Editorial: Edwards gave ticket a big boost

Thursday, Oct. 7, 2004 | 9 a.m.

Sen. John Edwards' career in public service began six years ago when he was elected to represent North Carolina in the U.S. Senate. He became known as a champion of the middle class, involving himself in such issues as education, the environment and health care. As a member of the Select Committee on Intelligence, he gained knowledge of foreign policy through travels to the Middle East, Asia and Europe. His showing earlier this year in the Democratic primary to select a challenger to President Bush was so impressive that the winner, John Kerry, picked him as his running mate.

Still, judging Vice President Dick Cheney and vice presidential candidate Edwards strictly by the depth of their respective years of public service, Cheney figured to win, and win big, in a debate with the freshman senator.

Cheney's career in public service began 35 years ago when he joined the Nixon administration's staff. Later he rose to become chief of staff for President Gerald Ford. He went on to serve as a five-time congressman from Wyoming and as secretary of defense under President George H.W. Bush. And as vice president under George W. Bush, many pundits call Cheney the "shadow president," the brainy man behind the scenes who is really calling the shots.

Yet Cheney didn't win at all, much less big, Tuesday night in Cleveland. Cheney could do no more than hold his own. With all of his experience, why didn't he clobber Edwards? Why didn't he walk away triumphantly, having won hands down in both substance and style?

In our view, the facts simply weren't on Cheney's side. Even with all of his experience and the prestige of his office working for him, it was impossible for Cheney to credibly refute Edwards' criticisms on the most important issues of the campaign -- Iraq, homeland security and the economy. Edwards stated that Iraq was an unconscionable diversion from the war on al-Qaida, and that the war has been tragically mismanaged from the start. He pointed out that cargo coming into the United States is still not being inspected to ensure against weapons' smuggling by terrorists. He cited the job losses under the Bush administration. And he cited Kerry's plans for correcting the mistakes of the past four years.

Cheney could get no more than a draw with Edwards because he did not have the one defense he needed the most -- hard facts to show that Edwards was wrong in his criticisms of Bush. At evening's end, Cheney had done nothing to compensate for President Bush's poor showing in the debate with Kerry. In contrast, by not yielding an inch against a vice president known for his attack mode, Edwards provided Kerry with more of what he already has heading into Friday's second debate with Bush -- momentum.