Edwards' cool levels debate field

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-05-2004
Edwards' cool levels debate field
206
Tue, 10-05-2004 - 1:56am
Here's the original link: http://www.newsobserver.com/politics/politicians/edwards/story/1699641p-7949529c.html


By ROB CHRISTENSEN, Staff Writer

RALEIGH -- If Vice President Dick Cheney thinks he'll be facing the "Breck Girl" - the epithet Republicans like to pin on John Edwards - he may be in for an unpleasant surprise in their debate Tuesday.

Edwards is a canny fighter who outprepares his opponents, according to lawyers who have faced him in the courtroom. He isn't afraid of more experienced adversaries, has a large bag of rhetorical tricks and connects with audiences.

"If I'm going in a knife fight, and I have my choice, I am taking John Edwards," said Jim Cooney of Charlotte. "John doesn't like to lose."

Cooney ought to know. He dueled with Edwards in 10 cases.

Cooney is one of many Tar Heel lawyers who debated Edwards before a jury during the 1980s and 1990s, when Edwards made his fortune as a trial lawyer before being elected to the U.S. Senate.

Their advice for Cheney: Under no circumstances take Edwards lightly.

Edwards' strengths:

* He prepares thoroughly.

* He connects with his listeners in their language.

* He makes complex arguments easy to understand.

* He takes his opponents seriously.

Edwards made a living off more experienced lawyers who saw his mop-haired choirboy looks, small-town charm and wide grin and took him for a lightweight. That's one reason he rarely lost a courtroom debate.

And in some respects, the Cheney-Edwards debate also would seem a mismatch. Cheney is the very image of experience and authority -- a former White House chief of staff, defense secretary, congressman and corporate CEO.

But former rivals say Edwards has a history of besting people like Cheney: white-haired, "pillar of the community" corporate lawyers, respected doctors and all sorts of experts. He also has a history of taking on large institutions -- hospitals, insurance companies, trucking firms -- and coming out on top.

If Cheney goes after Edwards' inexperience in government, several lawyers said, he'll be walking into a trap.

"He's made a career of going up against the experts, leaders in their fields, whether it's medicine or epidemiology or engineering," Cooney said. "The first time Cheney gives him the lecture -- 'Well, young man' -- it will be interesting to see how he handles that. Various experts have tried it before, and it has not worked very well.

"He is well-experienced in going up against people who are experts and who believe very strongly that they know a lot more than he does."

Made-for-TV style

Intense preparation is Edwards' trademark, and few expect him to be stumped or surprised by a question. Nor can he be rattled easily.

"I would be surprised if he is intimidated by Dick Cheney," said Tex Barrow, a Raleigh lawyer who has faced Edwards. "I have never seen him intimidated by anybody. ... He will be very well-prepared and be very passionate about his positions."

Edwards has never been regarded as a great courtroom orator in the Clarence Darrow mold. His style is more conversational. It is a style that is suited for more intimate settings like the courtroom -- or the TV studio -- than a large hall.

Indeed, some say Edwards' vice presidential acceptance speech in Boston in July was a bit flat.

"In many regards the debate will be a more natural setting. ... It's just his background," Barrow said. "It's one on one. The courtroom is a lot more intimate exchange than a speech to several thousand people."

He also rarely hammers home a point, preferring to lay out the evidence and let the jury come to the conclusion where he led it. His style is to distill the major points, removing the jargon, so that everyone understands his points.

"He'll use 25 years of experience in talking to jurors and look into that television camera ... and make every person in the living room think he is talking to them," said Billy Richardson, a lawyer who has worked with Edwards on cases. "He is secure enough to let them form their own conclusions. That is a powerful technique."

One of his favorite techniques, the lawyers say, is to ask the rhetorical question of the type Ronald Reagan asked in his 1980 debate: Are you better off than you were four years ago?

Nor is Edwards afraid to take someone apart. He just does it with Southern charm and a smile.

"It is not John's style to be mean or sarcastic," said his former law partner, David Kirby. "John has the ability to destroy a witness or a witness' position in a polite manner."

Edwards once dismantled an economist -- testifying for the opposition -- whose sons he had coached in soccer and with whom he had been friendly.

The North Carolina lawyers who have watched Edwards in the courtroom say there is no way that he will take Cheney lightly. They also say that Cheney would be foolish to prepare lightly for Edwards.

"Knowing John," Cooney said, "he has played out all the angles that Cheney could launch and his response to Cheney's attack, and how Cheney will respond to that, and how he would respond to that. He plays four or five moves ahead -- like chess."


Staff writer Rob Christensen can be reached at 820-4532 or robc@newsobserver.com.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 09-24-2003
Tue, 10-12-2004 - 10:46am
Very well said. It's a common misconception amongst Americans who have never stepped foot off of American soil (and a cruise to Nassau doesn't quite count) that other countries have no where near the freedoms, resources, governments etc. that we have here. And many feel there is no reason whatsoever to experience places outside the US. This narrow world view seems to somehow plant in their minds some undesireable ethnocentric views. People here have literally asked my husband if there is electricity in Germany. And more pertinent, said things along the lines of there being less freedom there than here. And that's obviously not the case.

And yes, as of late, US policies and actions have made many European countries very nervous- and I'm sure Canada feels the same.

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-04-2003
Tue, 10-12-2004 - 11:30am
What about Deeana ;o)

I was thinking about girl names when I was pregnant. My choice was Erica. I had thought of Erica Zoe but realized could be shortened to E-Z. Not a good nickname to have in high school.

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-05-2004
Tue, 10-12-2004 - 12:52pm
LOL about E-z. I wouldn't want that either. If some day I have a daughter I plan on naming her Jessa. :) I love that name. My name is one of those popular names. When I was in high school my senior yr there were three of us in my homeroom and then there were a pair of twins too! My poor homeroom teacher. Heh heh. The twins sat opposite sides of the room but me and the other two people with my name sat near each other. Heh.
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-18-2004
Tue, 10-12-2004 - 1:46pm

Deanna is too common and not pretty enough (I apologize if I offend anyone by saying that).

Miffy - Co-CL For The Politics Today Board

Avatar for papparic
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Wed, 10-13-2004 - 12:17am
Thank you. I was watching a program in which a man, being interviewed about Las Vegas, said, "Why would I want to travel to see the pyramids or the Eiffel tower? We have it all right here."

I laughed till I choked, but I knew he was serious. I thought, "Wow, that's another thing that money can't buy. Ignornace!" and then I thought, "No, I'm wrong. A lot of money has been put into an expensive education system to buy ignorance like that."

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-16-2004
Wed, 10-13-2004 - 10:15am
I think it was a vote to bring the item to the floor, which needed 60 votes to pass.

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