Slate's VP Debate Roundup

Highlights from Slate

Vice Squad
The presidential sidekicks slug it out.
By Dana Stevens
http://slate.msn.com/id/2107246/
Worst Question: Moderator Gwen Ifill asks the combatants to describe their differences without ever mentioning their running mates by name. Now there's a useful skill in a leader. Hop to the mailbox on your left foot, being careful not to touch any cracks in the concrete! Chug a 32-ounce Yoo Hoo without coming up for air! Write a novel that does not contain the letter 'E'! Edwards' foot slipped off this particular Twister board twice in a row as he sullied his lips with the forbidden K-word, prompting a finger-wagging from Ifill. But the no-name game was no stretch for Cheney, since he barely mentioned his boss's name at all during the entire hour-and-half long exchange, choosing instead to stick with the royal "we" (just take a look at the transcript.) There's no doubt that trying to forget who's running the country has been a crucial survival strategy for all of us during the past four years, but isn't it Cheney's job to at least pretend Bush is in charge?

If He Can't Stand Up to Cheney …
Edwards fails to counter the vice president's foreign-policy distortions.
By Fred Kaplan
http://www.slate.com/id/2107825/


Edwards came back slamming: "You are still not being straight with the American people." He recited the latest critiques of the Bush-Cheney war in Iraq with great clarity and wrapped it up with Kerry's strong slogan: "We need a fresh start."

Cheney gained ground, though, a few minutes later, precisely at a moment when he should have lost still more. Edwards charged Cheney with repeatedly drawing a connection between Saddam and 9/11. Cheney replied, "The senator's got his facts wrong. I've never suggested there's a connection." This was a bald lie. Yet Edwards didn't call him on it. He could have quoted Cheney on a dozen occasions wrongly claiming an absolute connection—but he didn't cite even one.

More Trump, Less Grump!
Shrek 1, Breck 1.
By Mickey Kaus
http://www.slate.com/id/2107823

This one is less interesting so I'll leave it to you to read it and consider it on its merits. :)