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My personal musings about anything that gets on my radar screen--heavily dominated by politics.

2004-10-05

A Different Approach

Tonight I tried something different with the Veep debate--I didn't watch it. Actually, by a fluke, my wife turned it on at about the 50 minute mark, but with helping the kids with homework and putting them to bed, I really didn't watch much.

This time, I just wanted to watch the "analysis" and the "spin," to see if I could pick up what was likely to make the morning news. I'm even writing this before reading anyone else's takes, so if I'm redundant and/or out to lunch, it's not intentional.

Over and over I saw the clip of Cheney saying "if you can't stand up to the pressure of Howard Dean, how could you handle the enemy we now face?;" also saw the "this is the first time I've met you" clip and "frankly, your record in the Senate is not very distinguished." Nothing from John Edwards.

Then the spin. Here are the money quotes:

I just couldn't shake the impression that John Kerry just got steamrolled by Dick Cheney--Andrea Mitchell

You saw these two men up on stage, and you had the feeling it was like a father picking his son up after school--Mike Barnicle

You had the sense that John Edwards had gotten called into the Principal's office--and not for a good thing--and that this was the final one, no appeal.--Chris Mathews

As devastating as those quotes are, it's at least twice as bad that those quotes came from who they came from. If this trio called it a drubbing, it might just have been the worst thing ever.

The snap polls seem to be way out of whack with the talking heads--I wonder if I missed something, or if the snapshots are as bad as a Newsweek poll.

Oh, and one more:

Cheney I trust; he comes of as serious but human, like a good grandfather; the other guy I just don't trust. There's something just a little too slick about him--the Bewitching Mrs. Best Destiny, whose judgements of people I've come to trust implicitely (yeah, she seems to have gotten better at it after picking me.)

Now, on to read other people's thoughts.
Posted by: Michael / 10/05/2004 11:17:00 PM

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