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.”

His brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, was less diplomatic about the selection of Mr. Edwards.

“It solidifies the fact that John Kerry is a liberal,” he told reporters in Florida. “[It] really solidifies the fact that this is the most liberal ticket that the Democrats have put up for, basically, modern times.

“If you look at the voting records of those two guys, they are way out there in left field,” he added.

Bush campaign chairman Marc Racicot also called Mr. Edwards “a committed liberal.” Even Democratic strategist Bob Beckel, who managed the 1984 presidential campaign of Walter Mondale, told Fox News Channel: “Yeah, it’s a liberal ticket.”

The nonpartisan National Journal magazine ranks Mr. Edwards as the fourth-most-liberal member of the Senate, with a composite liberal voting score of 94.5 percent for 2003. That’s more liberal than Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, but not as liberal as Mr. Kerry, who is rated by the magazine as the Senate’s most liberal member.

Georgia Republican Party Chairman Alec Poitevint said neither Democrat was “in tune with Southern voters.”

“The only difference between the two senators is their accents,” he said.

Even some of the Republican praise for Mr. Edwards was backhanded, with Sen. Charles E. Grassley of Iowa saying Mr. Edwards provides the ticket with “warmth and friendship that a dour Kerry can’t bring.”

Part of the Republican attack on Mr. Edwards entailed reminding voters that he was bitterly criticized by Mr. Kerry during the Democratic presidential primaries earlier this year.

In January, for example, Mr. Kerry questioned his rival’s experience and maturity.

“In the Senate four years — and that is the full extent of public life,” he said of Mr. Edwards. “No international experience, no military experience — you can imagine what the advertising is going to be next year.”

He added with a grin: “When I came back from Vietnam in 1969, I don’t know if John Edwards was out of diapers.” In reality, Mr. Edwards was in high school.

Mr. Edwards accused Mr. Kerry of “inconsistency” on the issue of Iraq. He also accused Mr. Kerry of downplaying the problem of poverty.

Republicans also resurrected various examples of Mr. Kerry savaging Mr. Edwards for his ties to trial lawyers.

“His campaign is wholly funded by trial lawyers, which are widely recognized as special interests and lobbyists.”