Edwards on points

The Republicans were between a rock and a hard place for last night’s debate. Had Cheney performed as poorly as Bush, it would have had a reinforcing effect that would have hurt the ticket and would have put considerably more pressure on the president to perform even better on Friday than he already needs to do. On the other hand, Bush’s vice-president performed so much better than the big guy himself did last Thursday that Bush still suffers by comparison. When is the last time that a vice-president so overshadowed a president in the debates? Now, on Friday, Bush has to outperform both Kerry and Cheney. He can’t just do a little better than last week; he’s got to do a lot better.

As for Edwards, he sat shoulder to shoulder with Cheney, and performed very well. He didn’t look or act like a lightweight and he was more than willing to throw a punch. I thought he was even more appealing sitting down than when he is standing up because it forced him to tone down the act a bit.

Cheney will probably get high marks from relieved Republicans who viewed last night’s debate, and Edwards will likewise get high marks from Democrats worried that he wouldn’t look weighty enough or would be too nice and Lieberman-like.

As for the undecideds – people who clearly don’t like the incumbents or else they would already be committed to them – I would guess Edwards acquitted himself well, going up against a formidable figure, scoring lots of debating points, and coming off as a plausible vice president. Cheney looked tired, drained, and like the president last week, not enthusiastic about being there. He also didn’t answer any of the major charges made by Edwards.