Vice President Dick Cheney and Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. John Edwards (N.C.) sparred over the war in Iraq and their voting records in a debate Tuesday night at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

The 90-minute debate, the only one scheduled between the two candidates, was divided equally into foreign and domestic policy questions.

The debate was characterized by strong words and visions from the candidates. Cheney repeatedly told Edwards his facts were wrong. Edwards frequently said Cheney was distorting the facts.

The candidates argued first about the war on terror. Edwards accused the Bush Administration of not effectively pursuing Osama bin Laden, while Cheney maintained progress has been made in Iraq, which is scheduled to hold its first democratic election in January.

"Freedom is the best antidote to terror," Cheney said.

Edwards stressed the importance of building a coalition in Iraq.

"We have a plan for success," Edwards said. "The reality is we need a new president who has credibility with the rest of the world."

Cheney and Edwards then discussed domestic issues, including healthcare, education and jobs.

Under the Bush Administration, 111 million Americans have benefited from the tax cuts, the achievement gap between ethnicities has begun to close because of the No Child Left Behind Act and seniors have had better access to Medicare, Cheney said. In addition, he said 1.7 million new jobs have been created in the last year.

Edwards said one-third of public schools in America are failing, four million Americans have fallen into poverty and America has gone from a surplus to a deficit in the biggest financial turnabout in American history.

"Mr. Vice President, I don't think the country can take four more years of this kind of experience," Edwards said.

Opinions vary on who won the debate.

"I think Cheney had the clear advantage on foreign policy," said John McAdams, associate professor of political science. "I give the nod to Edwards on domestic policy, where the Democrats traditionally have an advantage."

McAdams said foreign policy would be more important in this election.

Janet Boles, professor of political science, said there was no particular winner or loser.

"I think both men basically presented the points they were pre-programmed to respond to quite effectively," Boles said.

Meredith Salsbery, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences and president of College Democrats, said she thought the debate was pretty even and Edwards had some good points, such as Cheney's record of voting against programs including Head Start and Meals on Wheels.

Those examples "illustrate what this administration stands for, which is not necessarily the American people," Salsbery said.

Dan Suhr, a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences and president of Students for Bush, said from what he heard commentators say on television after the debate, Cheney was viewed as the winner on foreign policy.

"I think quite obviously this debate mainly focused on foreign policy issues, and this is an area that the vice president clearly has a lot of experience in and is much better qualified than John Edwards," Suhr said.

Drew Morin, a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences, enjoyed Tuesday night's debate more than the first presidential debate between Bush and Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry (Mass.).

Cheney and Edwards "both seem more astute than their presidential counterparts," he said. "I wouldn't say there was really a winner."