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: 04-16-2004
Wed, 10-06-2004 - 9:59am
Not to mention that the people of his own home state know what he is all about, which is why Edwards was not planning on running for re-election, as he would have lost badly.
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-16-2004
Wed, 10-06-2004 - 10:01am
I found it interesting that Cheney did not use his rebutal time, except to thank Senator Edwards for his kind comments.

It is obvious that Cheney feels much the same way that Edwards does about the gay marriage amendment, as do it.

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-16-2004
Wed, 10-06-2004 - 10:02am
Well Cheney could not reciprocate as his parents are deceased.
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-16-2004
Wed, 10-06-2004 - 10:04am
That is because they are trying to use spin to discredit anything that this administration does.

You cant say that the Democrats have a monopoly on this, as the Republicans do this as much as they can too.

The bottom line is that the spin on both sides is not quite as effective as it was say perhaps 10 years ago, due largely to the internet, and the readily available information.

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-16-2004
Wed, 10-06-2004 - 10:05am
I think you have been bitten by the spin bug.

Cheney has connected Hussein to terrorism and has pointed to the evidence that there were some ties to al Qaeda, but he never said that Iraq had a hand in 9/11.

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-16-2004
Wed, 10-06-2004 - 10:06am
The Kerry - Edwards ticket is trying to take advantage of the fact that some people believe that we attacked Iraq because of a tie to 9/11, largely due to the media basically inferring that this is what the administration has said.
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-24-2003
Wed, 10-06-2004 - 10:09am
Our current president has spent a disgusting amount of time at his ranch, vacationing, golfing what have you.... particularly right before the events of Sept. 11th. It could be argued that in that way he has abused his position as president of this country. And not taken it as seriously as need be.


It is very selfish of you to think of yourself alone where the economy is concerned. The reality is that the economy is still very poor for a great many Americans, young and old.

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-24-2003
Wed, 10-06-2004 - 10:14am
We went after Saddam for supposed WMD's.... and when the current admin. started realizing there were no WMD's they began inferring that there was a link between Saddam and 9/11. Nice try.

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-04-2003
Wed, 10-06-2004 - 10:18am
<>

I think that is a dangerous assumption to make.

<>

On that, I can agree.

<<- John Edwards provides that.>>

Well yes....but I think at this point in time, what Edwards has to offer of any substance is inconsequential.


iVillage Member
Registered: 02-23-2004
Wed, 10-06-2004 - 10:19am
<>>"IFILL: Mr. Vice President, picking up on that, you both just sang the praises of the tops of your ticket.

Without mentioning them by name at all, explain to us why you are different from your opponent, starting with you, Mr. Vice President.

Cheney said his piece w/o mentioning Bush.

Edwards: >>"IFILL: You just used John Kerry's name. EDWARDS: Oh, I'm sorry. I broke the rule."<<......and again: >>"John Kerry made clear on Thursday night that -- I'm sorry, I broke the rule. We made clear --"<< ..... straight from Ironside....braking a rule/request by slipping in Kerry's name....so véry see-through....LOL>

Yep, he did his best to defend his "client" last night, that came through loud and clear.



Confirmed that one for myself too-he has this very weird way of going from a totally straight face to an instant big, weird loopy grin. He seems very phony to me, like a bad actor. But of course those are all just completely subjective observations-lots of people seem to think he is very "charming".

Of course I know some will say Cheney lacked personality, Kerry's campaign manager said he seemed grumpy and mean. I don't know, I can't help but kind of prefer grumpy and mean to overeager and phony.

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