Beat Me in St. Louis

I was going to draw an analogy between the veep debate and a sitcom spinoff that outshines the original show with its superior wit, banter, intelligence and writing, but I'm not going to waste anybody's time doing so. That's because I don't think this debate mattered a great deal. Typically the VP clash is meaningless, yet this one has been hyped, for good reason perhaps, because the KE comeback cycle demands it, the contrast between the VP candidates was so stark, and because maybe, just maybe, there might be another "you're no Jack Kennedy." I don't think any of these things happened. For the record, I saw it as a draw, which may be a victory for BC because the bleeding has been stopped temporarily, though Edwards definitely gained credibility in the minds of many. Some, like Will Saletan at Slate and Andrew Sullivan, thought Edwards "destroyed" Cheney (Sullivan: "Cheney was road-kill"!). I can't comprehend that line of argument. Nor can I comprehend those who argue it was decisive for Cheney. Both sides stuck mainly to their talking points, neither embarassed themselves with memorable gaffes, and it remained generally civil, though there were points where it looked like it might combust. If I had to pick a moment the media will be spinning for the next week, it will be the "never met you before" Cheney foolishness, reminiscent of Gore's skewering in 2000 for having claimed to meet a federal disaster officer or something in Texas when he hadn't. I thought both sides lost points on unanswered questions: Cheney looked ridiculous for not responding to charges that he voted against Meals on Wheels for seniors and the Department of Education (!), though I thought Halliburton was an old canard. Edwards had the quicker rebuttals, esp. to the votes against weapons systems in the Cold War, but stumbled when Cheney brought up Iraqi sacrifices in the war and when asked what qualified him to be VP (I think he was trying to avoid a Quayle). Some have made an issue of how little Cheney mentioned Bush; I hardly noticed. The moments I'll remember: Edwards' series of indictments against Cheney's house voting record (MLK Day!) and Cheney's very human response to Edwards' raising the point of the Cheney daughter's sexual orientation. Bottom line is, this was the side show, and one that got quite slow near the end. The stage is set for what has become THE pivotal event of the campaign, in my mind: the "Beat Me in St. Louis" town hall showdown between the candidates at the top of their tickets. You can bet Bush will be better prepared this time.