The debate covered Iraq and foreign policy first, then went to domestic policy. I felt that the Iraq items were the strongest of the entire debate. They seemed to matter more to both parties.
Edwards was very good on the facts and was prepared for the most likely attacks by Cheney. Cheney seemed to me to either not budge from positions already known to be false or to have simply lied when he had to. The fact-checkers will be grading that tomorrow, but on the facts, Cheney is down and Edwards is up.
It was an exercise between Cheney's experience and Edward's ability to organize his thoughts and speak to influence an audience. Neither gave an inch, and overall I would say it was a draw. However, for Edward's to appear equal to Cheney was, in my opinion, a major boost for both him and for Kerry.
The clear superiority of Cheney's presentation of the issues over what Bush did last Thursday was a shock. In that way, this debate reinforced the appearance that Kerry won the debate last Thursday. Bush is going to have an awful lot riding on the next debate this coming Friday.
So my first judgment is that Edwards did what he had to do tonight, and may have improved the overall standing of the Kerry-Edwards ticket. Cheney also appeared competent and his experience showed through, but that very competence, compared to Bush, may have cost them some points.
The outcome will depend on the media, the spin, and the fact-checkers. But I really don't think there is a lot to work with. It isn't going to change a lot from what it appears right now.
No comments:
Post a Comment