The Vice-Presidential Debates are a Wrap

In my mind Cheney handled himself very well, basically out-gunning his ambulance-chasing opponent at every turn. Some of Cheney's good zingers were:

• Calling Edwards on again demeaning the contributions to the war effort of our allies, most specifically the Iraqi's themselves. "For you to demean their sacrifice is beyond the pale."
• Calling Edwards on the hypocrisy of utilizing questionable tax practices and loopholes to evade paying his fair share of taxes while advocating increasing taxes on the "rich".
• Pointing out Edwards' abysmal attendance in the Senate and lack of participation in committees of which he is a part (a pattern his partner also adheres to).
• In regards to the Kerry/Edwards team's ever shifting Iraq stance, "If they couldn't stand up to pressures that Howard Dean represented, how can we expect them to stand up to al-Qaida?" - That was just a killer!
• Pointing out Kerry's failure to vote for the first Gulf War.
• Defusing Edwards' baseless attacks regarding Haliburton by simply pointing people to FactCheck.org, excellent way to rebut a point when you have only 30 seconds.
• In saying, "He sets policy for this administration, and I support him." Cheney not only gracefully expressed his position on the whole gay marriage issue, but also shot huge, gaping holes in the democrat's contention that it is he who runs the show and not President Bush.
• Pointing out that the Kerry/Edwards proposed tax increases on the "rich", are indeed tax increases on the small businesses that provide 70% of us with our incomes.

All in all an excellent showing. Personally, I've always thought that Cheney brought a little too much baggage with him for the Bush/Cheney ticket, but he certainly performed well tonight.

It seemed as though Edwards was attempting to use the format to his advantage, launching his best "torpedoes" when Cheney only had 30 seconds to respond. Cheney however, did an excellent job a keeping notes and coming back to those issues that needed readdressing.