Pity poor John Edwards. Mopped around the floor like a dishrag, and he doesn't even know it. Oh, CBS says "undecided voters" chose Edwards, but 1) CBS's idea of "undecided" probably means "Kerry or Nader"; and 2) anyone who's truly undecided at this point either hasn't been paying attention, or can't. Poll numbers on undecided are down around 5%. These aren't the rocket scientists.
It was quite apparent that Edwards was sent in to repeat Kerry's talking points: almost nothing he said wasn't said Tuesday by Kerry, except the latest changes to the party line ("global test, who said global test?"). Cheney, on the other hand, had complete mastery of the facts, made his points clearly and was spot on target at all times. Only when it came to gay marriage, where Cheney has substantially different views than Bush, was Cheney less than forceful.
Only problem is that few decide on the basis of VP's. But Cheney's obvious depth and substance made Edward's shallowness all the more apparent. If there is any justice, the Kerry campaign is going to have to spend the week defending Edwards on his Senate attendance record. As my wife after Cheney laid into him on it: "Oof." Straight to the gut, and no response.
Now, I think I'll go over to Hewitt's site to see how he scored it.