Edwards will summon his skills as a trial lawyer to cast Cheney as the architect of the administration's worst policy judgments, as well as a symbol of corporate excess because of his former position as chief executive of Halliburton, which has received huge Iraq contracts but has also faced accusations of improper billing there. Edwards [has] a unique opportunity to amplify the case Kerry made about the Iraq invasion being a "colossal error" and also shift the campaign conversation toward domestic policy issues, where Democrats historically run stronger.

I think Edwards will present better, particularly to those voters seeking regime change here at home. Cheney is old school, from the old mold. He will capitalize on voters' fears. But voters may be tired of living in fear--particularly now that it's becoming clear that the genesis of those fears is stale threats that never materialized.

If Gephardt was our father's Oldsmobile, Cheney is our grandfather's Model T. Edwards, on the other hand, signifies the future. He is hope for a new day.