GOP quick to ridicule selection

President Bush’s re-election campaign moved swiftly yesterday to define Sen. John Edwards as a liberal lightweight who was chosen to be Sen. John Kerry’s Democratic running mate only after a Republican, Sen. John McCain, refused.

Even as Mr. Kerry stepped to the microphone to announce Mr. Edwards as his vice presidential pick, the Bush campaign began airing a TV ad showing President Bush being enthusiastically endorsed by Mr. McCain, who had been courted repeatedly by the Massachusetts Democrat.

“He has led with great moral clarity and firm resolve,” said Mr. McCain of Arizona in the ad. “He has not wavered. He has not flinched from the hard choices.

“He was determined and remains determined to make this world a better, safer, freer place,” he added. “He deserves not only our support, but our admiration.”

The ad, titled “First Choice,” was produced days in advance as part of an aggressive, multifaceted offensive by Republicans to paint Mr. Edwards in an unfavorable light. But even the Bush campaign predicted the selection would allow Mr. Kerry to begin to pull away from the president in the polls, at least temporarily.

“An examination of Gallup polls in presidential elections since 1976 reveals that a challenger’s vice presidential selection and nominating convention can have a dramatic (if often short-lived) effect on the head-to-head poll numbers,” warned Matthew Dowd, the Bush campaign’s chief political strategist, in a memo to campaign leadership.

“In fact, historical analysis suggests John Kerry should have a lead of more than 15 points coming out of his convention,” he added.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe made a similar, albeit more modest, prediction on Sunday, telling CBS News: “Once we finish up our convention, I think you’re going to see Senator Kerry anywhere from eight to 12 points up.”

Democrats and journalists yesterday wasted no time in raising expectations for Mr. Edwards’ performance in the vice presidential debate, which will be held in Cleveland in October. The speculation recalled the campaign of 2000, when expectations for former Vice President Al Gore were raised so high that he ended up losing the debates to Mr. Bush, according to many pundits.

“He’s very articulate,” ABC newsman George Stephanopoulos, a self-described liberal, said of the North Carolina senator. “I think a lot of Democrats all across the country are really looking forward to this debate between John Edwards and Vice President [Dick] Cheney.”

Republicans planned to counter by contrasting Mr. Cheney’s extensive resume with Mr. Edwards’ lack of experience. They hope this “gravitas gap,” in which Mr. Edwards would come across as an inexperienced lightweight as even Mr. Kerry himself charged in the primaries, offsets the considerable debating skills Mr. Edwards developed as a successful trial lawyer.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said the decision was “a little bit surprising to me.”

“Actually, I’ll just use the words of John Kerry, or paraphrase the words — that from an experience level, there’s going to be a lot of the on-the-job training, potentially, if he were to ever serve as vice president,” he said.

Mr. Cheney telephoned Mr. Edwards yesterday to welcome him to the contest for the White House. Mr. Bush also took the high road, leaving the sharp elbows to surrogates.

“I welcome Senator Edwards,” Mr. Bush told reporters. “I look forward to a good, spirited contest.”

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