Cheney, Lieberman face-off in crucial debate

Past Vice Presidential debates have produced some memorable moments but rarely had much effect on elections. But with Gore holding only a wafer-thin lead over the Texas Governor, even a small movement in the polls could be crucial.

Lieberman, a two-term senator from Connecticut and the first Jew ever to run on the presidential ticket of a major party, said on Wednesday he was ready to face Cheney but would not resort to personal attacks.

"I’m going to do all I can to make sure it’s not a lot of negative back and forth of personal attacks," Lieberman said, taking a break from intensive debate practice.

Lieberman has shown a ready wit and relaxed style on the campaign trail and has been credited with giving the Democratic ticket a major boost. Meanwhile, Cheney, a former defence secretary under Bush’s father, has often seemed stiff and ill at ease.

Cheney said on Wednesday he wanted to have a "conversation with the American people." Referring to polls that showed Lieberman as more likable, Cheney said, "There is also a poll that shows I’d be a better vice president."

The Gore-Bush encounter, the first of three between the candidates, showed the strengths and weaknesses of both men. Gore had a better command of the details but Bush deployed a folksy style and got in several withering attacks on the vice president. Snap polls after the debate showed Gore a narrow winner but indicated that few minds were changed.

As Cheney and Lieberman prepared for their moment in the sun, Bush and Gore hit the campaign trail with renewed vigour, both claiming victory.

"I enjoyed that debate because it gave me a chance, it gave Americans from all walks of life a chance to see us directly, it didn’t have to go through some filter, to be able to share our philosophies," Bush told a crowd of about 1,000 at West Chester University in Pennsylvania.

Repeating his key slogan from the debate, Bush accused Gore of using "fuzzy math" when calculating fiscal policies and took special aim at Gore’s plan for tax cuts targeted to the middle class, saying the Republican tax cut would give more of the U S Budget surplus back to "the people who pay the bills."

"My opponent, he trusts the government … he wants to expand the federal government," Bush said, sparking chants of "No fuzzy math!" from the crowd.

Gore received a hero’s welcome from a crowd of 5,000 in Warren, Ohio, and made much of the fact that he had chosen not to respond to Bush’s personal attacks.

"Did you see the debate last night?" the vice president asked, drawing cries of "yes" from the crowd in downtown Warren, a blue-collar city in northeast Ohio.

"Well, I don’t know about you, but I think even though Governor Bush and I have a lot of differences, personally I think it is better to spend time attacking America’s problems than attacking people personally," Gore said.

"I think it is time to make our country an even better country instead of trying to make another candidate out to be a bad person," he said.