THE REVIEWS PILE ON -- PUNDITS AND VOTERS AGREE: EDWARDS IMPRESSIVE, HAS TOP ANSWERS
Des Moines Register’s Yepsen: Edwards “Did Himself the Most Good,” Was “Confident,” and Argued “Forcefully” and “Deftly.” Des Moines Register political columnist David Yepsen declared “Edwards probably did himself the most good” from the New Hampshire debate. Yepsen pointed out that Edwards was “confident,” “argued forcefully for quickly ending the war in Iraq and for his national health care plan,” and “deftly defused his own vote for the war by repeating his line that held he made a mistake voting for it and praising Obama for having opposed it[.]” Des Moines Register, 6/4/07 <http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007706040341
CNN: Voters Declared Edwards’ Commitment to Honesty Top Answer in the Debate. CNN’s John Roberts this morning said that according to a focus group of voters watching the debate, Edwards’ statement, “it is important for anybody who seeks to be the next president of the United States, given the dishonesty that we've been faced with over the last several years, to be honest to the country” was “one of the top answers” that the group “really liked.” Roberts noted that during Edwards’ statement, “approval is really going up.” [CNN, 6/4/07]
NY Daily News’ Michael Goodwin: “Edwards Wins with 1 Word: Leadership.” New York Daily News Columnist Michael Goodwin declared that Edwards won the debate, titling his column, “Edwards wins with 1 word: Leadership.” Goodwin wrote, “Edwards won the second Democratic presidential debate,” adding, “He did it the old-fashioned way - by seizing on a single message and banging it home repeatedly. His theme was leadership[.]” Goodwin called Edwards’ style “A clever approach.” New York Daily News, 6/4/07 <http://www.nydailynews.com/news/wn_report/2007/06/04/2007-06-04_edwards_wins_with_1_word_leadership-2.html
NH Public Radio: New Hampshire Voters Impressed with Edwards. According to report by Jon Greenberg on New Hampshire Public Radio, Edwards made a “favorable impression” with each of the three New Hampshire voters he interviewed. Greenberg reported that Exeter native Karen Prior gained “positive feelings” from Edwards and ended the debate with “new found respect for Edwards.” Greenberg said, “All three of these voters liked [Edwards’] insistence that congressional Democrats should have stood up to the threat of a presidential veto on the recent war funding bill.” New Hampshire Public Radio, 6/4/07 <http://www.nhpr.org/node/13024
Daily Kos Readers Declare Edwards The Winner. According to the Daily Kos poll following the debate, “Who do you think won the debate,” John Edwards led the pack with 27% of the 10,956 votes cast, followed by Obama at 23%, and Clinton at 17%. dailykos.com, accessed 9:10 a.m. on 6/4/07 <http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/6/3/202220/3188
CNN’s Candy Crowley: Edwards “Stood Out” and Resonated with the New Hampshire Audience. Following the debate, Candy Crowly reported on CNN that Edwards “clearly stood out at this debate … clearly there was some resonance with this audience.” Crowley added that “You see some of the same John Edwards out on the stump, I think he played to a broader audience obviously last night.” [CNN, 6/4/07]
WashingtonPost.com’s “The Fix”: Edwards “Initiated” Debate’s “Signature Exchange.” Chris Cillizza of WashingtonPost.com’s “The Fix,” wrote, “The signature exchange of the event was initiated by former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.). Edwards acknowledged he had made a mistake by voting for the 2002 use-of-force resolution, but pivoted to note he has sought to lead on the issue since admitting his error -- drawing a direct contrast with the leadership that Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) have shown on the war. ‘There is a difference between leading and following,’ said Edwards.” WashingtonPost.com’s “The Fix,” 6/3/07 <http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2007/06/debate_wrapup.html
NBC’s Chuck Todd: Edwards Was “Strong Performer” of Debate; Was Edwards’ “Best Debate Performance to Date.” NBC’s Chuck Todd wrote tonight, “John Edwards seemed very engaged and clearly carved out opportunities to engage Clinton and Obama. The press coverage will reflect this which the Edwards campaign will see as a victory. Bottom line, it was Edwards best debate performance to date (and I'm counting the one from this year and the ones from 2003-4).” MSNBC’s First Read, 6/3/07 <http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/06/03/212199.aspx
CNN’s Donna Brazile: Edwards “Smart” and “Bold” During Debate. Donna Brazile praised Edwards’ debate performance. Brazile said, “But Senator Edwards, I also believe, came out looking very smart, he was bold, he talked about his distinctions, the differences, with the other candidates[.]” Brazile also thought Senator Edwards was the best prepared of all the candidates. CNN, 6/3/07; CNN.com, 6/3/07 <http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/06/03/donnas-scorecard-edwards-and-biden-looked-good/
CNN’s Arianna Huffington and Mike Murphy: Edwards Having “Strong” Second Half, Most “Well Briefed.” In a blog post on CNN’s Political Ticker titled “Comeback Kid,” Arianna Huffington and Mike Murphy praised Edwards’ debate performance. “Republican Mike Murphy remarked that Senator Edwards is having a ‘strong second half performance.’ Democrat Arianna Huffington thinks he’s the most ‘well briefed’ candidate on the stage … Both agree that Senator Clinton has some competition if she is to come away with the title of ‘debate winner.’” CNN.com, 6/3/07 <http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/06/03/huffington-and-murphy-comeback-kid/
CNN’s Arianna Huffington and Mike Murphy: Impressed With Edwards’ Performance; Both Believe Clinton Needs to “Finally Admit that She Has Made Mistakes.” CNN’s Political Ticker posted under “Just admit it already!” that “Democrat Arianna Huffington and Republican Mike Murphy have finally found some common ground. Both believe that Senator Clinton needs to finally admit that she has made mistakes. Whether it’s the War in Iraq or gays in the military Hillary ‘never admits she messed up,’ opined Murphy. Huffington agreed – ‘she just needs to stop parsing words.’ Both commentators have been impressed so far with John Edwards’ admissions of past mistakes and overall performance. CNN.com, 6/3/07 <http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/06/03/murphy-and-huffington-just-admit-it-already/
Edwards Applauded by New Hampshire Voters for Saying He Was Wrong to Vote for the War. “Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards got applause from the audience after saying he regretted voting for the Iraq war. ‘I think I had the information I needed,’ Edwards said. ‘I don’t think that was the question. I think one difference we do have is I think I was wrong. I should never have voted for this war.’” CNN.com, 6/3/07 <http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/06/03/edwards-says-he-was-wrong-gets-applause/
WashingtonPost.com’s “The Fix”: Edwards’ Outlined Plan for Iran “Clearly and Concisely.” Chris Cillizza of WashingtonPost.com’s “The Fix,” said, “Edwards, who is often accused of lacking the foreign policy chops to be president, just clearly and concisely outlined what his administration's approach would be to Iran.” WashingtonPost.com’s “The Fix,” 6/3/07 <http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2007/06/edwards_on_iran.html
J.C. Watts: “I Take My Hat Off” to Edwards for Talking about Poverty. Following the CNN New Hampshire Democratic primary debate, J.C. praised John Edwards’ efforts against poverty. “[Poverty] is the thing I take my hat off to John Edwards for. At least he’s talking about it. I don’t necessarily agree with his models in how he would deal with poverty. But he’s one of the few candidates on the Republican or Democrat side that is at least ever day you’re hearing something from him about that.” [CNN, 6/3/07]
