This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2004, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Help or hurt? Historians call Dick Cheney the most influential vice president ever, and perhaps the most polarizing. But he will use his speech tonight to remind America what a seasoned hand he is -- especially in contrast to his boyish Democratic counterpart, one-term Sen. John Edwards.
"The vice president is a very wise, very comforting, reassuring presence," Bush strategist Karen Hughes said Tuesday.
Democrats prefer to dwell on other Cheney matters.
"How's that Halliburton stock doing?" was the question Democratic chief Terry McAuliffe suggested to conservative talk show host Sean Hannity before Cheney's turn on the air. The topic didn't come up.
In nearly all swing states, most voters hold unfavorable views of him, polls show.
Cheney's speech will probably steer clear of gay marriage, a rare issue on which he has publicly disagreed with Bush.
Cheney said last week states should decide the issue. And he revealed the personal nature of his position when he acknowledged more directly than ever before that daughter Mary, a campaign confidante, is a lesbian.