VP Cheney delivered what looked like a body blow to Sen. Edwards when he attacked him for not attending the Senate and said that though Cheney presided over the Senate, he hadn't met Edwards before they walked onto the stage that night. It was a powerful statement. Unfortunately it wasn't true.
ABC News reports they had met at least 3 times before:
"On Feb. 1, 2001, the vice president thanked Edwards by name at a Senate prayer breakfast and sat beside him during the event.
"On April 8, 2001, Cheney and Edwards shook hands when they met off-camera during a taping of NBC's "Meet the Press," moderator Tim Russert said Wednesday on "Today."
"On Jan. 8, 2003, the two met when the first-term North Carolina senator accompanied Elizabeth Dole to her swearing-in by Cheney as a North Carolina senator, Edwards aides also said."
Is the VP having senior moments. This seems unlikely given his clear grasp of so many other facts, figures and dates. Or is he willing to sacrifice the truth for a political victory, a charge which seems all to familiar.
Unfortunately, as the fact checks show this is too common all the way around and we should be able to expect more from our leaders and those who wish to be our leaders. Fortunately we live in the era of the internet. It is much harder to get away scott free with misrepresentation and we citizens have sites like factcheck.org to get the straight skinny and we can google the news stories to see more than one perspective.