What struck me about this particular answer was Edwards' school girl giggle when he realized he had broken the rules. He literally bounced in his chair. I expected him to so "Oh, my God, I like broke the rules. Can I like start over, oh my God!"
Yeah, It's not the matter of Edwards breaking the 'rule', it's the way he reacted. To put mildly, it did not add to the toughness aspect of his image.
The better response would have been:
Ma'am, this is not a gameshow. Me and Mr. Vice President are debating policies that will significantly affect lives of millions of people, according to the rules we agreed upon. If you felt the necessity to introduce further regulations you should have cleared them with the debate comission first.
And did you see his wild hand gestures when moderator gave him extra time by mistake? It looked like something from will and grace !!! A person who actually has self confidence would just look at moderator and ask her 'Are you sure?'
And then he starts answering the question knowing full well its a mistake and he is not supposed to. Unbelievable.