Hotline After Dark -- All Night Long

The Senate's all-nighter got its desired cable coverage:

CNN's Bash: "Democrats are trying to use the publicity from this all-nighter ... essentially to try to pressure Republicans, more and more Republicans who we have seen lately come out and say that they are against the war, to say essentially that it's time for them to put their vote where their mouth is, to vote with Democrats on their deadline for troop withdrawal. But here is a reality check for you. After this very long night we are going to see here, there is going to be a vote tomorrow morning, and no one expects it to pass. Even privately, Democrats will tell you that" ("AC 360," 7/17).

MSNBC's Shuster: "The goal is to simply to punish Republicans" ("Countdown," 7/17).

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT): "I do not mind staying overnight, I will be glad to stay and debate ... but the truth is, if we want to stay overnight, then we might as well do something that has a chance of helping somebody, including our soldiers, which we are not doing with this" ("Hannity & Colmes," FNC, 7/17).

A LADIES MAN?

John Edwards played "Hardball" last night:

Asked if he would debate Hillary Clinton and Dennis Kucinich in the "Hardball" Plaza: "As long as we don't exclude anybody, and if ... there's a way to break us into small groups. ... Any way we can have a more serious discussion with smaller groups, I am happy to participate in."

On Elizabeth saying he is a better advocate for women than HRC: "It is not shocking that my wife is for me. I am proud to have her support. I hope I get her vote too. ... I actually talked to Elizabeth this afternoon about this. I think the point she was making is that if you look at things like poverty, there are more women in poverty than there are men. ... And in these kinds of substantive areas that have a direct impact on the lives of women, I have been very aggressive. I have been out front and lead a on those issues" (MSNBC, 7/17).

And on "Hannity & Colmes" last night, FNC's Hannity noted: "In yet another sign of the mainstream media providing cover for Democratic politicians, it looks like 'Good Morning America' physically removed a man who appeared to be sleeping during yesterday's John Edwards town hall meeting. Now close to the 7:00 hour, the man pictured at right, right there, appeared to be dozing off, getting a little snooze. And then around 7:11 a.m. the man mysteriously disappeared, and no movement could be seen. What happened here? Did he sneaked out, or did network executives do some sort of TV magic" (FNC, 7/17).

NUMBER ONE OR NOTHING?

Chris Dodd was in the "Situation Room":

Asked what he needs to do to break into the top tier of Dem '08ers: "About an hour or two with you ... ought to do it. You know, the polling data doesn't mean an awful lot. Anyone you've talked to who has gone through these processes in the past will tell you that the polling number in July and the summer mean almost nothing."

More: "The people in New Hampshire and Iowa and South Carolina and Nevada are not going to choose the candidate based on how well known they or how much money they have. ... Remember, only four years ago, John Kerry was at 4 percent in the polls in mid-December and ended up winning the nomination. ... I'm stunned, frankly, that people who observe this process here have almost no memory about what's happened historically with people who have not necessarily done well in the polls but end up doing better as people pay more attention to the race."

Asked if he'd rather be VP or CT SEN: "I'd rather be the senator from Connecticut."

Asked if that means he doesn't want to be VP: "No, not at all."

CNN's Blitzer: "I don't know anybody who has wants to be vice president anymore."

Dodd: "Dick Cheney has ruined the job" (CNN, 7/17). [EMILY GOODIN]