Tuesday, November 04, 2003
Rockin' With the Big Eight
Some quick hit, before-the-credit-roll-is-done impressions of America Rocks the Vote, a Democratic candidates' forum on CNN tonight:
Most impressive: Kerry and Lieberman. They seemed the most consistently at ease with the mostly student audience. Lieberman especially surprised me--he had to be conscious of being the oldest person in the room, but didn't try to be cooler-than-thou (unlike CNN itself, which seemed self-consciously trying to be cutting edge with its graphics, camera angles, and musical transitions in and out of sponsor breaks). Kerry got pitched a softball right off the bat--"If you were manager of the Red Sox, would you have left Pedro Martinez in to pitch in game six [of the recent American League playoff against the Yankees]?"--which gave him time to get comfortable and kept him affable all night.
Least impressive: Dean and Edwards. Dean was tentative, defensive, and uncomfortable. He got off to a bad start when the other candidates ganged up on him over his remark that Southerners flying Confederate flags in their pickup trucks should be voting Democratic, which turned into twin accusations that Dean stereotypes Southerners and accepts a racist symbol. He didn't recover much until the end, when he got the chance to explain his states' rights position on gun control. For his part, Edwards simply seems like a lightweight out of his league, trying to channel Bill Clinton's slick Southern-ness without a fraction of Clinton's intellect.
Most eloquent: Clark, Braun. They weren't very specific about anything, but they sure spoke well.
Best joke: When asked what would be going through his mind on his first day in the White House, Al Sharpton said he'd want to make sure Bush got all his stuff out and change the locks so none of the current crowd could get back in.
Most interesting moment: Right at the end, when an e-mailer asked which candidates would be willing to admit whether they'd used drugs in the past. Moderator Anderson Cooper modified the question to ask about their past use of marijuana. Yes: Kerry, Edwards, Dean. No: Kucinich, Sharpton, Clark, Lieberman. Refused to answer: Braun.
Missing from the stage: Gephardt.
All in all, a rockin' good 90 minutes, and a pretty decent job by Anderson Cooper, who didn't insist on being the star of the show.
I still believe Bush will try to duck debates entirely next fall, because tonight's event made clear that if the Democrat is to win the 2004 race, it may be won on the debate stage. Challengers often seem to lack stature when sharing a stage with The Leader of the Free World, but that may not be as much of an issue this time because Bush seems so badly overmatched by the role. At least five of the eight would match up well with no problem. Exceptions may be Lieberman, who seems too kindly to hold Bush firmly to account, and Edwards and Kucinich, whose lack of personal gravitas would show up even when matched against someone as personally inconsequential as Bush. (Has anyone else noticed that Kucinich looks like a young Mr. Spock?) The key for the Democrat will be to modulate his performance carefully--calling Bush out and leaving him no place to hide from his disastrous record, but at the same time seeming neither shrill nor disrespectful, and projecting competence without seeming smarter than the average voter. (Nobody said it would be easy.)
Even if Bush does deign to debate, you can bet that there is no way in hell his advisors will allow him to participate in a forum like the one on CNN tonight. In a loosely structured give and take with live questioners, any of the eight Democrats would leave Bush gasping for air and exposed as an empty suit.
Some quick hit, before-the-credit-roll-is-done impressions of America Rocks the Vote, a Democratic candidates' forum on CNN tonight:
Most impressive: Kerry and Lieberman. They seemed the most consistently at ease with the mostly student audience. Lieberman especially surprised me--he had to be conscious of being the oldest person in the room, but didn't try to be cooler-than-thou (unlike CNN itself, which seemed self-consciously trying to be cutting edge with its graphics, camera angles, and musical transitions in and out of sponsor breaks). Kerry got pitched a softball right off the bat--"If you were manager of the Red Sox, would you have left Pedro Martinez in to pitch in game six [of the recent American League playoff against the Yankees]?"--which gave him time to get comfortable and kept him affable all night.
Least impressive: Dean and Edwards. Dean was tentative, defensive, and uncomfortable. He got off to a bad start when the other candidates ganged up on him over his remark that Southerners flying Confederate flags in their pickup trucks should be voting Democratic, which turned into twin accusations that Dean stereotypes Southerners and accepts a racist symbol. He didn't recover much until the end, when he got the chance to explain his states' rights position on gun control. For his part, Edwards simply seems like a lightweight out of his league, trying to channel Bill Clinton's slick Southern-ness without a fraction of Clinton's intellect.
Most eloquent: Clark, Braun. They weren't very specific about anything, but they sure spoke well.
Best joke: When asked what would be going through his mind on his first day in the White House, Al Sharpton said he'd want to make sure Bush got all his stuff out and change the locks so none of the current crowd could get back in.
Most interesting moment: Right at the end, when an e-mailer asked which candidates would be willing to admit whether they'd used drugs in the past. Moderator Anderson Cooper modified the question to ask about their past use of marijuana. Yes: Kerry, Edwards, Dean. No: Kucinich, Sharpton, Clark, Lieberman. Refused to answer: Braun.
Missing from the stage: Gephardt.
All in all, a rockin' good 90 minutes, and a pretty decent job by Anderson Cooper, who didn't insist on being the star of the show.
I still believe Bush will try to duck debates entirely next fall, because tonight's event made clear that if the Democrat is to win the 2004 race, it may be won on the debate stage. Challengers often seem to lack stature when sharing a stage with The Leader of the Free World, but that may not be as much of an issue this time because Bush seems so badly overmatched by the role. At least five of the eight would match up well with no problem. Exceptions may be Lieberman, who seems too kindly to hold Bush firmly to account, and Edwards and Kucinich, whose lack of personal gravitas would show up even when matched against someone as personally inconsequential as Bush. (Has anyone else noticed that Kucinich looks like a young Mr. Spock?) The key for the Democrat will be to modulate his performance carefully--calling Bush out and leaving him no place to hide from his disastrous record, but at the same time seeming neither shrill nor disrespectful, and projecting competence without seeming smarter than the average voter. (Nobody said it would be easy.)
Even if Bush does deign to debate, you can bet that there is no way in hell his advisors will allow him to participate in a forum like the one on CNN tonight. In a loosely structured give and take with live questioners, any of the eight Democrats would leave Bush gasping for air and exposed as an empty suit.
