The Reviews are In: Edwards Exceeds Expectations

Washington, DC — From polls to pundits the post debate reviews agree, Edwards showed real strength and conviction; he was in command of the facts, in control of the debate, and he is a powerful advocate for John Kerry.

POLLS:
CBS Poll, Who won the debate? Poll of undecided voters.
Edwards 41%
Cheney 29%
Tie 29%
MOE 7%

CBS Poll, Opinion of Dick Cheney. Poll of undecided voters.
Got better: 29%
Got worse: 15%
No Change: 56%
MOE 7%

CBS Poll, Will VP influence your Presidential vote? Poll of undecided voters.
Yes: 58%
No 41%
MOE 7%

ONLINE POLLS
Between 11:30 PM and 11:45 PM the immediate response in online polls overwhelmingly showed Edwards as the winner.

CBS: 76% Edwards, 21% Cheney

MSNBC: 70% Edwards, 30% Cheney

WSJ: 95% Edwards, 4% Cheney

LA Times: 97% Edwards, 2% Cheney

FOX News: 57% Edwards, 41% Cheney

CNN: 77% Edwards, 18% Cheney

Philly.com: Edwards 99%, Cheney 1%

Orlando Sentinel: Edwards 80.3%, Cheney 19.4%

Akron Beacon-Journal: Edwards 98%, Cheney 2%

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Edwards 64.23%, Cheney 29.77%

EDWARDS INFLUENCES AND CONNECTS WITH VOTERS

Chris Matthews: "Half a million people have voted on our online - 69% - just about 7 out of 10 say John Edwards was the winner despite everything they heard here." [MSNBC, 10/5/04, 11:47pm]

Carlos Watson: "John Edwards both did their jobs but I think Edwards probably did a better job with persuadable voters." [CNN, 10/5/04, 10:42pm]

Anthony Mason: "Women routinely gave Edwards significantly higher marks beginning when he spoke about the problems in Iraq early in the debate." [CBS, 10/5/04]

Carl Cameron: "CBS did what they call a flash poll of undecided voters and it suggests that the undecided voters thought that John Edwards won the debate. Certainly the North Carolina first term senator came out of the gate a lot faster and by most accounts Vice President Dick Cheney wasn't as warmed up as John Edwards was." [Fox News, 10/6/04, 12:01am]

Bob Schieffer: "People tended to believe John Edwards, it seems to me, and they had questions about the argument that the Vice-President was making." [CBS, 10/5/04, 10/5/04]

the rest is here