"Will you walk into my parlor?" said the spider to the fly;
"'Tis the prettiest little parlor that ever you may spy.
People forget that Kerry was an assistant D.A. for seven years. That's a lot of cases, a lot of trials, a lot of witnesses. Most criminal cases settle, it is true, but most ADA's try a heck of a lot more cases than civil litigator - unless you're talking about plaintiffs' tort lawyers, like John Edwards.
Good trial lawyers - and the evidence suggests that both Kerry and Edwards were very good - know the record cold. They know everything every witness has said. They know their witness so well that they know whether or not the witness will lie in response to a question, even before the witness does, and they know the lie the witness will tell. As importantly, good trial lawyers know exactly how they will respond to any answer the witness gives long before they walk into court. They play the chess game six or seven moves deep.
CEO's, in contrast, - the good ones, and there is no evidence to suggest that Mr. Bush (DODO*) and Mr. Cheney (FOAL**) were particularly good CEOs - ask very good questions. They know they don't know the answers. They hire people to find out the answers. Then they ask those people smart questions to make sure the experts haven't made false assumptions in their analysis. Then they go with the experts' advice. CEOs don't answer questions. (This indeed, is how Karen Hughes portrays Mr. Bush (DODO*) in her book). Good CEOs, however, don't defend their record. And they don't often make good witnesses. They tend to take depositions as gun-fights at the OK corral. They turn them into pissing matches: the ego of the executive vs. the ego of the lawyer. And they usually lose (which is why corporations invented D&O insurance, but that's another story).
This is why Kerry was smiling on Thursday night and why that smile is giving Rove nightmares. They can prepare Messrs. Bush (DODO*) and Cheney (FOAL**) all they want. They can refine and adjust their performances to hell freezes over. It doesn't matter. Kerry and Edwards have already thought of every thing each of them can do, and they have their responses planned and ready to execute. So when Kerry (or Edwards smile) it is the smile of the master. "Ah, I see he's trying that gambit. Foolish man." Perhaps the very great wouldn't smile. But that smile is a human foible.
Some worry that Cheney (FOAL**) will present more of a challenge to Mr. Edwards than (DODO*) but not to a degree that is measurable. Mr. Edwards has made millions by eating CEO's far more successful than the likes of Dick Cheney (FOAL**) for lunch. Moreover, he is famous for taking his witnesses apart in a non-confrontational way that doesn't alienate the jury.
Never has the institution of presidential debates so inherently favored one party over another. Kerry's insistence on three debates was a stroke of genius. Whatever happens in the town hall (the debate format Bush was weakest in 2000), people will tune in to see the last debate, regardless of party affiliation, just the way no one can help from watching a train wreck. And then no matter what the media mavens and the GOP spin-meisters say, everyone will understand why Kerry smiles.
(updated with style edits)
*DODO: Doesn't Obey Direct Orders
**FOAL: Father of a Lesbian
