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I almost never watch TV anymore, but I made a point of catching this. I thought the interviewer was very hostile and disrespectful, and the whole thing seemed designed to make the candidates come off badly. What was the point of the stupid voiceover commentary "Watch the Kerrys' hands here ... you'd think this was their first television interview"?
None the less, some great points and great lines were slipped in, especially by Edwards (on the VP debate: "I'm always polite, but I intend to be myself; I've been myself for 51 years" ... and you could tell it was true; and "I also intend to be tough, because there's too much at stake for the country to do otherwise." Paraphrasing what I remember of the quotes, they're not exact) and by Teresa ("It's the candidate's wife's job to keep him honest, and that means keeping him true to himself"). On the other hand I thought it was a mistake to present Kerry as having no sense of humor, which is surely not what she meant to say, but that's how it came off - and we've clearly seen that's not the case from the wonderful zingers he's fired at Bush and things he's said at rallies. He doesn't have to be a ribald party animal (and gods forbid, we've had enough of that!) to have a sense of humor.
I also loved the response to the interviewer's insinuation that, as rich people, Kerry/Edwards had no business speaking for the poor. The response, by Kerry I think, was "Does this objection come from millionnaire Bush and millionnaire Cheney and millionnaire Rumsfeld...?"
Another thing that really jumped out at me, and I'm surprised I never noticed it before, was how "presidential" Kerry sounded. He's got a great voice, a little bit grave and serious, but also evoking trust and a sense of his steady confidence. Even when the nasty interviewer was needling him.
But lo and behold, what should run in the commercial, but a Bush ad smearing Kerry for "having the worst attendance record in the senate" and "missing the chance to vote on lowering the cost of prescription drugs for seniors", etc., but "finding time to vote against the protection of pregnant women." What unbelievable bullshit...
So overall I don't think it was a success; it could have gone a lot better, and could have been presented with less bias. To those of us already in the Kerry/Edwards camp, it won't change anything, but I don't think it was great for reaching the undecideds.
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