Youthful appearance aside, Edwards is no Dan Quayle
By ROBERT TRIGAUX
Published October 4, 2004
It will lurk just beneath the surface of Tuesday's vice presidential debate between the young-looking and enthusiastic Sen. John Edwards and the salty and seasoned Vice President Dick Cheney.
In 1988, a debate between vice presidential candidates from two generations, Lloyd Bentsen and Dan Quayle, produced the one and only exchange anyone remembers.
Quayle tried to compare his modest experience to that of John Kennedy. Bentsen moved in for the kill. "Senator," Bentsen told Quayle, "I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy."
If Cheney is lucky, he might be able to slip in a weak version of that powerful remark. But not likely.
Edwards is no Dan Quayle. Edwards might be a first-term senator and boast Quayle's coiffed and boyish looks. But Edwards is 51 years old and no pushover. Back in 1988, Quayle was 41 and, well, you know the rest . . .
Edwards is a wealthy and accomplished trial lawyer who made millions representing average people against insurance companies, hospitals, and corporations. In the four years before joining the Senate in 1999, Edwards earned nearly $27-million as a personal injury lawyer.
But Edwards' greatest strength might be his biggest vulnerability in the debate, if Cheney gets his way.
The Bush-Cheney ticket has long targeted plaintiff attorneys and their aggressive tendency to file frivolous lawsuits against Corporate America as a prime reason why health care costs and health insurance are soaring. The Republican ticket wants to crack down on the surge in lawsuits and limit verdicts and awards, a goal known as tort reform.
Cheney surely will pound that theme, knowing that many major business organizations in the country are eagerly applauding his attack.
Slamming frivolous lawsuits and ambulance-chasing lawyers is one thing. Attacking Edwards in a televised debate might be a very different matter. His personal track record as a lawyer is not built on frivolous litigation.
By most accounts, Edwards was extremely picky when choosing his medical malpractice cases, emphasizing those cases in which the victim was poor and had clearly suffered. He still managed to become a multimillionaire from big verdicts and settlements, though he handled no pro bono cases.
Edwards has dropped some hints as to Cheney's personal weaknesses. In an NBC Today show interview, Edwards called Cheney, a former oil executive, "out of touch with the lives of most Americans."
Edwards is prepping for the debate with prominent Washington lawyer Robert Barnett, who plays Cheney. Rep. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, plays Edwards during Cheney's rehearsals.
Whether Edwards' legal skills will be enough to ruffle Cheney's feathers in Tuesday's debate is another matter. The vice president has a lengthy track record of sticking to his guns. Early in his first term as vice president, Cheney was sharply criticized after he invited his former peers from the energy industry to Washington to help shape a task force's national energy policy behind closed doors.
When members of Congress demanded the names of his industry invitees, Cheney refused. The legal matter went to the Supreme Court, which ruled the White House did not have to reveal task force details, but allowed lower court arguments to continue.
If Edwards can provoke Cheney, this debate could get heated. In June, Cheney said he "felt better" after telling Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., to go "f-- yourself" after an exchange involving Halliburton, Cheney's former employer. And last month, Cheney ignited a controversy after telling an audience that this country risks another terrorist attack if voters make the "wrong choice" and elect Kerry.
Even if fireworks do occur during the vice presidential debate, in the end this is just a B-team event. Most of the nation's attention remains on the A-team debates between Bush and Kerry that continue Friday.
