Cheney, Edwards Clash On Iraq, Credibility Issues In Heated Vice-Presidential Debate
In their debate last night, Vice President Cheney and Sen. John Edwards clashed repeatedly on Iraq, the war on terrorism, Halliburton, and the Democratic running mates' Senate records. This morning, the encounter is being described as hard fought, confrontational, and substantive. Summing up the opinion of many commentators last night, ABC News contributor George Will said both Cheney and Edwards "did what they are supposed to do. And they did something they were perhaps not supposed to do, which was show the top of each ticket how this was done. I think both of these men did a superior job." CBS News Radio, however, also notes the debate "will be remembered, for more than anything else, the direct, sometimes very highly personal attacks."
In contrast to the Bush-Kerry clash, this time around there was no consensus on who won the exchange. Immediately after the debate, ABC News reported that in its poll of 500 debate viewers, which included a higher percentage of Republicans, 43% said Cheney won, while 35% said Edwards and 19% thought it was a tie. Meanwhile, CBS News said that its panel of 200 undecided voters shows 41% believe Edwards won the debate, while 29% thought Cheney did and 29% thought it was a tie.
Little of the television analysis suggested Edwards won outright, though many of the commentators said he stood up well to Cheney. Some commentators however, scored the debate as a clear win for Cheney. MSNBC's Chris Matthews thought Cheney won the debate, saying the encounter reminded him of "a water pistol against a machine gun. . . . Every once a while he took a squirt at the vice president, and the vice president would turn a howitzer on him." Andrea Mitchell, NBC Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent, said on MSNBC, "I think Dick Cheney did awfully well at, first of all, putting John Edwards in his place, saying that I have been presiding over the Senate and I didn't meet you until tonight. Talking about his not having been on the job was pretty devastating." Jon Meacham, a reporter for Newsweek, was asked also on MSNBC if the believed the "liberal press" would "admit that Cheney won" the debate. Meacham said, "That's a very good question. I think that the vice president did very, very well. He turned in a strong and serene performance, compared to Edwards, who I think seemed like Kerry-light. He seemed to have series of talking points he wanted to get in. A lot of them direct echoes of Kerry, but he did not offer them with the same authority. And Kerry managed to make experience a virtue."
Many other analysts, however, thought the face-off had ended in a draw. On ABC, the network's political director Mark Halperin said, "My sense was it was pretty much of a draw. Both men were strong. . .in defending their principal, the top of the ticket." David Gergen said on CNN's Larry King Live that the candidates "fought to a draw." Ceci Connolly said on Fox News that Edwards "was effective when talking about Iraq" and "the situation on the ground today, and essentially suggesting that everybody can look for themselves at what's happening over there, the number of deaths, both US and Iraqi, the mess."
CBS's Bob Schieffer, who will moderate the third and final exchange between President Bush and Sen. Kerry, thought Edwards bested the Vice President on the Iraq issue. He said Cheney "had the unfortunate task of defending a war that does not appear to be going very well these days." That "was a tall hill for the Vice President to climb tonight, and he had to explain it as best he could. And he was going up against a very good trial lawyer." Edwards "did what trial lawyers do, he began to poke holes in Cheney's arguments" and "it seemed to me that he had an easier task tonight." The Administration, added Schieffer, "has got to find another way to argue and justify this war. The arguments that the Vice President Cheney was making tonight clearly did not take."
