The Veeps

I agree with most pundits that last nights debate was a tie, which means a net win for the dems. Face it - most debates are a tie. It's very rare that a debate reframes a campaign, as "Kerry v Bush I - Massacre at Coral Gables" did. Cheney is a far superior debater to Bush, and proved it tonight. If you couldn't check any facts after the debate, you might even give him an edge. But the truth is, this guy swims in a sea of lies. He looks staright at Edwards and says "I never asserted that Saddam had anything to do with 9/11". He looks straight at Edwards and says Kerry raised taxes 100 times. he looks straight at Edwards and says "I've never met you before tonight." Lies all.

Cheney has gravitas, which initially, to me, seemed to throw Edwards off a little. But he soon came back and gave it back to Cheney. It was like that a lot - punch, counterpunch. That's fine. All Edwards needed to do was tie. That cements the new dynamic, which is that this race is a dead heat. Same with Kerry on Friday - he doesn't need to clock Bush in round two. The damage is done. he just needs to contend and not make a bad mistake. That keeps it close until the last few days, when who knows what will happen.