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VP Debate Wrapup

Firstly, I’d like to echo Rob’s sentiment: Gwen Ifill did a poor job as moderator. One of her questions was “What’s wrong with a little flip-flopping?” What next, “Which presidential candidate would look better in tight pants?” She also went back to Senator Edwards when it was Senator Edwards who has started, so Cheney should have gotten the last word. Oops.

Overall, I think Cheney won the debate handily. Senator Edwards was like a little chihuahua on a leash, dishing out an unrelenting barrage of attacks, interupting the moderator several times in his zeal to start talking. When it was Cheney’s turn, he would take a deep breath, and calmly address the points Edwards made.

For me, this was the highlight:

Cheney: And Senator, frankly, you have a record in the Senate that’s not very distinguished. You’ve missed 33 out of 36 meetings in 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.

Your 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 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.

Ouch. Edwards didn’t have a response to this.

In the domestic policy portion, it was more of an even match. Honestly, neither candidate really differentiated himself that much. But this point Cheney made about Kerry’s plan to increase taxes on Americans who make over $200,000 a year was very good:

Cheney: They talk about the top bracket and going after only those people in the top [tax] bracket.

Well, the fact of the matter is a great many of our small businesses pay taxes under the personal income taxes rather than the corporate rate. And about 900,000 small businesses will be hit if you do, in fact, do what they want to do with the top bracket.

I doubt the debates will have a big affect on the polls. Look for Bush to maintain his 3-9 point lead nationally.

Posted by Mark | October 6th, 2004 @ 2:35 AM | Category: "Political Commentary"
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