Click here to go to the NEW College Discussion Forum

Will be interesting to see the contrast between Edwards' supposedly "sunny" demeanor and Cheney's supposedly "angry" manner.

Also the contrast between a businessman and trial lawyer, who I would think of as mortal enemies besides the fact that they are running against each other.

By Taffy (Taffy) on Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 07:17 pm: Edit

Jon Edwards, the #1 trial lawyer in North Carolina, is going to verbally rape Dick Cheney, the halliburton vice president with an approval rating in the 30%s.

By Sammgc68 (Sammgc68) on Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 07:51 pm: Edit

I love Edwards to death, and really hope he does well, but I'm afraid that Cheney's diabolical mind will overwhelm the smilingness.

By Somecanadianguy (Somecanadianguy) on Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 08:09 pm: Edit

I'm with taffy, Edwards will own Cheney

By Vancat (Vancat) on Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 10:44 pm: Edit

[Hoooooosh Koooooosh][Hoooooosh Koooooosh]...Johnny Boy, I AM YOUR FATHER [Hooooosh Kooooosh]


http://funfreepages.com/albums/frp/vader_owned.jpg

By 1212 (1212) on Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 10:44 pm: Edit

once again i think they both suck

By Northwestlover (Northwestlover) on Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 10:49 pm: Edit

umm... ohhh.... Oh, what, the debate is over? ok, I got it, and.... wow, what a boring debate it was. how many people were warching it, without falling sleep?

By Feuler (Feuler) on Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 10:57 pm: Edit

I watched almost all of it... I cannot believe what a fool Edwards made of himself. It was painful to listen to him at times. I don't know how he was a lawyer; he can't make specific points, and he can't answer specific questions. He was goofy and unprofessional, not to mention inept, the whole time. This was a disgrace for the democratic party.

Dick Cheney was excellent. I hadn't seen him speak much before, but I can now I really wish we had someone that smart and skilled on our side.

I'm just going to hope that no undecided voters were watching tonight...

By Thermodude (Thermodude) on Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 10:58 pm: Edit

I think this debate only exemplifies the fact that Kerry and Bush are actually rather charasmatic debaters.

By Tanman (Tanman) on Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 11:01 pm: Edit

I gotta agree with what one of the Fox News corospondents said - something like
"I think that halfway through, most Americans were tempted to change channels and watch the baseball game"

By Vancat (Vancat) on Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 11:04 pm: Edit

just a little useless something I noticed towards the end: Did you see how Edward's forehead was dripping sweat, even though its only about half the size of Cheney's forehead (which remained relatively dry)?

By Taffy (Taffy) on Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 11:05 pm: Edit

i actually woke up from my nap to watch it, only to fall back into a slumber.

it seemed more like a homerun derby style debate, and less of a tennis style debate. its my american duty to turn everything into a sports analogy :D

what kind of dumb rule is that? you cant say "john kerry" but you can reference him by saying "he"

By Glamourbaby19 (Glamourbaby19) on Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 11:13 pm: Edit

So that was boring. I don't think it solidified either parties' arguments, nor do I think either candidate definitively won. They just BSed their way through the 90 minutes...

By Justice (Justice) on Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 11:22 pm: Edit

did anyone else get annoyed by that lady...

By Vancat (Vancat) on Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 11:26 pm: Edit

didn't bother me

By Titanz05 (Titanz05) on Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 11:59 pm: Edit

Did the moderator make a mistake/slip when she said "He did not talk about Iran" or something of that nature. It was cause Cheney said "Isn't it his turn?" or something. Cause honestly, it was the other way around. If anyone knows what I'm talking about, what was the topic? I'm sure it wasn't Iran.

I don't know, but Edwards got mad.

By Michuncle (Michuncle) on Wednesday, October 06, 2004 - 12:11 am: Edit

As a Democrat, I like to think that the debate was a draw. But, if push comes to shove, VP Cheney came off well with an excellent grasp of the issues. I strongly disagree with his take on those issues, but they were presented in a straightforward manner that President Bush had failed to do...

That it took the VP to articulate the President's stand on issues reminds me of numerous Saturday Night Live skits surrounding the relationship between President Bush and Vice President Cheney. The Vice President clearly has a better grasp of the issues, rightly or wrongly, than the President. It must be challenging working for someone who lacks a decent command of English.

Something that many people may not know is that VP Cheney has a daughter who is a lesbian. The VP does not agree with a Constitutional amendment recognizing marriage as being only between a man and a woman. Yet, the President and the Christian Right are pushing this as an issue in the election.

On this issue, it is the ultimate irony that the greatest support for VP Cheney and his daughter are liberal Democrats...

By Riflesforwatie (Riflesforwatie) on Wednesday, October 06, 2004 - 08:08 am: Edit

It's unfortunate for Republicans that the ticket is Bush/Cheney instead of Cheney/Bush.

I'd like to see a debate between Cheney and Kerry, instead of watching them beat up on the moronic Edwards and Bush.

By Ndbisme5 (Ndbisme5) on Wednesday, October 06, 2004 - 11:32 am: Edit

I was very disappointed with Edwards. I mean, is this the guy that sacked companies left and right with his verbal prowess? Some of the answers were OK, but I was expecting him to come down on Cheney like a ton of bricks.

I was mildly suprised by Chenney, I thought he did pretty good. Either way, I wasn't satisfied with the debate.

Again, these debates are approaching the point of being useless and unengaging. Also, I didn't like the moderator much... her dumb comments like "well, Cheney, you only have 30 secs" and "you didn't answer the question" were moronic at best. And a debate that was 90% foreign policy and 10% other stuff and fluff like GLT rights. I'm thoroughly disappointed.

My solution is to f the rules, just let them go at each other's throat. The moderator would every once in a while decide who's time is up. Let the debates not be about sound bytes but rather a 90 minute conversation. There wasn't much "debate" last night...

By Babybird87 (Babybird87) on Wednesday, October 06, 2004 - 04:18 pm: Edit

To the people who said it was boring, I can't imagine we were watching the same debate. That debate was so much more energized and so much more real than the one on Thursday, more so than any I've ever seen.

Cheney obliterated Edwards. Substance wise, style wise, experience wise, Cheney won that thing hands down. Without breaking a sweat.

Edwards was unprofessional, rambling, repetitive, dodgy, sleazy (bringing up Mary Cheney?? What the hell??), naive, and rattled off talking points without knowing anything about them. We saw that when Cheney destroyed his 90% casualty, 90% cost figure and Edwards continued using it, stupidly.

Also, I loved how Edwards broke the rules many many times and everyone picked up on it...how he thought he was being funny by saying "oh, did I break the rules again? ho ho ho" what an idiot. If I were Kerry, I'd be really embarrassed right now.

Cheney made people laugh several times. That was great.

By Matth (Matth) on Wednesday, October 06, 2004 - 04:26 pm: Edit

It's interesting to see the different views on who 'won' the debate. I found that Edwards did an excellent job of confronting Cheney's habitual lies surrounding his linking 9/11 to Iraq and also the Halliburton issue. His comment that last night was the first time he'd met Edwards was also a big fat lie. The Dems quickly produced tape of an event a couple of years ago, where Cheney not only introduced Edwards but sat right NEXT to him during the meal! Cheney is more intelligent and articulate than Bush but he's still a scary character who lies with ease and who needs to be looking for a new job come November 3rd. CNN poll is currently showing that more than 2/3 of those polled think Edwards won.

By Joseancer (Joseancer) on Wednesday, October 06, 2004 - 06:49 pm: Edit

I think one of the reasons many people 'feel' that Cheney won the debate was his forceful, condescending attitude. He essentially behaved as if it weren't a debate between two candidates for the vice-presidential position, but as if Edwards were applying for a job at Halliburton.

"I mean, is this the guy that sacked companies left and right with his verbal prowess?"

In the debate, I saw, that Edwards performed quite well in his points and argumentation, which is what as a lawyer made him so good. Cheney performed well at the role one plays in the boardroom, looking confident and powerful; which seems to be what the republicans are running on these days. They both did a good job at personifying the image that people generally have of them. (Although I'd say Bush certainly did a good job of fitting the image i've had of him too, hehe)

Nevertheless, it certainly wasn't a clear win for either won, as it was in the first Kerry-Bush debate and as its been stated already, by tomorrow, with all the focus on the presidential candidates, this vp debate will be long forgotten.

By Riflesforwatie (Riflesforwatie) on Wednesday, October 06, 2004 - 07:28 pm: Edit

I still mantain that it's a shame Cheney isn't running for President instead of Bush.

By Aim78 (Aim78) on Wednesday, October 06, 2004 - 07:38 pm: Edit

Cheney is a very smart, tough guy. But he's also completely evil and a total crook. At least, that's how he comes across to me. He's like that old guy who sits on a wicker chair outside all day and yells at any kid who steps on his lawn. He's infinitely more qualified than Bush, but how could we have a President with a heart about to suffocate itself any second?

By Benjamin (Benjamin) on Wednesday, October 06, 2004 - 10:11 pm: Edit

Overall, Cheney is smarter and (obviously) a better speaker, but Bush is MUCH more likable. I think the ticket is in the proper order because even though Cheney is extremely qualified and undeniably quick, he would never be elected because of his unfavorable poll numbers...in the next debate, maybe we should just make Bush's podium a little bigger and put Cheney inside!

By Paulhomework (Paulhomework) on Wednesday, October 06, 2004 - 10:34 pm: Edit

IMO Cheney was much better than Edwards last night. Furthermore, Cheney is much more aware of the issues, and IMO better qualified than Bush, Kerry, or Edwards for presidency.

However, he is the essence of evil. He is the guy who would bend the rules to make his company profit. He is the guy who would make deals behind the curtains if it is financially beneficial for him. Overall, he is a crook and I would much rather have a rather unintelligent person, like Bush, or a flip-flopper, like Kerry, be the president.

By Joseancer (Joseancer) on Wednesday, October 06, 2004 - 11:40 pm: Edit

Check this out

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6192327/site/newsweek/

By Myway (Myway) on Thursday, October 07, 2004 - 12:13 am: Edit

Unfortunately, I missed this debate. But it took place at Case Western Reserve University, my dream school!

By Paulhomework (Paulhomework) on Thursday, October 07, 2004 - 09:45 am: Edit

Joseancer, that's why Cheney is an evil genius.

By Techiedork (Techiedork) on Thursday, October 07, 2004 - 10:12 am: Edit

as for who won...i would say that cheney won the foreign policy part and edwards won the domestic policies. the change in power during the debate seemed to take a switch after the FMA question.

and as for cheney...he really is the puppetmaster behind bush.

By Thedad (Thedad) on Thursday, October 07, 2004 - 10:05 pm: Edit

I thought that as far as *effectiveness* goes, Cheney won, for all that many of points were established by misleading points (e.g., number of times he's presided over the Senate) or otherwise lied through his teeth. I scored Cheney at an A-, Edwards at a B...glad to see the public polls were kinder to Edwards than I was.

I also thought that Edwards easily passed the threshhold test of "Can you imagine this man as VP?" though the cartoonists will have a field day with that toothy grin.

As someone who liked Edwards but ultimately voted for Kerry, the two debates validated my decision in that Kerry gets the nod for being more experienced and it shows.

Finally--and for all the I disagree with Cheney on 90 percent of political questions--there is no doubt that he's competent and the contrast between him and Bush is so embarrassing that if I were a Republican I would want to change the subject real fast.