Vice President Dick Cheney and Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., debated their views on foreign and domestic policies on Tuesday at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.
After the debate, members of the Knoxville political community said they were satisfied with their respective candidates. Corey Johns, Knox County coordinator for Bush-Cheney Victory 2004, said that Cheney performed well and was obviously more experienced than Edwards.
The Democrats said they feel Edwards did well.
Mary Cuthburtson, an office manager with the Knox County Democratic Party, said, “I think he (Edwards) was very clear, upbeat and knowledgeable. He held his own.”
The debate began as moderator Gwen Ifill asked about ties between Al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein.
The vice president said that Hussein had developed ties with the regime and those ties would make nuclear weapons most accessible to Al-Qaeda.
“What we did in Iraq was exactly the right thing to do. If I had it to recommend all over again, I would recommend exactly the same course of action,” Cheney said.
In his 60-second rebuttal, Edwards accused President Bush and Cheney of not being truthful with the American people about what is really going on in Iraq and stressing the point that Hussein had nothing to do with Sept. 11.
Ifill, taking the focus off of Iraq, inquired about the search for Osama bin Laden.
Cheney and Edwards contrasted on this topic, with Cheney insisting that they never let up on bin Laden from day one. Edwards said that when bin Laden was cornered the Bush administration shifted focus to Iraq.
Cheney questioned Edwards’ senatorial attendance. Cheney said that Edwards missed 33 out of 36 Judiciary Committee meetings and brought up his attendance record saying the first time he met Edwards was when he walked on stage.
This statement was denounced by NPR, which claimed that the two indeed had met before and suggested that Cheney used the statement in order to make a point about Edwards’ history as an absentee voter.
The focus turned to domestic policy with the first question concentrating on unemployment and jobs, with Cleveland being used as an example.
Cheney’s stance was to create more jobs by making America a prime place for business. Edwards on the other hand went immediately after employment problems in the country, defining the major difference between them as the outsourcing of jobs.
“We want to get rid of tax cuts for companies sending jobs overseas. We want to balance this budget, get back to fiscal responsibility,” Edwards said. “And we want to invest in the creative, innovative jobs of the future.”
