NEW YORK, 7 October 2004 — In the realm of vice presidential debates, this was a zinger; a home run hit out of the ballpark. Vice President Dick Cheney and Democratic challenger John Edwards didn’t take any swings at each other Tuesday night, but they did everything else to sully each other’s reputation — raising questions about honesty, judgment, qualifications and work ethics.
The two men displayed a definite contrast in styles — Cheney came across as serious, sober, even-keeled. Although obviously intelligent and articulate, he rarely looked into the camera and mumbled to the point where it was often hard to hear him.
Edwards came across as sincere and empathetic. The trial lawyer in him was evident — he repeatedly picked up on things Cheney said, and appealed to viewers as though they were a jury, using emotional issues and details with equal aplomb.
Edwards looked handsome and energetic compared to the dour Cheney — there is only 12 years age difference between the two men, Cheney is 63 and Edwards is 51 — but last night they looked generations apart.
Televised live from Cleveland, Ohio, the candidates disagreed over the war in Iraq, Afghanistan, tax policy and a host of other issues. But their most pointed exchange came when Edwards took Cheney to task for his role once heading up Halliburton, the defense contractor that the Bush administration gave a $7.5 billion contract for work in Iraq.
“While he was CEO of Halliburton, they paid millions of dollars in fines for providing false information on their companies, just like Enron,” Edwards said. “They did business with Libya and Iran — two sworn enemies of the United States. They are now under investigation for having bribed foreign officials during that time.”
Cheney first brushed off the attack, labeling it “a smoke screen” based on “false charges;” then he attacked Edwards:
“The reason they keep trying to attack Halliburton is because they want to obscure their own record,” Cheney said. “And senator, frankly, you have a record in the Senate that is not very distinguished.”
Noting that as vice president he frequently presides over sessions of the Senate, Cheney told the senator from North Carolina, “The first time I ever met you was when you walked on the stage tonight.”
