The Presidential race has become a close one since the first debate. Nationwide polls have shown Kerry moving much closer to Bush putting the two candidates neck in neck, and many people felt that Kerry was the winner of the first debate. The latest FedSmith.com poll continues this trend with 53% of readers saying they believed that Edwards won the debate (35% said Cheney won; the rest were undecided). However, 67% of respondents said that the Vice Presidential debate will not influence their vote in November.
57% of respondents said that they believed that Edwards is the best choice for the position of Vice President which is closely aligned with the percentage of respondents saying they believed Edwards won the debate.
Finally, when asked if they watched the debate, 79% of respondents said yes and another 16% said they watched some of the debate.
This topic generated a number of comments from both sides. Some respondents felt that Cheney performed the best in the debate. A screening manager from the TSA in Ontario said “VP Cheney presented himself as a person who could step in if needed. Edwards came off as one reporter said ‘Like a little dog nipping at your ankles.’ That is not what we need as a VP.”
A supervisor from the USDA Forest Service in Portland, OR felt that the Kerry/Edwards campaign doesn’t offer enough details for their plans: “Some day John Edwards is going to wake-up and find out that his idol, John Kerry, has feet of clay. Someday Edwards will be mature enough to handle public life in the ‘big’ city but that is not now and certainly not mature enough to be Vice-President. Edwards and Kerry keep talking about having a ‘Plan,’ ‘would have done it differently’ but so far there are no details. Chaney (sic) is the person to be Vice-President and Bush is the right person, at the right time, to be President.”
A screener from the TSA in Ontario questioned Edwards’ history with medical malpractice suits: “Edwards made 60 Million dollars in medical malpractice suits. Thereby lies his loyalties. You cannot hobble an industry and then claim to help those who need it. As a veteran, I am appalled that a man who viciously libeled our Vietnam troops now wants to be their leader. His very words were used by his groupies, who SPAT on the returning troops, and even through HUMAN WASTE at them. He now portrays himself as a champion of the military. No wonder he has so many adoring fans in Hollywood…he’s a great ACTOR.”
Other respondents felt that Edwards prevailed in the debate. A supervisor from the IRS in Jacksonville, FL said “Edwards appeared to be more prepared with stats and goals. On some of the responses from Cheney his only remark was, just look at his record without making any material comment.”
A cost recovery specialist with the EPA in San Francisco, CA also felt that Edwards performed better in the debate: “Cheney failed to respond to a number of issues including the recent official statement that there weren’t enough troops in Iraq. I counted about 30-40 issues raised by Edwards that received no response from Cheney.”
And another respondent from the DoD in California felt that the moderation of the debate was lacking, but still believed Edwards prevailed: “Edwards stuck to the issues, offered options. Cheney stuck to the fear-driven tired old truisms of this regime, stated more succinctly than by Bush. It was moderated badly and a number of questions were either irrelevant or odd spins on core issues.”
Thanks to all readers who took the time to send in their votes and their comments.
