The Corner

Surprise!

A draw. Cheney was exactly who we know him to be. Smart, policy-oriented, experienced, etc. But, he did seem to take more opportunities to soften his image with voters than to go for Edwards jugular when it was exposed.

Edwards is a polished demagogue due to his trial lawyer experience – and I think he will have more national appeal as a result of this debate and his performance. But even he can’t sell his chicken-little Spengleresque decline of America message.

Ultimately, like the Cheney-Lieberman debate, it will matter very little. Both men suit their tickets.

John Hillen, a former assistant secretary of state and a member of the National Review Inc. board of directors, is the James C. Wheat Professor in Leadership at Hampden-Sydney College’s Wilson Center for Leadership in the Public Interest.
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