John Edwards said at the Vice Presidential debate last night that Cheney, when he was a Wyoming congressman, voted against Head Start, Meals-On-Wheels, Martin Luther King’s birthday holiday, and he also voted against a resolution that called for freeing South African black leader Nelson Mandela from his imprisonment by the white apartheid government in South Africa.
What a creepenheimer!
Cheney looked tough and mean, and lied through his teeth. Edwards was a little bit more lightweight than I expected, but he got in some good points. He disappointed me when he didn’t clear up some of the lies and distortions (he needed to make it clear that Kerry never voted FOR the war, and he should have made the “$87 billion” issue clear too). He also didn’t answer some questions because he was busy expanding on previous answers, and he mentioned Kerry’s name twice in an answer where the moderator specifically said not to mention the Presidential candidate’s names. I could be wrong, but I don’t remember Cheney saying president Bush’s name at all. Most people assume Cheney’s really running the country anyway though.
The funniest moment (in retrospect) during the debate came when Cheney said something (I was washing dishes and didn’t catch what it was about) and told people to go to “factcheck.com” which perked up my ears, because I was sure that it was an org site. Later, I checked factcheck.com myself, and just about fell over laughing.
I’m more surprised that he voted against the Nelson Mandela resolution. For all of the others, one could argue that These Things Cost Money, or that It’s Not The Government’s Job. I’d like to know why he chose to vote against an admittedly feel-good resolution to scold another government, however.
Someone on a mailing list I read has suggested that Cheney really wanted to direct people to factcheck.ORG. Since most popular websites end in .com, I can see how that could be just a slip of the tongue. A very amusing one, of course
I think it was during the question about “Since you’ll be a heartbeat away from the presidency, what makes you so damned special? And don’t use your head honcho’s name, dammit!” Paraphrased, of course.
Cheney didn’t have to remember, because he probably never thought about Bush once the whole night. Edwards really is a total team player and came off, not as Kerry’s the man and I’m just a figurehead parroting his policies, but more like It’s Kerry’s ballgame (you will be voting for him, after all) but we’re a team and are on the same wavelength. To me, anyway.
Give Soros a lollypop. I checked the .com version last night right after Cheney said it, because I too knew it was wrong. It said the name was unregistered. Then I check this a.m., and Soros bought it and made it a redirect. Brilliant. And fast.
It might also have been a bit of trial-lawyer play. You know, like when an attorney says something to a witness then the judge orders the jury to disregard it? Once it’s been said it can’t be unsaid.
On the whole I’d give the debate to Edwards, and I think Cheney has all the charm of a dustball. I was also amused at the end of the debate when, at the beginning of the closing statements Edwards said, approximately “thank you Gwen, and thank you Mr. Vice President for being here tonight,” and Cheney said only “thank you Gwen.” A little lacking in the social graces there.
Nitpick: Soros had nothing to do with it. The cybersquatter who owned factcheck.com apparently responded to Cheney’s mention by adding the redirect himself. There’s a note on Soros’s site about it. Just some internet mischief.
I might be biased, but it seemed to me that Edwards was enthusiastic about Kerry, while Cheney was "George Bush is a great commander in chief :rolleyes: " I also liked how he didn’t respond to Edwards’ comments on the gay marriage question. I interpreted that as Cheney actually having the decency to not defend the introduction of the amendment. This seems to be the one area where reality and his politics clash, and reality wins. I respect him for his tolerant response to this issue.
