Edwards proved he can win a debate against a Republican in the General Election.

[JDPriestly]

Edwards knows how to fight. He knows how to attack and defend. He knows how to handle trick questions. He is the one Democrat who can and will win the presidency.

He showed his strength and his courage tonight. None of the other Democratic contenders have his ability to cut through the BS and get to the core of an issue in the few seconds afforded in a debate. None of the other Democratic contenders can match Edwards' quick wit and poise. Just wait, Edwards' popularity will peak at precisely the right moment. He knows exactly what he is doing. He is the smartest of our candidates and the best speaker to boot. Bravo! Edwards!

[still_one]

1. I hope you are right because time is running out. A few states we can see how they play out

but the sooner the Edwards/Obama or Obama/Edwards votes consolidate behind one or the other, the sooner we will know if Hillary can be challenged in the primaries

[Ninga]

2. It should be no surprise...but i agree 100% with your assessment.

And send to you......

:loveya:

[Evergreen Emerald]

3. Really? Until he can withstand what Clinton did last night, I will reserve my opinion.

Bravo? He was awful.

[Ninga]

4. Hello again....being a bit emotional are we????? Edwards did well last night. But

last night was last night.

He could flop at the next debate on Nov. 15th.....

Clinton has created a situation for herself that has allowed her oponents to smell blood. They will either score points or they will not.

[Yael]

5. Emotional overdrive

on thread after thread....

[Evergreen Emerald]

20. you keep saying that

after I told you how offensive it is. I can only assume you are purposefully insulting rather than willing to debate the issues.

Just minimize my opinion by suggesting that it is "emotional" rather than reasoned. Apparently you have nothing of value to say.

[laureloak]

7. Clinton was terrible. Double-talk, evasive. She scared me.

I just keep coming back to Edwards.

[Yael]

6. He did great last night

The Senator is certainly showing that he has what it takes and that he can win this thing.

[Bennyboy]

8. He had me...UNTIL......

The pot question. Then he showed his true stripes. It was obvious that he knew nothing at all about marijuanua and he was pandering to the law and order crowd. then he busted out the sleeziest line of the night..."The children'......

Now for a lot of you this issue might not mean anything, but for me it does. It is the only thing I do that makes me a criminal and I am quite tired of that. Also, what his answer said was that he is willing to continue the Bush/Clinton anti-marijuana policies of the past. And I cannot stand for that.

[Ninga]

9. Well Bennyboy I guess we all have our breaking point.....but really, if you think about it,

marijuana legalization is something a citizens lobby can make headway with, when Edwards is President.

You may want to think again about pulling the trigger so quickly on an overall well balanced, passionate and thoughtful candidate.

It is so easy to go to the "pandering" well......when we hear an opinion we do not agree with......and you may be correct in saying he knows nothing about marijuana....but gee wiz....lets give him some growing room and a learning curve already.....

[Bennyboy]

15. It is not like this is a new issue.....

So I should wait until another 2.8 million people are arrested for marijuana crimes (at 700,000 a year) during Edwards (or any other anti pot candidate) 4 year term of office? To me. from the debates, it seems he is inflexible on this issue. We have enough citizens groups fighting thia and getting nowhere already. 4 more years is unacceptable to me.

Not to mention the industrial hemp issue, which is a seperate issue for me, but tied together with marijuana to most people who are uneducated about both issues (All of the republicans except Paul and Democrats Biden and Edwards). Legalizing hemp production in the US could save the world. It erases most of the issues we have in this country. Oil, pseticides, water, jobs etc. And we need a candidate that is willing to do something, not close thier minds.

[Ninga]

17. Very well thought out argument. I hope someone from his campaign reads it and gives it

consideration

I am not as sure as you are that his "mind is closed."

[ddeclue]

10. He won against a Republican last night...

when he beat Hillary...

:)

[JDPriestly]

14. How right you are.

That's why I say he can win against the Republicans.

[Clintonista2]

11. Umm anyone remember Edwards debating Darth back in 2004?

He lost miserably... TO DICK CHENEY. No, Edwards can not win a debate against a Republican in a GE.

[Ninga]

12. Oh dear..I hope that I am a better person than I was in 2004, I have worked at it. I remember

my failures and I vow to work hard not to repeat them.

Personal growth is a part of the human condidtion......

In my view, John Edwards is doing well now, because he learned what he didn't do well in 2004.

Makes him a better person, in my eyes.

[incapsulated]

13. I can't stand Edwards BUT...

I was in the minority on DU who thought he did WELL against Cheney and I'm hardly predisposed to liking him.

[Awsi Dooger]

22. I thought he was very good against Cheney

Mixed reviews on that debate. In fact, two major polls had opposite winners.

Cheney is hardly an easy guy to debate. That debate came after Kerry/Bush I, so DU was expecting another blowout but that wasn't realistic.

The telling moment to me came at debate's end when Edwards had all the energy and bounced to his feet while shaking Cheney's hand, as if to say, "Thanks for coming, Dick." Meanwhile, Cheney sat there grimacing. You could tell Edwards got under his skin, unlike Lieberman in'00, sitting there with a grin and making sure he didn't interrupt.

[JDPriestly]

16. It is my understanding that Edwards was being "handled" by

Kerry people. It is my belief based on my observation during this primary campaign that after the 2004 campaign, Edwards decided to either be his own man or nothing. That is why he is speaking from his heart.

Edwards spent the past four years studying and working and preparing for this campaign. He is a far better candidate than he was in 2004. He will win in 2008 if we give him a chance. And he will bring change if he wins.

Hillary will not bring change. She is Republican lite. She is still a Goldwater girl in her heart. And she has a very bad temper and shows it when she is angry. That has been one of Bush's worst problems. When he gets into a huff, he not only becomes unreasonable but seeks revenge and worst of all becomes very vulnerable to the manipulations of Dick Cheney. I'm not sure how Hillary's excessively hot temper will manifest itself if she is elected, but it will, and the results will not be positive for the American. Anger can be a good thing. FDR became very angry and his anger energized not only him but the entire American people to win WWII. It's a matter of whether the angry person can control the anger and focus it for the good and whether, after the person is angry, he or she can recognize that he or she has been motivated by anger, step back, take a deep breath and return to a more balanced view of whatever is causing the anger. It takes a lot of self-knowledge. Some people come by that self-knowledge naturally. Some people need help in getting to know themselves.

I'm glad that Hillary was put under some pressure last night. I think we saw just how paralyzed and confused she becomes by her anger when under stress. Bill Clinton did not react that way. That was one of the strengths of his presidency. That is how he survived the Monica Lewinsky scandal and impeachment. He fought back, but he did not lose his cool. We need a president who does not lose reason when angry.

So, please understand. I'm not saying we need a president who never becomes angry. Such a person does not exist. I'm saying we need a president who is cool under pressure. If Hillary had a real sense of humor, real trust in something beyond herself and did not take herself overly seriously, she could have handled the situation last night. But she does not have the innate self-confidence or the trust to be able to really laugh at herself and be gracious when under attack from intellectual opponents. That is a bad trait -- bad in a president, bad in a lawyer, bad in a wife. We have better candidates -- Edwards being the very best in my opinion.

When Edwards gets mad, he focuses on responding to whatever is making him mad. He doesn't necessarily give his sharpest answers at the moment. But watch him, if someone says something that makes him mad, he responds, maybe a little later, with some positive information or some light acknowledgment that maybe he was wrong or foolish. For example, with the YouTube video making fun of him combing his hair over and over, he responded with his own Hair video. He had fun with it. And with criticisms of his expensive house, he admitted honestly that he is extremely wealthy and that he feels fortunate to have made so much money and wants to make sure others have the same opportunities to develop and educate themselves and have good lives that he has had. He responded to each jab intended to disable him in a healthy way. Hillary can't do that. She is truly brittle and bitter. She would not make a good candidate.

[Ninga]

18. Wow, this is so on the mark. May I have your permission to copy this?

[JDPriestly]

21. Sure.

Please note that it is supposed to be "American people." You can correct it if you want to use it.

[DeaconBlues]

19. Just like he beat Cheney in '04?

I seem to remember that he let Cheney roll all over him in the VP debates, and all he did was give his blow-dried smile.

[cleveramerican]

23. Biden does it all better

Edwards is good, but last night, on that stage Biden was the one.