|
|
|
Become a
Paid Mullings Subscriber!
(To join the FREE mailing list or to unsubscribe Click Here)
VP Debates
Rich Galen Wednesday October 06, 2004
From Alexandria, Virginia
Memo to John Edwards: Welcome to the NFL.
One of the most famous one-liners in Presidential/Vice Presidential debates was Ronald Reagan's turning the age question on its head by saying he would never use his opponent's youth and inexperience as a campaign issue. His opponent was Walter Mondale, not exactly a spring chicken.
Perhaps even more famous was during the Vice Presidential debate in 1988 between Democratic Senator Lloyd Bentsen of Texas, who the running mate of Michael Dukakis and Republican Senator Dan Quayle who was running with Vice President Bush.
The Bush campaign was sensitive to charges that Quayle - in his early forties - was too young to be running for Vice President. Quayle said he had, in essence, the same resume as John Kennedy.
Bentsen, obviously coached and ready for Quayle's statement, uttered the famous phrase: "I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. You, Senator, are no Jack Kennedy."
The next day, on the Bush/Quayle staff plane heading back to Washington, there was nothing less than ears-back panic about the possible effect of the debate in general and that statement in particular on the election as a whole.
I am a huge fan of Dick Cheney. He has been a Member of Congress; Republican Whip; White House Chief of Staff; Secretary of Defense; successful corporate leader, and Vice President.
John Edwards has been an extremely successful tort lawyer, and, at best, a mediocre Senator.
Last night, it was clear that Dick Cheney is absolutely ready to step into the role of President of the United States if it were to become necessary. He demonstrated a grasp of the details of a vast array of government programs - not to mention the voting records of both Kerry and Edwards - which was nothing short of astounding.
Before you allow your colleague in the next cube to start talking about how Cheney has a better grasp of the facts than the President remind them that dealing with the devilish details is the job of the number-two guy. The person at the top should be thinking about the big picture having the facts at his disposal as necessary, not drilling down into the minutiae of each and every program, each and every day.
The Vice President demonstrated a depth of knowledge to go along with his breadth of experience. He didn't rise to the personal attacks launched against him, but strongly and clearly explained the current state of domestic and international affairs.
If Vice Presidential debates were determinative of the outcome of the election then this election would be over. Bush/Cheney would be the easy victors. Dick Cheney was the clear winner last night.
Nevertheless, we know debates between VP candidates don't determine the winner of the election. If you think people vote for President on the basis of how the candidates performed in the Vice Presidential debate, consider this: In 1988 - even with the "You're no Jack Kennedy" line - then Dan Quayle beat Lloyd Bentsen by seven million popular votes.
Good thing, too, for the Kerry/Edwards campaign because Cheney kicked Edwards' you-know-what.
On the Secret Decoder Ringpage today: A pretty nice Mullfoto is about the only thing up there. Got home from Italy just in time to watch the debate. Tough work, but someone has to �
--END --
Copyright © 2004 Richard A. Galen
Current Issue |
Secret Decoder
Ring | Past
Issues | Email
Rich | Rich
Who?
Copyright �2002 Richard
A. Galen | Site design by Campaign
Solutions. | |
|
� 
