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Democratic vice-presidential candidate Sen. John Edwards (right) answers a question as Vice Presi

Republican Vice President Dick Cheney and Democratic Sen. John Edwards traded sharp jabs during the first and only vice-presidential debate in Cleveland, Ohio on Tuesday.

Cheney and Edwards fought fiercely over issues ranging from the war in Iraq to Medicare, and traded personal attacks on each other and their running-mates.

The most contentious issues involved the U.S. response to terrorism after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Edwards said the U.S. move to invade Iraq was wrong, as it diverted troops away from Afghanistan.

“There is no connection between the attacks of Sept. 11 and Saddam Hussein. You have gone around the country suggesting there is some connection. There is not,” Edwards said.

Cheney countered by defending the administration’s decision to invade Iraq.

“After 9-11 it became clear that we had to go after the terrorists wherever we might find them, as well as the state sponsors of terror,” Cheney said.

“What we did in Iraq was exactly the right thing to do,” he said.

Edwards not only attacked the decision to invade Iraq but also how the war has been handled.

“They sent 40,000 troops into Iraq without the body armor they needed,” Edwards said.

Cheney countered with the flip-flop label Republicans have attempted to pin on John Kerry. He said that Kerry was for the war when it was good politically, and against the war when it was bad politically.

There was inconsistency in Cheney’s assertion that Kerry is a flip-flopper. At one point in the debate, Cheney said Kerry “has consistently come down on the wrong side of all major defense issues since he was elected to the Senate.”

The statement was contradictory to Cheney’s other statements that Kerry changes his positions on defense issues.

By most accounts the debate was pretty even, far more so than the lopsided presidential debate last week, and no clear winner could be seen.

David Karol, an acting assistant professor of political science at UC Berkeley, said one of the best aspects of the debate was that both of the vice presidential candidates were “more impressive than their respective ticket-mates,” and that the “number two’s were possibly out-shining (the) number one’s.”

Henry Brady, a professor of political science and public policy at UC Berkeley, said though the debate was very even, Edwards had an edge because he performed well despite the fact that no one knew what to expect.

Brady also said Cheney’s strong performance could hurt Bush because it might remind people that Cheney knows more about what is going on than the president.

Both candidates used the debate platform to perform damage control from last week’s debate.

One of the questions was about Kerry’s mentioning of a “global test” when determining whether to go to war.

Edwards clarified Kerry’s position, saying that John Kerry will not give control over America’s security to any other country.

Of the domestic issues discussed, gay marriage became a hot topic.

Edwards explained that he and Kerry are for full benefits for gay couples while being against gay marriage, and charged that the president has used the issue for political purposes.

Cheney, who has an openly homosexual daughter, appeared to be uncomfortable during the questioning and explained that his personal views and the administrations views did not coincide.

Cheney and Edwards also leveled numerous personal attacks.

Cheney brought up the fact that Edwards was a former trial lawyer and has had a short senatorial career as he called into question his experience.

Edwards was quick to respond, saying that a long resumé is not equal to good judgment and that the administration has made serious misjudgments about foreign policy.

“Mr. Vice President, I don’t think this country can take four more years of this kind of experience,” Edwards said.

Edwards also engaged in personal attacks, as he mentioned Halliburton’s no-bid contracts in Iraq. Cheney was the former CEO of Halliburtion during the previous decade.

As in most debates, Brady said both Cheney and Edwards manipulated the facts to support their positions. “Cheney and Edwards did have a lot of different interpretations of the facts,” Brady said.

Though the importance of the debate has increased because of the closely divided electorate, Karol said the debate is unlikely to change any minds because undecided and independent voters probably weren’t paying much attention.