Vice Presidential Ho-Hum

Last night in Danville, Ky., former Secretary of Defense Richard D. Cheney and Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.) sat at a table with Bernard Shaw and provided a comprehensive overview of the campaign issues. The format--the same that will be used for the presidential debate Tuesday--was a chance for the candidates to explain their tickets' positions without resorting to partisan attacks.

Though the result was generally dull and rehashed many of the issues from Tuesday's presidential debate, a few exchanges provided new positions, specifically those on racial profiling and questions of gay marriage. In particular, Cheney's remarks about civil unions for gays--in which he suggested that the issue should be left up to individual states--is a welcome step forward from the traditional Republican stance that refuses to accommodate, in any form, such civil unions.

Furthermore, the debate introduced the issue of racial profiling, thus far absent from the presidential campaigns. Both candidates condemned the practice, but Lieberman seemed more genuine in his response to the question when he said he could identify personally with victims of racial profiling.

The general impression one was left with was the depth of character and knowledge in the two vice-presidential candidates, who were forthright and energetic in their responses. The gravitas factor was surely in play, as both men showed their solid support for their candidate and his positions. The amount of new material covered was minimal--but this was the fault of Bernard Shaw, who did not take advantage of the opportunity to grill the vice-presidential candidates on issues specific to them, like Lieberman's Senate race and Cheney's ties to the American oil industry. Many of the questions were similar to the ones asked on Tuesday, some eliciting the same word-for-word responses.

Though informative, Shaw's questions did not draw out the vice-presidential candidates on issues specific to them, and since this was their only debate, that represents a missed opportunity.