Well, with the rest of the blogsphere weighing in on last night's debate, I decided that I'd throw my two cents' worth in there too. I thought that Vice President Cheney ruled the night for a couple of reasons. First of all, there are no points given out for "the best" hair. This was a debate between the two men that may be called to lead the free world one day. Thus, all of the fluff that gave Kerry the "victory" in last Thursday night's debate is totally negated. The analysis of this debate (and the one before it) should be based on how each candidate responded to the issues. However, since we are on the subject of style I would have to give a slight favor to VP Cheney. I didn't see him rattled like I did Juan Edwards.
Secondly, the Vice President did a far better job of handling the prevarications and puffery that have been the hallmark of the Democrats' campaign. I thought that Mr. Cheney gave the best explanation that I have heard so far on why attacking Iraq was the right and moral thing to do regardless of whether WMDs were found or whether there was a 9/11 link or not. Basically, Mr. Cheney explained that the invasion of Iraq was an important objective in the overall plan to win the war on terror. He clearly showed that Saddam was a threat, that he was harboring terrorists, and that he was funding "palestinian" terrorism in Israel. These justifications make the war in Iraq valid.
I was also impressed by the way that Mr. Cheney dismissed Johnny the Kid when he would revisit arguments that Mr. Cheney had already debunked. You don't need to answer the question again once you have already answered it. In this point, Edwards erred similarly to the way the President erred in his debate. He didn't know when to get off an attack that wasn't working.
I think that the debate, followed by the President's speech this morning should go a long way to repairing any damage done by the first Presidential debate.
The President, by the way, was outstanding this morning, and did a great job of focusing his attack on Kerry's and Edwards' records. When their records are scrutinized, there is very little there to commend. If you would like to read the President's speech, you can click HERE. Here is one of my favorite excerpts:
PRESIDENT BUSH: The Senator and I have different views on government spending. Over the years, he's voted 274 times to break the federal budget limits. And in this campaign, Senator Kerry has announced more than $2 trillion in new spending. And that's a lot of money even for a senator from Massachusetts! (Laughter and applause.) During his 20 years as a senator, my opponent hasn't had many accomplishments. Of the hundreds of bills he submitted, only five became law. One of them was ceremonial. But to be fair, he's earned a special distinction in Congress. The nonpartisan National Journal analyzed his record and named John Kerry the most liberal member of the United States Senate.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: And when the competition includes Ted Kennedy, that's really saying something! (Laughter and applause.) I'm telling you, I know that bunch. (Laughter.) It wasn't easy for my opponent to become the single most liberal member of the Senate. You might even say, it was HARD work. (Laughter and applause.) But he earned that title -- by voting for higher taxes, more regulation, more junk lawsuits, and more government control over your life.
You've gotta love the President. He is able to make fun of himself while totally taking down his opponent. What a great guy! Anyway, make sure to read this speech. It is a good one. If you could have heard it delivered, it was even better!
I have to congratulate Ms. Ifill from PBS. She did an excellent job moderating last night's debate - much better than her colleague did in the first Presidential debate. Both candidates received questions that they would have preferred to not be asked. I did think that the question about Mr. Cheney's daughter was a bit low, but considering how she laced Edwards on a couple of occasions I guess it balanced out in the end. Regardless, I thought Mr. Cheney handled the question superbly, knowing that he must be divided on the issue himself.
Now on to my favorite two moments from last night's debate... In both instances, Mr. Cheney scored a touché on the outgoing Senator from North Carolina. Here's the first one:
SENATOR EDWARDS: Thank you. The Vice President suggests that we have the same number of countries involved now that we had in the first Gulf War. The first Gulf War cost the American people $5 billion. And regardless of what the Vice President says, we're at $200 billion and counting. Not only that, 90 percent of the coalition casualties, Mr. Vice President -- the COALITION casualties -- are American casualties. Ninety percent of the cost of this effort are being borne by American taxpayers. It is the direct result of the failures of this administration.
MODERATOR: Mr. Vice President.
VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY: Classic example, he won't count the sacrifice and the contribution of our Iraqi allies. It's their country, they're in the fight, they're increasingly the ones out there putting their necks on the line to take back their country from the terrorists and the old regime elements that are still left. They're doing a superb job, and for you to demean their sacrifice, that strikes me as --
SENATOR EDWARDS: Oh, I'm not --
VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY: ... as beyond...
SENATOR EDWARDS: I'm not demeaning...
VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY: -- beyond the pale. It is, indeed. You suggested that somehow --
SENATOR EDWARDS: No, sir, I did not...
VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY: -- they shouldn't count, because you want to be able to say that the Americans are taking 90 percent of the sacrifice. You cannot succeed in this effort if you're not willing to recognize the enormous contribution the Iraqis are increasingly making to their own future. We'll win when they take on responsibility for governance, which they're doing; and when they take on responsibility for their own security, which they increasingly are doing.
BRILLIANT!!! That one left John-John slack jawed.
In the second, Mr. Cheney hammers the man-who-would-be-President on his attendance record since being elected to the Senate only six years ago:
VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY: I want to go back to the last comment, and then I'll come back to Israel-Palestine. The reason they keep trying to attack Halliburton is because they want to obscure their own record. And Senator, frankly, you have a record in the Senate that's not very distinguished. You've missed 33 out of 36 meetings of the Judiciary Committee, almost 70 percent of the meetings of the Intelligence Committee. You've missed a lot of key votes on tax policy, on energy, on Medicare reform. You're hometown newspaper has taken to calling you "Senator Gone." You've got one of the worst attendance records in the United States Senate.
Now, in my capacity as Vice President, I am the President of the Senate, the presiding officer. I'm up in the Senate most Tuesdays when they're in session. The first time I ever met you was when you walked on the stage tonight.
MODERATOR: Senator Edwards, it's your turn to use 30 seconds for a complicated response.
SENATOR EDWARDS: That was a complete distortion of my record; I know that will come as a shock.
The Vice President, I'm surprised to hear him talk about records, when he was one of 435 members of the United States House, he was one of 10 to vote against Head Start, one of four to vote against banning plastic weapons that can pass through metal detectors. He voted against the Department of Education. He voted against funding for Meals on Wheels for seniors. He voted against a holiday for Martin Luther King. He voted against a resolution calling for the release of Nelson Mandela in South Africa. It's amazing to hear him criticize either my record or John Kerry's.
MODERATOR: Thirty seconds.
VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY: Oh, I think his record speaks for itself, and frankly, it's not very distinguished.
Edwards' attack on Cheney's record bounced like cannonballs off of the sides of the USS Constitution. Meanwhile, Cheney's attack shattered timbers and splintered planks like the projectiles that sent the USS Bonhomme Richard to the bottom of the ocean. It was a beautiful thing to behold. Edwards never recovered.
The lamest move of all came in the closing arguments, when Johnboy tried to give his Two Americas speech. It fell flat. (By the way, is anyone out there wondering what TV show the Sr. Mr. Edwards would have been watching at 6 AM to learn math? Me too.) In comparison, Mr. Cheney's concise summary was, well, Presidential. In the end, there was no comparison. VP Cheney blew him away. I definitely know who I would rather have running the country if something happened to the President. But then you already knew that, didn't you?
Click here for the text of the debate between John Edwards and Vice President Cheney
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