Kerry Spot    [ jim geraghty reporting ]
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Cheney goes after Edwards on a tax loophole.

Edwards comes back with more Halliburton.

I'm coming to this conclusion:

If I ever need to sue somebody, I’ll call John Edwards.

If I ever need somebody killed - like, you know, terrorists trying to kill me or my family - I’ll call Dick Cheney.

Ifill asks about AIDS among women. Cheney... doesn't quite bobble the answer, but he's not going to win. We're making progress. Was not aware of figures Ifill cited. Through combination of education, public awareness, and research into drugs, we will make progress.

Edwards makes a cheap, easy promise to double spending. Awfully easy to do on the campaign trail, harder when you're actually in office and have to work with Congress with a million competing interests.

UPDATE: Ifill has a tough question about Edwards’ experience.

Edwards: They want to know pres and vice pres will keep safe, have good judgment, and you will tell them the truth.

Cites intelligence committee - not smart if he didn’t explain absence from intel committee meetings earlier.

Now reciting terrorism policy - isn’t quite botching this answer, but isn’t really providing a solid answer.

I don’t claim to have the long political resume… The American people deserve to know that. A long resume does not guarantee good judgment. I would find terrorists where they are, and I would stop them. (Trying to suppress giggles.)

He’s so cute when he tries to get all fierce.

Cheney finally pulls the knife - I have no political aspirations beyond this office. That helps. The president is I’m not worrying precinct committeman in Iowa thinks thinking ahead to 2008.

Edwards comes back with an incoherent, barely relevant answer about how qualified Kerry is.

Random observation: Dick Cheney has giant hands.

UPDATE: Edwards broke the rule of using John Kerry’s name - I don’t find it a big deal, but his over the top, hands out, ‘oh, jeez’ reaction might have been too much, and - Oops! He did it again!

UPDATE: Now we're on to flip-flops. Edwards doesn't completely drop it, but missed the much simpler and easier answer. "Every day in this country, in every workplace, millions of people change their minds about things based on new information. When you get new data, when you learn something new, you have to revise your original assessment and come to a new conclusion. Almost everyone in any position of responsibility changes his or her mind, and that's just what John Kerry and I have done."

Somehow this turns into an education. And Cheney starts going into the "first they voted for it, now they're against it."

UPDATE: Ifill asks about next president inheriting deeply and evenly divided country. Hey, we haven’t had the election yet. I’m not so sure we’re going to end up with the same 50-50 electorate. I think we’re going to see at least 52-48, one way or the other (but ask me again closer to el

Cheney: Not being able to bridge the divide, cross aisle - had some success on No Child Left Behind. Had a lot of support for Patriot Act.

Edwards: (paraphrased) The Republicans in office have made partisanship worse than ever.

Then randomly goes back to the health care issue.

[Posted 10/05 10:13 PM]