Dennis Kennedy

I pity the transcriptionist who has to try to punctuate John Edward's stream-of-conscious statements. I was awash in a sea of buzzwords and catch-phrases as he rushed to include everything but the kitchen sink in each answer.

When I clerked for a trial court early in my career, I ran into a number of trial lawyers who gave rambling, stream-of-conscious summations as they flipped, seemingly randomly, through pages of legal pads. I remember watching in horror and wondering what they thought they were presenting to the judge and jury. I kept flashing back to those memories this evening. I see now why Edwards sticks to the same speech at every appearance.

I suspect that he probably made some good points, but I was lost in the high speed stream of conscious flow.

I also kept being reminded of the Dan Quayle debates, especially the one with Al Gore that was so surreal, but suspect that Quayle is celebrating that his performances no longer represent the nadir of these debates.

I suspect the contrast what just what the Republicans hoped for and what the Democrats feared.