Vice President Dick Cheney and Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards squared off in their only debate before Nov. 2, with Cheney attacking presidential candidate John Kerry's record and Edwards accusing his opponent of misleading the American public.
The debate, held in Cleveland, Ohio touched largely upon the war in Iraq and the war on terror.
When asked about the situation in Iraq, Cheney said the Bush administration did exactly the right thing, adding they would do it all over again. He said Saddam Hussein was a legitimate threat to the United States. Cheney also said he is confident Iraq will be able to hold free elections by January.
\Mr. Vice President, you are still not being straight with the American people,"" Edwards responded, saying even Republican leaders agree the situation in Iraq is a mess. The United States needs a fresh start, he said, adding the Bush administration did not send in enough troops to the country and did not have a plan for success.
Edwards also said there is no connection between Iraq and Sept. 11 and described the connection between al-Qaida and Hussein as ""tenuous at best.""
""Someone did get it wrong, but it was not John Kerry or John Edwards. They got it wrong,"" he said, referring to the Bush administration.
Both Cheney and Edwards outlined their plans for Iraq should they get elected. Edward stressed the need to build an international coalition and speed up the training of the Iraqi military so the country can govern itself.
Edwards also criticized the Bush administration for sending troops in without enough supplies and for proceeding to cut funding after the war started.
""The troops wouldn't have what they have today if you guys had your way,"" Cheney rebutted.
Cheney made efforts to focus part of the debate on Kerry's record as senator, something UW-Madison political science Professor Charles Jones said was not fully developed in last week's presidential debate.
""A little tough talk can't obscure a record of 30 years of being on the wrong side of defense issues,"" Cheney said, noting Kerry has had ""enormous inconsistencies"" regarding his voting record on issues of national defense and foreign policy.
Cheney also dug into Edwards' record as senator, criticizing him for having a ""less-than-respectable"" attendance record during his term. Edwards' rhetoric would be much more substantiated if he had the political record to back it up, Cheney added.
UW-Madison political science Professor Charles Franklin said although the overall tone of the debate was aggressive, it was much more balanced than the first presidential debate. He added the only people who might be swayed after watching are those who were wavering after Bush's performance but gained confidence after watching Cheney.
