PRESIDENTIAL RACE Choice of Edwards has yet to affect voter polls

Kerry and Edwards were asked about the issue of experience on '60 Minutes.'
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
WASHINGTON -- The national spotlight burned even brighter Sunday on Sens. John Kerry and John Edwards, though new polls suggested that Kerry's choice of the North Carolina Democrat is not giving the party's presidential ticket much of a bounce in the polls.
The same polls indicated that Edwards is more popular with voters than Vice President Dick Cheney, but that has yet to make a difference on the presidential race itself. A poll by Newsweek found Kerry is still locked in a dead heat with President Bush; nearly 70 percent of those surveyed said the choice of Edwards won't make a difference in the race for the White House.
An earlier poll for The Associated Press, released two days after Kerry chose Edwards on Tuesday, even gave Bush a slight lead over Kerry as voters expressed increasing confidence about the economy. The numbers showed Bush at 49 percent, Kerry at 45 percent and independent Ralph Nader at 3 percent.
On Sunday, Kerry and Edwards took a break from the campaign trail and each other. Still, their images and words were hard to miss. The Democratic running mates popped up on the covers of Time and Newsweek, got interviewed on the front pages of The New York Times and The Washington Post and were asked on "60 Minutes" to answer GOP charges that Edwards lacks experience.
Edwards vs. Cheney
The CBS interview -- taped at Edwards' Raleigh home on Saturday night -- was conducted by Lesley Stahl, who asked both candidates how Edwards measures up to Cheney in terms of presidential experience.
Edwards, who's 51 and still in his first term as a senator, said he is "absolutely prepared to be president. I have a vision for this country which is consistent and completely compatible with John's vision."
Kerry, a 19-year Senate veteran who also questioned Edwards' qualifications when the two were Democratic primary opponents earlier this year, told Stahl his new running mate is "more qualified, more prepared in national affairs and national issues than George Bush was when he became president. He is ready."
Asked whether he would be nice or tough when he debates Cheney on Oct. 5, Edwards said, laughing, "Lesley, I'm always polite." But then he added: "Yes ma'am, I will be tough. I'll be tough because there's so much at stake for this country. The voters of America need to know what the differences are between us."
Role of religion
Calling themselves men of faith, Kerry and Edwards charged during the interview that Bush has sometimes crossed the line separating church and state in justifying his stand on war and other issues.
"Abraham Lincoln wisely avoided trying to invoke God on the side of the North vs. the South, but prayed that he was on God's side," Kerry said. "I think that that's the lesson that John and I would bring to this."
The TV interview, which a CBS News staffer said was being edited almost up to the 7 p.m. EDT air time, included the candidates' wives, Teresa Heinz Kerry and Elizabeth Edwards. They were asked about Republican charges that their husbands are talking economic populism even though the two couples are worth millions, even billions in the case of Heinz Kerry.
"These two men voted against tax cuts that would have benefited them," said Elizabeth Edwards. "Isn't that what we want -- a leader who looks at the greater good instead of simply what benefits people in his own class?"