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Last Updated: Oct 6th, 2004 - 09:02:04
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WASHINGTON, Oct 4 AFP - Vice President Dick Cheney will square off with his Democratic rival John Edwards in a televised debate tomorrow that suddenly takes on importance for the Republicans after George W. Bush's tepid showing last week. Political analysts agree that vice presidential debates, which go back to 1976, usually have little impact on the race for the White House since voters cast their ballots strictly for the man at the top. But the stakes will be higher tomorrow in the midwestern city of Cleveland, coming five days after Bush suffered a clear defeat at the hands of Senator John Kerry in the first of their three debates.
Commentators said Cheney would seek to repair the damage from the Democrat's relentless attacks on the Iraq war and renew the focus on Bush's leadership after the September 11, 2001 strikes. The 63-year-old political veteran was also likely to highlight his knowledge and experience, and portray Edwards, a freshman senator from North Carolina, as part of a Democratic team unfit to command the war on terror. Edwards was expected to use his trial lawyer skills to skewer Cheney as the architect of the administration's failed security policies that produced chaos in Iraq but led to windfall reconstruction contracts for his ex-company, Halliburton. The 51-year-old Democrat, with unabashed presidential ambitions of his own, also geared for an assault on the Republicans' economic record, which the Kerry campaign plans to hit hard in the final weeks before the November 2 election.
Both sides will be hoping to snatch the momentum ahead of the next Bush-Kerry debates scheduled to be held on Friday in the midwestern city of St. Louis, Missouri, and October 13 in the western city of Tempe, Arizona. The first showdown last Thursday had a dramatic effect, with polls showing Kerry's crisp performance helping him erase a five to eight-point Bush advantage and claw his way back into a virtual dead heat. The Democrat cut deeply into the president's hefty edge on the issues of terrorism and the Iraq war while recapturing a solid lead on the economy over Bush, who appeared hesitant and irritated at times.
The Republicans vowed the president would do better in the next face-off but are looking to Cheney for damage control when he takes on Edwards in the 90-minute debate at Case Western Reserve University, analysts said. Vice presidental debates have traditionally been written off as
side shows to the campaign. Retired Vice Admiral James Stockdale, the independent candidate in 1992, famously asked in his opening statement: "Who am I? Why am I here?"
But one of the few debates to make a difference might have been Cheney's 2000 meeting with Senator Joseph Lieberman, where he was able to reassure voters of the Republican ticket's depth and gravitas. "There is some evidence that it increased perceptions that Bush and Cheney were acceptable as an alternative," said Kathleen Hall
Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Centre.
The debate tomorrow will highlight contrasting styles between the balding, dour but savvy Cheney and a youthful, populist Edwards who has won widespread praise for his folksy charm and upbeat outlook. The session will be held after extensive negotiations between the two sides aimed at maximising the advantage for each of their candidates.
The Republicans fought hard to avoid a "town hall" format, where Edwards could roam the stage like a lawyer spellbinding jurors. They insisted both men be seated at a table, a format where Cheney is most at ease. Both candidates boned up for the debate. Cheney was holed up at
his western US home near Jackson, Wyoming, and Edwards hunkered down at a 19th century resort in New York State where Bill Clinton practiced for a 1996 debate.
The personal stakes for each were also considerable, analysts said. Cheney will be seeking to damp down speculation that he had become a liability to the Republican ticket, while Edwards will be out to burnish his image as a potential White House contender in 2008 if the Democrats lose in November.
© Copyright 2004 by Merlea Investments
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