Well, two interesting thoughts occurred to me last night as I watched elder statesman and current VP, Dick Cheney, wring Senator Edwards out like an old dish rag:

1. Both Kerry and Edwards have been employing a debate tactic against their rivals of dumping as much negative commentary and accusations as possible with each question they are given so as to either force the candidates to continually defend themselves or force them to leave some of those accusations unanswered, thus making their silence seem like assent.

2. Edwards made the huge mistake last night of thinking that he could use his litigation experience to put Vice President Cheney on trial in front of an international audience.

Edwards came out like an over-eager and smug teenager who thinks himself ready to take on his college professor in a debate, and wound up looking like the freshman that he really is in the world of national politics. Why did Kerry pick this guy? Oh yeah, that’s right, Edwards used his influence to force himself on Kerry. That explains it.

VP Cheney is what he is, an elder statesman and a man of honor who has served his country for a very long time. In many ways, he’s also a policy wonk, just as Clinton and Gore were while in office. Even though he got the site, [url=http://www.factcheck.org]Factcheck.ORG[/url] (not “.com”) wrong, he is, in his own way, his own Factcheck.org.

So, Edward’s attempt to put Cheney on trial and deliver a few well-placed zingers failed miserably last night. Instead, Edwards walked away looking quite the amatuer while VP Cheney may well have stalled the momentum built up last week with Kerry’s win over Bush in their first debate.

Only time will tell on that point. Meanwhile, I’m looking forward to the Second Bush/Kerry debate on Friday. Be there or be a four-sided object with perfect 90 degree angles.

David Flanagan
[url=www.viewpointjournal.com]Viewpointjournal.com[/url]