I think VP debates are kind of fun. After watching the main contenders spew out meaningless sound bite after meaningless sound bite, it’s usually nice to see two slightly less conceited men sit down at a table and discuss policy. At least this is what I thought before Tuesday night’s tête a tête between Misters Cheney and Edwards.

Granted, I’ve never really liked either of these guys. I think I’m in the large majority of the American population when I say that I find Dick Cheney a bit scary. But John Edwards is another story all together. If Dick Cheney is Zorak, John Edwards is Space Ghost’s sidekick - fighting the evil of greedy corporations and nihilistic terrorists all while agreeing with whatever “John Kerry said on Thursday night.” But this is exactly what bugs me about John Edwards. Everybody likes their leaders to have a bit of common-man heroism and a Prince Charming grin, but John Edwards is a little too much like the Ken doll sitting in a bin in my sister’s closet. He may seem attractive at first, but after a while he appears just as creepy and stale as the balding arch-conservative sitting across from him.

No, John Edwards doesn’t hunch over the table while he speaks or sigh in frustration every time he actually has to explain himself; but John Edwards droops his eyes, sticks up his thumb, bites his lip, and channels all that Clintonite southern charm to the point where you can almost make out the subliminal message, “I feel your pain.” And Edwards may very well feel your, mine, and everybody else’s pain. But this has been done before and done better. In short, Mr. Edwards, you’re no Bill Clinton. For all his boyish good looks and Carolina twang, Senator Edwards simply lacks the substance to effectively channel Clinton’s legacy.

This became most apparent towards the end of the debate when moderator Gwen Ifill asked the two candidates to stop talking about the top of their respective tickets and do something most politicians find it easy to do - talk about themselves:

IFILL: Mr. Vice President, picking up on that, you both just sang the praises of the tops of your ticket. Without mentioning them by name at all, explain to us why you are different from your opponent, starting with you, Mr. Vice President.

Simple enough. But in his response, John Edwards just couldn’t resist the urge to mention his running-mate:

EDWARDS: Mr. Vice President, we were attacked. But we weren't attacked by Saddam Hussein. And one thing that John Kerry and I would agree with you about is that it is...

John Kerry made clear on Thursday night that - I'm sorry, I broke the rules. We made clear - we made clear on Thursday night that we will do that, and we will do it aggressively.

This exchange is pretty telling. By falling into the repetition of his running mate’s name, John Edwards reveals himself for what he is - a salesman. Campaigning for the Presidential nominee is certainly part of the VP candidate’s job description, but few politicians make the pitch so blatantly obvious. Senator Edwards just can’t manage to stop selling John Kerry, Inc. for a period of two minutes. It worries me that the potential Vice President defines himself by his agreement with the top of the ticket. Sure, Dick Cheney pretty much spouted Bush administration talking points throughout the night, but nobody questions Cheney’s indispensable role in the creation of White House policy that he hawks.

Edwards, on the other hand, is a different story. When asked by Ifill about his qualifications to be Vice President, Edwards essentially cited his agreement with John Kerry as his qualifying factor, as if being able to recant Kerry’s talking points compensates for his admitted lack of governmental experience.

EDWARDS: I think the most important thing I've learned from this process is what I now know about John Kerry. I knew him before. I know him better now.

He is ready to be commander in chief.

This is absurd. I’ll admit that a close personal relationship with the President is a plus for any VP, but it cannot be considered the primary qualification for holding the office. Dick Cheney, on the other hand, pretty much nailed it when he said that the Vice President needs to be able to take over the Presidency at a moments notice. I think John Edwards would agree with this, but he’s too busy trying to affirm and reaffirm his support for John Kerry to give a substantive response.

The sad part is that John Edwards is a talented politician with broad appeal. He demonstrated that clearly during the primary season. But when presented the chance to discuss serious policy with a serious D.C. policy-wonk, Edwards came across as just an empty suit with a soothing accent and a sparkling smile. He can be much more than that. John Edwards isn’t John Kerry and he’s more than some mid-level campaign surrogate just out there to endorse the presidential nominee. It’s about time the folks at the Kerry campaign realize this and finally let Edwards be Edwards. Maybe Kerry just doesn’t want to get upstaged. As Space Ghost says, "A good sidekick is like the pickle served with a hero sandwich. You know it's there, but you don't really pay attention to it.” But, if Kerry has any hopes of taking the Oval Office in January, it would be best to let Edwards be a political superhero instead of just Barbie’s boy toy.