The crab vs the charmer

Salon has an article about how mean-ass Dick Cheney is going to look even more the grumpy, entitled asshole compared to John Edwards. And yes, I think everyone is going to enjoy the hell out of their debate. In fact, anticipation will be so high I think there's little doubt that Rove & Co. are kicking around ideas right now to see if they can get the V.P. debate cancelled. A terrorist attack? A heart problem? Schedule it for 2:00 AM? Do it two days early to avoid terrorist threats?
And while the differences between Cheney and Edwards promise to be highly entertaining, I think that some people, like Tim Grieve here, are sort of missing the boat on this.

Of course, Democrats hope that the debate will be more than unpredictable and volatile; they hope it will be a chance -- perhaps their best chance -- to put a human face on the differences in policy and attitude that divide Kerry and Bush and to call the administration to account for its actions both at home and abroad.

Obviously, the press has lazily decided to buy the RNC's view of the candidates hook, line and sinker. The idea is to just take the Al Gore model and squeeze Kerry into it, no matter how badly he fits. Bush the charmer vs. Kerry the stiff. Well, that's retarded. C'mon! He was in a rock band for god's sake! Kerry may be alot of things, but he definitely doesn't come off as a stiff.
The Kerry/Bush debate, unless the moderator really comes down hard on Kerry, should be entertaining as well. Despite the media's belief that the Shrub is a laid-back Texas type, he falls apart completely the second he's asked an even remotely difficult question. He gets stiff, starts to stutter, and is often prone to snap at the questioner for daring ask such a question. Kerry gets fired up, yeah, but I've yet to hear him tell a questioner that the question is too hard. Too stupid, maybe, but never too hard.
Edwards will smoke Cheney, of course. But let's not pretend that means there's a chance that Kerry won't smoke the Shrub. Of course he will. How the media spins it is up in the air, but the debate itself will be a breeze for Kerry.