Edwards supporters: Could he debate Cheney successfully? (Honest question)

[AngryYoungMan]

I'm not familiar enough with Edwards' style; I had to miss most of the televised debates.

If Edwards is the VP nominee he'll have to go in there and debate Emperor Palpatine, and I'm scared because of what happened last time with Lieberman.

Can Edwards supporters reassure me?

[phillybri]

1. He'd easily make Cheney look like the ogre he is...

...that being said, I'm not sure he could hang on all the issues...

[MessiahRp]

2. This is true...

Edwards never really sparkled in the debates and when it was a smaller debate he came off as defensive. Edwards is excellent one on one campaigning to people but he doesn't play as well to a televised audience. I don't think it's excessively hard to debate Cheney and make him look like either a liar or a moron for continuing to claim that Iraq had WMDs and was a bastion of al-Qaeda but Edwards may not be able to pull it off in a debate because he never really could in the Democratic ones.

Rp

[rocktivity]

3. He's a trial lawyer--he knows how to speak and cross examine

More important, unlike when he debated Lieberman, Cheney now has a tangible track record that can be attacked (Halliburton, just for starters). All Edwards has to do is put that record on trial.

:headbang:
rocknation

[democrat in Tallahassee]

4. He's a brilliant lawyer and debater; don't think cheney could

hang with him. Cheney's just a liar.

[readmylips]

15. Yeah! And Edwards will not allow Cheney to interrupt....

I loved it when Edwards would even cut down the debate mediators; now you let me speak, don't interrupt me...etc.

[Warren Stuart]

5. You're kidding right?

The guy's is or was a very successful trial lawyer, you don't get to be successful in this job if you can't argue a case. Expect to see the Republicans try to limit the conditions on which a debate can take place.

If they are not scared, then they are stupid.

[Drifter]

6. All Edwards would need to do is NOT lie.

Every one of Cheneys last few appearances he his continued to use bogus debunked information. He is a huge liability for so many reasons.

His entire schtik is fear. He certainly can't use their past record on anything.

Do you think they would kill off Cheney (blame it on his heart), and run the sympathy ticket? Harsh, but hardly outside the realm of possiblity.

Cheers
Drifter

[trumad]

7. The folks Edwards went after when he was a trial lawyer

would just settle intead of taking him on. He's the best of the best. He'd put Cheney on trial and convict the son of a bitch!

[readmylips]

8. Edwards will make heartless daDick look...

like Satan. Just Edward's good looks would kill daDick. DaDick will start to make demond faces and looking down at his hands, especially when he lies. DaDick is a personal friend of Larry 2wives King, and King will say that daDick won.

[agingdem]

9. Are you kidding?

All John Edwards has to do is stand next to Cheney to win a debate.

[AP]

10. Not only will he win, but because of low expectations, he'll REALLY win.

The knock on Edwards has been that he doesn't have foreign policy experience. I would LOVE to see this played up in the weeks before the debate. Here, everywhere, people should say that there's no way Edwards will do well because Cheney knows so much about the world and Edwards is just a hick from the sticks and has only been in politics for 6 years.

I have no doubt that Edwards will be prepared and will be devestating. And the low expectations will just make it even more decisive a victory for the Democrats.

(That's how Bush "won" his debates.)

[cheezus]

11. yep. Edwards would stay up all night before the debate

studying his preparted statements on foreign policy.

He had great lines, but he'd say the same exact thing over and over and over.

hey, whatever works. :)

[AP]

13. Yeah, that's how he won all those trials.

[KittyWampus]

16. And Lost The Primary

[trumad]

19. It's kind of like winning a war

and losing a er...primary...

[AP]

21. He beat a lot of other people in the primaries. At least he was always on

the upswing.

[efront]

22. You mean unlike other candidates who consistently dropped in

the polls the more voters go to know the actual person behind the resume'?

[AP]

24. that's exactly what I mean.

As far as I'm concerned, the thing that stopped Edwards from being president in 2004 is time and money. If he had more of both, he would have continued on his rise.

[MarianJack]

12. Always a JK supporter, but...

...I think that JE would CREAM cheney in a debate. I think that the biggest problem with Lieberman in '00 was that he was so intent on being a gentleman that he let cheney get away with every single lie, distortion and ducking of a question.

I can't fathom JE letting him get away with that. He wasn't a successful trial lawyer because he let the other guy get away with things!

[AP]

14. In retrospect, I think Lieb. was intent on not winning.

Cheney: "I never made a dollar off being in govern't" (or something like that)
Lieb: (smiles and laughter)

[zulchzulu]

17. Cheney should not be underestimated, but...

Dick has plenty of targets to aim at. He'd try to come across as much more experienced than Edwards (which he is) and could let Edwards hit him hard and get the sympathy vote from swing voters.

Dick could play the "Edwards is a tax and spend liberal" card and maybe try to emphasize Edwards as some kind of ambulance chaser.

I don't think it would work, but don't underestimate Dick. Frankly though, I don't really think Cheney is going to be on the ticket. Something tells me that the Chimpsters know that Cheney might get wasted in a series of debates and wonder whether he has the stamina to run as VP this year.

[Thrill]

20. I have the same questions

about Clark. I wonder if he could hang on the issues. He wasn't very outstanding in the debates I saw.

[Guaranteed]

18. If there's one thing that Edwards can do, it's debate.

That's what he's best at. He's a lawyer, for criminy's sake.

[northernsoul]

23. He'd beat Cheney like a rented mule!

:kick: