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Still, VP debates held since then have had little impact on the election results. Last night's debate probably won't either. The immediate spin afterwards seemed to indicate that there was no clear winner. Cheney exuded an air of calm competence, and attacked both Kerry's and Edwards records. He did make several mistakes, however, which news websites such as CBS News today are quick to point out. The most glaring blooper was when he was trying to make the point that Edwards was an absentee senator, saying "The first time I ever met you was when you walked on the stage tonight." In actuality, Cheney met Edwards on three separate occassions. Another mistake was when Cheney directed viewers to factcheck.com, an anti-Bush site, rather than factcheck.org.

Edwards didn't really make any major blunders, but he did stretch the truth at times, such as when he continued to assert that the Iraq war had cost the U.S. $200 billion, when that's how much the war is estimated to cost by the end of next year--the estimate to date is indeed $120 billion.

The end result is that since neither candidate was clearly defeated in this debate, it will not likely have any huge impact on the polls. The Kerry-Edwards camp certainly hopes that by having had another opportunity to deliver their key criticisms against the Bush "administration" and highlight the key points of their plans to improve things at home and abroad, this debate could only help them sway the critical undecided voters.