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Cheney, Edwards prepare for debate Vice President Dick Cheney and Sen. John Edwards take center stage in the race for the White House on Tuesday in a nationally televised debate that is likely to focus on the Iraq war and US security issues but also will include domestic topics. With polls showing the race for the White House tightening after last week's clash between President George W. Bush and Democratic rival John Kerry, the stakes for the showdown between their running mates have been raised dramatically. Cheney, the administration's most outspoken supporter of the war and harshest critic of Kerry, will make the White House's case for the invasion of Iraq and try to stem the momentum building for Kerry since he put Bush on the defensive in last week's debate. Bush campaign strategist Matthew Dowd said Cheney would "explain to the American people why the president's policies are right for this country and the world in fighting the war on terror, in keeping our economy growing and responding to the new challenges in the 21st century." Edwards, a first-term senator from North Carolina who was chosen for the ticket by Kerry after a strong primary run, will try to put Cheney on the defensive about the administration's policies in Iraq, its record on jobs and health care and its ties to special interests, Kerry aides said. "We expect John Edwards to hold Dick Cheney and George Bush accountable for their record," Kerry adviser Joe Lockhart said. Cheney's prominent role as a senior adviser in the administration, and a flurry of new polls showing Kerry closing the gap on Bush or pulling even, have added new luster to the vice presidential debate, traditionally a campaign sideshow. Cheney is portrayed by critics as the dark architect of the Iraq war. His secretive energy task force, along with his ties to energy giant Halliburton and the oil industry, have made him a lightning rod for Democratic complaints. Edwards is expected to press Cheney about his role in formulating the administration's energy and Iraq policies, and on Cheney's connections to Halliburton, which he headed from 1995 to 2000 and which now is a leading US military contractor in Iraq. "I think there is a very powerful argument that Dick Cheney's experience and his judgment and especially the advice he has given the president has not been good for the American people," Kerry adviser Tad Devine said. SHIFT TO DOMESTIC ISSUES Jobs, health care and taxes will be on the agenda as the debates begin to shift to domestic issues. The presidential debate on Friday between Bush and Kerry will be a town hall format open to all topics, and next week's debate in Arizona will focus on domestic questions. About 62 million people watched last week's debate, but the audience should be considerably smaller on Tuesday with the start of the US baseball playoffs as competition. About 28 million people watched the vice presidential debate in 2000. The two debaters will display vastly different images and styles. The bald and bespectacled Cheney, 63, is a reluctant campaigner who has had four heart attacks while building a lengthy insider's resume as a member of Congress, White House chief of staff and secretary of defense. The energetic Edwards, 51, is a first-term senator who was once named People magazine's sexiest politician and is known for his upbeat campaign style and populist rhetoric. Before entering politics, he was a successful trial lawyer. Both camps worked to lower expectations, with Kerry aides stressing Cheney's long track record in Washington and his strong performance against Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman in a polite and restrained 2000 debate. Bush aides said Edwards' trial lawyer past made him a formidable foe for the plain-spoken Cheney. Bush-Cheney adviser Mary Matalin called Edwards "the man with golden tongue". |
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