But neither Republican Dick Cheney or Democrat Joseph Lieberman came here to dazzle voters. Both fulfilled their main role as running mates: Do no harm.

"Believe it or not, I think people would have liked to have seen another hour of this debate. It was informative, friendly, substantial," said Ed Sarpolus, an independent pollster who specializes in voters in the critical Midwest states.

Where George W. Bush left gaps in his Tuesday night debate against Al Gore, running mate Dick Cheney helpfully tried to fill them in. On tax cuts, foreign policy and Social Security, Cheney dutifully echoed GOP talking points that Bush failed to do.

Lieberman stuck close to the party line against the Republican ticket, beginning many of his sentences with "Al Gore and I..."

It lacked the fireworks of the Gore-Bush debate two nights earlier, but some analysts said the debate was exactly what undecided voters crave.

"There were one-liners but they were personal one-liners in contrast to Gore and Bush who were derogatory toward each other and clearly wanted to get each other mad," said Sarpolus, the Michigan pollster.

Cheney's biggest task was selling Bush's across-the-board tax cut, which Gore dismissed with poll-tested lines Tuesday night. When the vice president said Bush would spend more on a tax cut for the top 1 percent of earners than on health, education, prescription coverage and defense combined, Bush did not argue.

His staff fired back, but not until the next day when spokeswoman Karen Hughes said the top 1 percent of earners pay 33 percent of all federal income taxes, and their savings would account for just 17 percent of the cuts. She also said Bush would eliminate federal taxes for 7 million Americans, a figure Bush didn't mention.

Cheney talked about the tax cuts at every opportunity Thursday night, even when the question was about education or the wage gap for women.

"The suggestion that somehow all of (the surplus) is going for tax cuts isn't true. Another way to look at it is that over the course of the next 10 years we'll collect roughly $25 trillion in revenue. We want to take about 5 percent of that and return that to the American taxpayer in the form of tax relief," Cheney said.

He said stay-at-home mothers won't get a tax break under Gore. Democrats disputed the statement, but Cheney had scored a point in the courtship of female voters.

Lieberman echoed Gore's claim that Bush-Cheney would risk the nation's prosperity and popular entitlements. "They raid the Medicare trust fund," he said.

There were light moments, such as when Lieberman said most Americans were better off than eight years ago -- especially the millionaire energy executive Cheney.

"I can see my wife and I think she's thinking, `Gee, I wish he would go out into the private sector," Lieberman joked.

"Well," replied Cheney, "I am going to help you do that, Joe."

Lieberman's awe-shucks style was a contrast to Gore, who struck many voters as rude with his mocking sighs during Bush's answers.

Sarpolus said Cheney also did better than his running mate, but the GOP ticket still has gaps to fill.

"The Republicans are missing what the independent swing voter wants. They want details. They want to know what you're going to do for me and how you're going to do it," Sarpolus said. "The Democrats are still a bit better at doing that."

EDITOR'S NOTE: Ron Fournier is chief political reporter for The Associated Press.