[Mb-civic] NYTimes.com Article: The Running Mates Debate

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The Running Mates Debate

October 6, 2004
 


 

During the final summation in last night's
vice-presidential debate, John Edwards focused on the new
Kerry campaign theme: that a vote for George Bush and Dick
Cheney would mean "four more years of the same." And Mr.
Cheney, when his turn came, said it was important to
re-elect the president so he could keep doing what he has
been doing. It was a rare moment of agreement. 

Like the presidential foreign policy debate that preceded
it, the clash of the vice-presidential candidates was 90
minutes of serious talk about the issues. 

It was also very hard-fought - the contenders managed to be
remarkably aggressive for two men who were sitting next to
each other at a small table. Mr. Cheney called Mr.
Edwards's remarks so thick with misrepresentation that he
hardly knew how to respond. Mr. Edwards, when talking about
the economy, said, "Mr. Vice President, I don't think the
country can take four more years of this kind of
experience." 

Mr. Cheney, who won over many voters four years ago with
his grandfatherly demeanor during a debate with Joseph
Lieberman, seemed tired and angry. He was particularly
dyspeptic when he responded to criticism of his
relationship with Halliburton by claiming that Mr. Edwards
had a bad attendance record in the Senate. 

Mr. Edwards is normally known for his wide grin and boyish
appearance, but he was serious and tough last night. If his
main task was to show that he could stand up to the older
and more experienced vice president, he did everything he
needed to do, especially during the discussion of foreign
policy - the area that is supposed to be his weak suit. Mr.
Edwards was particularly on point when Mr. Cheney attacked
John Kerry as a lawmaker who had consistently voted against
military expenditures. Much of the arms spending Mr. Kerry
voted against, Mr. Edwards noted, was for the same programs
Mr. Cheney had fought to cut when he was secretary of
defense. 

When talk turned to Iraq, viewers must have wondered
whether the two men were discussing the same war. Mr.
Cheney stuck to the Bush administration's mantra, insisting
that the invasion had been carried out for all the right
reasons and that things were going well in Iraq, and very
well indeed in Afghanistan. Mr. Edwards described a war
that was badly planned, launched on the basis of incorrect
intelligence and turned into a morass that sucks American
attention away from a struggling Afghanistan and the war on
terror. 

Mr. Cheney had by far the harder job because even loyal
supporters of the administration acknowledge that things
are not going all that well overseas. It was hard to seem
credible when he insisted repeatedly that the Bush
administration had done "exactly the right thing" in Iraq
and that if he had to do it again, he would recommend the
"same course of action." 

One of the most poignant moments in the evening occurred
when Mr. Cheney, who has a gay daughter, was asked about
the administration's support for a constitutional amendment
against gay marriage. He danced gingerly around the topic,
expressing loyalty to the president without indicating that
he really agreed with him. After Mr. Edwards said he
admired the vice president's support for his daughter, Mr.
Cheney declined to discuss the matter further, limiting
himself simply to thanking his opponent for his comments. 

That moment of congeniality aside, if those famous few
undecided voters were waiting for a real debate about
different positions and philosophies, they got it last
night. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/06/opinion/06wed1.html?ex=1098086815&ei=1&en=3532792b2db0b939


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