Post-NH Debate
No one had the incentive to attack and everyone needed to come off as presidential. I thought generally Dean came off pretty well, although I'm not sure he should have said "I lead with my heart, not my head." Not quite what he wanted to say. But he was serious, while also showing a sense of humor, and was able to highlight his record as a governor.
Kerry came off simultaneously as weighty and presidential but also as almost a caricature of a politician -- lots of practiced lines and lots of references to "I led the fight in the Senate" on this or that. He has a tendency to lapse into the kind of mealy-mouthed no-content rhetoric that causes people to roll their eyes at politicians. You watch Kerry and you think you're going to get this great charismatic candidate, but he comes off as kind of dull and boring. I also think he's the type of candidate that has a glass jaw; more on that later.
I thought Edwards did well, even though Peter Jennings and Brit Hume played "gotcha" with him on the Defense of Marriage Act. In the first place, it was a pompous convoluted question from Jennings, who acted like he was thinking "if I have to share the questioning duties with these lightweight local New Hampshire TV and newspaper reporters, by God, I'm going to take my time and ask weighty questions." In any event, Edwards seems so ... nice, and he is interesting to watch. There is real charisma there, but the man looks like he is barely old enough to be President, and given the context of this election, it just may not be the right time for a young fresh fellow.
When Clark waits for a question, he seems to have total fear in his eyes! I suppose not a lot of people dare to ask generals very many tough questions, but he looks absolutely panicked. As soon as the question is asked, he relaxes and usually gives a pretty good answer.
Yesterday, was Dean's big media push. He appeared "presidential" at the debate; for those who prefer to judge candidates through the soft lens of TV newsmagazines, he and his partner Judy appeared with dewy-eyed Diane Sawyer and then for the younger more male crowd, he did the Letterman show. All in all, I think it should help him, particularly since Kerry was so boring in the debate.
No one had the incentive to attack and everyone needed to come off as presidential. I thought generally Dean came off pretty well, although I'm not sure he should have said "I lead with my heart, not my head." Not quite what he wanted to say. But he was serious, while also showing a sense of humor, and was able to highlight his record as a governor.
Kerry came off simultaneously as weighty and presidential but also as almost a caricature of a politician -- lots of practiced lines and lots of references to "I led the fight in the Senate" on this or that. He has a tendency to lapse into the kind of mealy-mouthed no-content rhetoric that causes people to roll their eyes at politicians. You watch Kerry and you think you're going to get this great charismatic candidate, but he comes off as kind of dull and boring. I also think he's the type of candidate that has a glass jaw; more on that later.
I thought Edwards did well, even though Peter Jennings and Brit Hume played "gotcha" with him on the Defense of Marriage Act. In the first place, it was a pompous convoluted question from Jennings, who acted like he was thinking "if I have to share the questioning duties with these lightweight local New Hampshire TV and newspaper reporters, by God, I'm going to take my time and ask weighty questions." In any event, Edwards seems so ... nice, and he is interesting to watch. There is real charisma there, but the man looks like he is barely old enough to be President, and given the context of this election, it just may not be the right time for a young fresh fellow.
When Clark waits for a question, he seems to have total fear in his eyes! I suppose not a lot of people dare to ask generals very many tough questions, but he looks absolutely panicked. As soon as the question is asked, he relaxes and usually gives a pretty good answer.
Yesterday, was Dean's big media push. He appeared "presidential" at the debate; for those who prefer to judge candidates through the soft lens of TV newsmagazines, he and his partner Judy appeared with dewy-eyed Diane Sawyer and then for the younger more male crowd, he did the Letterman show. All in all, I think it should help him, particularly since Kerry was so boring in the debate.
posted by JFH @ 6:08 PM
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