Eight Tristate voters who watched Thursday night's vice presidential debate at the Enquirer disagreed on who won and who was right, but they all agreed the running mates were more impressive debaters than the presidential candidates.

        “This was on a lot higher plane than Tuesday,” said Hank Greeb, a retired engineer from Colerain Township. “I don't know that there was a clear winner, but it was a lot more substantial debate.”

        “I think they both made a better impression than the presidential candidates did Tuesday night,” said Karen Kelly, an artist from Indian Hill.

        Morton Startz, a 79-year-old retiree from North Avondale, said voters watching the 90-minute debate between Republican Dick Cheney and Democrat Joseph Lieberman probably learned more about the issues and the differences between the two major tickets than they did watching George W. Bush and Al Gore debate on Tuesday night.

        “I thought this was a debate on a much higher level than Tuesday night,” said Mr. Startz, the retired executive director of Jewish Family Services.

        Ann Hanke, a retired nurse from Clifton and a Republican, said she thought Mr. Cheney showed a “better grasp of the issues.”

        “The quality of Lieberman's voice works against him,” Mrs. Hanke said. “Every time he talks, it sounds like he is apologizing for something.”

        Marian Spencer, the former Cincinnati city councilwoman from Avondale, thought Mr. Cheney “sounded bad” when moderator Bernard Shaw asked the candidates about racial profiling.

        “Clearly, Dick Cheney doesn't understand racial profiling and why it is wrong,” Mrs. Spencer said. “He sounds out of touch.”

        Dave Newman, a 38-year-old manager from Fort Thomas, said he believed Mr. Cheney dominated the debate, mainly because of his personality and air of authority.

        “Cheney was kind of a fatherly figure, very authoritative,” Mr. Newman said.

        Mark Wehry, 36, a computer analyst from Edgewood, thought Mr. Cheney was most impressive.

        “What you need in a vice presidential candidate is somebody who fills in the presidential candidate's weaknesses,” Mr. Wehry said. “George Bush's weakness is in foreign policy and that's Dick Cheney's strength. He showed it in the debate.”

        Stephen Bielecki, a 21-year-old Xavier University student who lives in Norwood, said he thought Mr. Cheney should not have emphasized the Bush Social Security plan, which includes giving people an option of taking part of their Social Security tax and putting it in a private investment fund.

        “The Republicans actually seem to trust the public to do that and make good investments,” Mr. Bielecki said. “That's pretty risky.”

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