush's credentials and tearing Kerry apart, try to make Edwards seem a vastly unqualified child.
All that having been said, Edwards will not have his hands tied the way Gore tied Lieberman's hands, telling the Connecticut Senator to follow his lead in taking the high road by not attacking.
Edwards' best trait during the primary debates was his sunny and visionary answers. He was about the only person who seemed to understand how to weave things together into one positive, appealing message.
As we reported this article ---( moderateindependent.com ) a year ago, following one of the primary debates:
"Mr. Edwards showed something he hadn't before and that the other candidates didn't - the ability to weave the human element into his comments, and to widen and interconnect issues into one big picture, not a separated criticism of foreign and domestic, taxes and health. He put them all together and added a human face to it, weaving from taxes to standing up to corporations, from immigration to education - even if education never was a topic that was asked about.
"And only Mr. Edwards truly was prepared for the specific audience. Even when asked about Iraq, he didn't just talk about the President alienating our allies in Europe, but actually made the other candidates seem Eurocentric by pointing out that the President was, "doing the exact same thing to our friends in Latin America, in Mexico, his relationship with President Fox being a perfect example." He showed some real polish and intelligence of strategy that put him a step above the others on this night."
Edwards' specialty is charm and inspiration. And looking good to women.
He uplifts people's spirit, really makes that human connection. He also keeps things simple and speaks on a level that the average man can understand.
If all Senator Kerry had to do was pass the, "I'm not a pushover" test, all Edwards has to do is pass the, "I do too know something about foeign policy," test. The sad reality for the Republican ticket is that while Cheney will out gravita Edwards, Edwards will vastly out gravita the silly puppet they chose as their torch bearer. The things Edwards must avoid are appearing unqualified on foreign policy and not defending his runningmate strongly enough.
But while there is a potential downside for the Kerry/Edwards ticket if Edwards is made to look a bit green, it is not a big one. Even in these troubling times, people will look at the top of the ticket first and foremost, and so a somewhat troubling Edwards will not be liability that will hurt Kerry for long.
On the other hand, this debate is potential disaster for the Bushies.
It is expected that, for all the above reasons, Cheney will momentarily put his ticket back near the game. Indeed and the Meltdown in Miami by their canidate, it is vital that Cheney achieve this.
But the unfortunate reality for the Republicans is that, like Kerry had against President Bush on Thursday night, Cheney's dishonest and vicious attacks against Senator Kerry might set up a Cheney/Liberman moment.
Just for quick definition: a Cheney/Lieberman moment is when someone shows gall right to another persons' face, and, in doing so, elevates his stature, as Cheney did for his ticket by blasting Gore and Lieberman right to Lieberman's face last election.
Cheney will attack. He will misrepresent. And in doing so, he will set up just the opportunity for the young-looking, gravitas-lacking Edwards to look the powerful, all-experienced Cheney right in the eye and call him out, giving Edwards the chance to show the nation that he has what it takes to stand toe to toe with the most powerful and venerable among us. And while propping himself up, Edwards would also be painting the image that is dangerously close to painting itself, that of Cheney as a mean old man versus a sunny young charmer.
This is a trap that no matter how many times you would warn Cheney about he would be unable to avoid, as a vicious attacker is all of who and what he is.
And the reality here is that if Cheney gets toasted in this debate, that will be the very end of the Bush/Cheney story. Cheney all along has been the lynchpin of Bush's stature. If Cheney goes down after Bush's complete meltdown last week, the nation will flee the ticket in droves.
What the American people will see in the vice presidential debate Tuesday night will be either the image of a venerable old pro taking an underqualified child to school or that of a strong, sunny, charming man standing strong against a heartless, vicious codger.
The reality is that after Tuesday night, America will likely have seen both of these things, except the old pro versus the child will have occurred the previous Thursday, only to be complimented by the uglifying of the Bush ticket's last hope by a skillful southern charmer who has the truth on his side. And so, ladies and gentleman, the road to the Kerry landslide we have been talking about for months and months will be paved in gold.
moderateindependent.com |
