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: 04-04-2003
Wed, 10-06-2004 - 11:05am
I haven't gotten through most of this thread yet but I'll add my two cents.

I think Cheney won this debate. This does not mean that I agree with his poltical philosophy in many ways. Both got in a few licks, but if this were a boxing match, I'd say that Edward's nose was the bloodier of the two.

He has a cold and calculating intelligence that should never, under ANY circumstances be dismissed. Some people found/find him boring. I do not in any way find him boring. I find him rather frightening (that is - with a few well aimed statements that are designed to be practially impossible to proove or disproove, he can sure put the fear of God in you). It's in his style. On the surface, he appears calm, coldly calculating and very very focused. That quiet laid-back demeanor allows him to get away with saying all sorts of things (and sounding quite rational). If people are bored and not paying attention to what he is saying, that certainly is their loss and foolish.

He reminds me a bit of a reptile. Cold, calculating, ruthless and an opportunist ready to strike. Capable of delivering a devastating low blow without too much fanfare. This man's greatest strength is flying under the radar with ease.

Speaking of low blows that sound good but is quite false (and by it's nature, almost impossible to refute)...Cheney said this last night:

<

EDWARDS: Oh, I'm not...

CHENEY: ... as beyond...

EDWARDS: I'm not demeaning...

CHENEY: It is indeed. You suggested...

EDWARDS: No, sir, I did not...>>

All I can say is........

OUCH!





iVillage Member
Registered: 04-16-2004
Wed, 10-06-2004 - 11:08am
He seemed a bit nervous, which was to be expected.

Overall, I think he did a pretty good job.

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-24-2003
Wed, 10-06-2004 - 11:10am
Or corrupt CEOs....

Listen, a lot of this gets old. You know which side you're on. I know which side I'm on. There are major negatives to the guys you support in my opinion. There are major negatives to the guys I support in your opinion. We get it.

The cases Edwards represented as a lawer were, from what i've learned, very reputable. Not so for some of Cheney's dealings/connections with Halliburton.

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-16-2004
Wed, 10-06-2004 - 11:10am
It spoke volumes to me about what Cheney really feels about a Consitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

I personally dont feel that Bush is a very good debator.

I wonder who took over his body when he debated Ann Richards, as he tore her apart, and she is a very good debator.

There were times during the Presidential debate that it seemed Bush checked out mid thought, and would have a blank stare on his face, but it was nothing new as he did the same thing during the 2000 debates with Gore.

I still dont know how Gore lost the debates, as Bush really didnt do a lot to win them in my opinion.

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-16-2004
Wed, 10-06-2004 - 11:11am
LOL....funny post.
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-04-2003
Wed, 10-06-2004 - 11:14am
<>

You've got that right (can anyone say "cobra"?) I'm curious, how would you like facing off against Cheney in a debate?

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-04-2003
Wed, 10-06-2004 - 11:19am
<>

Easy. Gore has even less charisma than Kerry (and the spectre of the much hated Clinton to overcome) and there was no Iraq fiasco to attack him on. Bush basically did not have to defend a thing in that first debate. All he had to do is make (well rehersed) promises about being a uniter, smile his down-home smile and speak to the heartland.

Avatar for momeebear
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Wed, 10-06-2004 - 11:23am
<>

Just checking, but I thought he HAD said that, on an episode of "Meet The Press?" I could have sworn they showed that clip last night on one of the post-debate shows.....I was surfing around, can't remember which channel it was....I could be mistaken.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-24-2003
Wed, 10-06-2004 - 11:30am
Of the president, vp, Kerry, and Edwards... Kerry is the most knowledgeable, followed by Cheney, followed by Edwards, and the trailer is...
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-04-2003
Wed, 10-06-2004 - 11:30am
<>

Based upon your picture alone, I can say you are much younger than me. As you and your friends age, you might find your standards slipping a bit. (I prefer to look at it as an opening of the mind....that's my story and I'm sticking with it).

<>

Gotta love those nerds (I'd take one over a jock any day). Still waters run deep (I've always found).

There's got to be something to Kerry that he could attract rich heiresses. Could it be (if you looked closely) that the man has very large hands and feet? That's gotta be worth its weight in gold.

There, hopefully in a subtle way, I've called your blush and raised you one.

;o)

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