posted on Oct, 5 2004 @ 07:36 PM
Cleveland, Ohio plays host to a major battle in the 2004 election campaign. Vice President Dick Cheney and Senator John Edwards (D-NC) will debate
each other in a 90 minute battle of wits that should prove to be a contest worth watching. Coming just days after the first Presidential debate in
Coral Gables, FL which polls suggest John Kerry won it will be the job of Dick Cheney to hammer home the message of the Bush '04 campaign whilst
fighting off the charismatic Senator from North Carolina.
The debate will be a one-on-one affair conducted in a formal seated manner in front of an audience made up of Democrats, Republicans and first time
voters. The moderator will be Gwen Ifill, a senior correspondent for The NewsHour and moderator of Washington Week, both are shows featured on PBS.
The standard rulebook will apply with split-camera feeds banned. It will be interesting to see how long it takes the networks to break that rule.
Many Republicans are already downplaying Cheney and stressing John Edwards' oratorial skills that will give him the advantage and many Democrats see
this as a form of "pre-spin". Dick Cheney has been a senior policy advisor for some 30 years whilst Edwards is a first-time Senator and highly
experienced trial lawyer.
The debate will focus on all the issues in the campaign as only one Vice-Presidential debate has been penned into the schedule. Many will be watching
eagerly to see if Team Kerry makes it 2-0 or if Dick Cheney uses his vast policy knowledge to notch one up for his side. Politically polarised
communities on the net are already putting major plans into action to spin the debate if anything goes wrong. The GOP have publically acknowledged AND
encouraged post-debate spin whatever happens whilst Democrats seem to be taking a hands off approach and allowing their communities a free reign. Poll
lists are already being compiled by each side and many thousands sit ready to click in favour of their candidate.
ABCNews
International Herald Tribune
BBC News
CNN
[edit on 6-10-2004 by John bull 1]