A high-stakes debate.

Byline: The Register-Guard

CORRECTION (ran 10/12/04): An Oct. 8 editorial incorrectly identified Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards' home state. Sen. Edwards represents North Carolina 

The conventional wisdom is that vice-presidential debates don't matter - who remembers the Al Gore vs. Jack Kemp showdown in 1996? Yet Tuesday's debate between Vice President Dick Cheney and Sen. John Edwards mattered to both presidential campaigns, and to the public. Both candidates had something important to prove. Both survived an event that must be judged a draw.

Cheney had to deliver a solid performance because he may well be the most influential vice president in history. His counsel carries great weight in President Bush's White House, and everyone knows it. Cheney put himself forward for the job to add gravitas to the Republican ticket in 2000. In Tuesday's debate, Cheney had to live up to his reputation as a heavyweight, or else risk creating doubts about the Bush team's ability to articulate and defend its policies. Cheney's task was doubly important following Bush's faltering performance in last week's first presidential debate.

Edwards, for his part, needed to establish himself as someone capable of competing in Cheney's league. As a one-term senator from South Carolina, Edwards' political resume is as thin as Bush's was four years ago. Edwards also hoped to counter the accusations of inconsistency that have become the core of the Bush campaign's case against John Kerry and his running mate.

Which man won depends almost on an aesthetic judgment. Cheney exuded his usual sober competence, and slid a few rhetorical knives between Edwards' ribs - but as the debate wore on, he began to look as though he wished he were somewhere else. Edwards showed the skills that made him a successful trial lawyer, hammering home key messages about the Bush administration's domestic and foreign policies - but at times seemed a bit too eager to please.

Both men succeeded at their central mission, which was to avoid embarrassment and bolster the case for their respective presidential candidates. They succeeded in another sense as well: No one watching Tuesday night could say there's no difference between the Republican and Democratic tickets.