REVIEWS ARE IN – PART 3: DES MOINES REGISTER DEBATE
Former Clinton Advisor David Gergen: “John Edwards Was the Best.” David Gergen said on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” last night, “John Edwards was the best today. He was the most focused. I think he actually walked away with some honors today.” [CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360,” 12/13/07]
NBC’s Tim Russert: Focus Groups “Indicated a Strong Showing by John Edwards;” Edwards Gave a “Forceful” Performance in the Debate. Tim Russert: “The focus groups after the debate by the various cable networks indicated a strong showing by John Edwards. He was a forceful trial lawyer on display, articulating the message of populism, talking about the greed in Washington.” [MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” 12/14/07]
NBC’s David Shuster: Edwards “Absolutely” Won; “the Person Who Has Been on the Change Bandwagon the Longest and Has Been Pushing It in the Economic Sense Is John Edwards.” Joe Scarborough: “Let’s talk first about John Edwards last night and his debate performance. We’re going to be talking to him in a minute. Did he win the debate last night?” David Shuster: “Yeah, absolutely. I mean, Edwards was passionate as he always is, but here’s one thing that is really important, Joe. And that is, the more you hear the candidates talk about change, that’s just half of the equation. The other half of it in Iowa is this idea of economic progress. We went to Newton, Iowa - to the Maytag factory which had been closed. And every single person we talk with there who is concerned about the economy says they are supporting John Edwards and they are committed. And so the more you hear the candidates talking about well we need change, I think the person who has been on the change bandwagon the longest and has been pushing it in the economic sense is John Edwards. And that does seem to be the issue that’s resonating right now.” [MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” 12/14/07]
Newsweek’s Andrew Romano: “With the Most to Gain Today, John Edwards Probably ‘Gained’ the Most.” “I will, however, say this. With the most to gain today, John Edwards probably ‘gained’ the most. The media wants a two-way race between Obama and Clinton, and always has; it’s simply a cleaner narrative to write. But after focusing for a full news cycle on what a Clinton surrogate said about Obama’s past drug use--and how the Obama campaign responded--reporters are suddenly ‘remembering’ (by virtue of seeing him on stage) that Edwards exists (and is still viable). Yesterday, no one was listening. Today, they are. With the spotlight shining down, Edwards delivered a laserbeam performance, emphasizing his core ‘people vs. the powerful’ message by repeating the word ‘corporate’ or ‘corporation’ 13 times over the course of 90 minutes. It was a savvy strategy. Clinton and Obama finished the debate exactly where they started--discussing drugs. Edwards got more attention than he’s had in weeks. I’d call that a win.” [Newsweek’s “Stumper,” 12/13/07 (https://www.blog.newsweek.com/blogs/stumper/archive/2007/12/13/live-blogging-the-iowa-democratic-debate.aspx)]
Politico.com’s Ben Smith: Edwards “Won High Marks from Undecided Voters.” “Edwards, meanwhile, won high marks from undecided voters in cable network focus groups for answers that drew heavily, and often verbatim, from his stump speech. Asked about his New Year’s resolution, for instance, Edwards stayed right on message, resolving ‘to remember…that somewhere in America tonight a child will go to bed hungry.’” [Politico.com, 12/14/07 (https://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=D58896AD-3048-5C12-006169DB45AADA67)]
ABC’s “The Note”: Edwards “Probably Turned in the Best Performance.” “It was former senator John Edwards, D-N.C., who may probably turned in the best performance, returning repeatedly to the I’ll-fight-for-you mantra he’s taking to caucus-goers. Edwards ‘was relentlessly on message, sounding strong, and making a very good case to keep this a three-person race.’” [ABC News’ “The Note,” 12/14/07 (https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/TheNote/story?id=3105288&page=1)]
TPM’s Greg Sargent: “Edwards Debate Performance Wows CNN and Fox Focus Groups.” “For all the fireworks between Hillary and Obama at the debate, it was John Edwards who most impressed the voters who were assembled by CNN and Fox News to gauge reaction…Meanwhile, ABC News’ Rick Klein kept an eye on the Fox News dial sessions with voters and says that Edwards’ answers repeatedly drove voter responses high up and off the charts.” [TPM Election Central, “Edwards Debate Performance Wows CNN And Fox Focus Groups,” 12/13/07 (https://tpmelectioncentral.com/2007/12/edwards_debate_performance_wows_cnn_and_fox_focus_groups.php)]
The New Republic’s Noam Scheiber: “Edwards Was “as Crisp as Ever;” “If … You Were Tuning in for the First Time Today, You Could Easily Have Been Impressed with His Coherence and Forcefulness.” In a post entitled “How Some of Us Got the Debate Wrong,” Noam Scheiber of The New Republic wrote, “Talking to other journalists after the debate, I got the impression that they weren’t so excited about Edwards’s performance. (That was true of me and Mike, too.) So a lot of us were surprised to hear the cable networks’ focus groups proclaim him the winner. But this may be one of those instances of political journalists being a horrible proxy for ordinary voters. It’s not that we in the media thought Edwards was lousy--to the contrary, most thought he was as crisp as ever. It’s just that all the material was pretty familiar. If, on the other hand, you were tuning in for the first time today, you could easily have been impressed with his coherence and forcefulness. The man is just a damn good trial lawyer. And the kinds of people he used to persuade in courtrooms are precisely the kinds of people who’ll decide the outcome of the caucuses.” [The New Republic’s “The Stump,” (https://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_stump/default.aspx)]
CNN’s Donna Brazile: Edwards’ Moment Came While Talking About Standing with Workers at the Maytag Plant. CNN’s Donna Brazile said, “John Edwards gave a very consistent performance. He talked about corporate greed. He talked about fighting for the middle class. He was very specific. I thought his moment came when he reminded the voters in Iowa that he was there in Newton when the Maytag plant closed. That was a way of saying, ‘I know your pain, I’ve known you now for four years, Trust me, I’ll continue to fight for you.’” [CNN, 12/13/07]
TIME’s Mark Halperin: “If Enough Iowa Democrats Watched the Debate, Vegas Harpies Would be Dumb as an Ear of Corn to Bet Too Much Against This Guy in the Caucuses.” “Grade: A- | Displayed with mechanized efficiency the same confidence and warm populism that he has nearly perfected on the campaign trail. Talked about his family’s working-class roots and the daily struggles of real Iowans with the silky polish of the world-class trial lawyer that he once was. If enough Iowa Democrats watched the debate, Vegas harpies would be dumb as an ear of corn to bet too much against this guy in the caucuses.” [TIME’s “The Page,” 12/13/07 (https://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1694387_1694389,00.html)]
