Who Was No. 1 in the Debate for No. 2 Spot?

By way of implying that Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda were connected, Dick Cheney claimed that a poisons lab existed before the war in Iraq in a town called Khurmal.

The vice president didn’t say so, but Khurmal is in northern Iraq, an area that was controlled by the Kurds, not the former Iraqi regime.

There is more. The alleged lab, in fact, was located in a village called Sergat. Colin Powell made the same mistake in his February 2003 speech to the United Nations, when he showed a satellite photo of Sergat.

After Powell’s speech, I visited both villages. I found residents of Khurmal terrified that they were about to be bombed by the U.S.

Following his speech to the U.N., Powell corrected his mistake. I am sure the residents of Khurmal would be happy if Vice President Cheney corrected his own misstatement.

Kevin McKiernan

Santa Barbara

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One thing we saw in the debate was not a surprise: Cheney lies. It is that simple.

The lies are so outrageous and spoken so calmly and reasonably that they sound like truth. And the personal attacks on John Edwards and John Kerry were also outrageous.

Edwards was a hero, telling the American people the truth. He showed again that we need Kerry and Edwards, who care about America and the world, rather than George Bush and Cheney, who alienated the world and have done everything possible to tear down the American people.

Melanie Henderson

Los Angeles

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The debate between Cheney and Edwards presented Americans with a clear choice.

Cheney was on point and very factual. Cheney had a lot to answer for in this debate. He more than delivered and was able to explain on point Kerry’s flaws over and over again.

Edwards shared nothing more than his trial lawyer vision for the next four years: an ungenuine leadership in the war on terror, a flawed economic growth plan, a socialized healthcare system for every American.

Derek Hill

Fresno

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Cheers to Edwards for clearly and directly holding Cheney accountable for four years of untruths.

Lisa Larroque

Santa Monica

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It astounds me just how much Cheney is willing to distort the casualty record in Iraq.

In a tally by CNN.com, as of Oct. 5, 2004, there have been 1,205 coalition deaths and of those 1,066 are American soldiers. Simple mathematics shows that if you divide 1,066 by 1,205 to get a percentage, you come up with 0.8846.That means that American troops have suffered nearly 89% of the casualties. How do Bush and Cheney live with themselves by saying we suffer roughly 45% of the casualties?

Jacqueline Widick

Costa Mesa

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Cheney’s performance versus Bush’s performance: None of the pouting, but all of the lies.

Kurt Weldon

Winnetka

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Edwards clearly stands head and shoulders above Cheney. He emphasizes the real war, the war on terror, as well as presenting workable plans for helping the economy and dealing with the mess in Iraq.

Ethel and

Michael Tankenson

Los Angeles

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I couldn’t have said it better: Just after the vice presidential debate, I went over to the CNN website and there was an image of Cheney and Edwards facing each other with one headline stating “Cheney Defends Bush on Iraq.” Just under this was another headline stating “Volcano Belching More Steam.”

Gary Coyne

South Pasadena