How much will it matter who John Kerry's running-mate is?

This message, repeated in town hall meetings from Iowa to Tennessee and all other states besides, gave Edwards a local prominence that masked his relative political inexperience. In March, after Edwards conceded the Presidential nomination to Kerry, one Washington Post columnist urged Democrats to "steal this speech" in their effort to draw back disaffected voters from independent candidates. But it was the personal delivery with Edwards' strong Southern inflection, rather than substance, that counted most.

Those who knew Edwards pointed to his background as a trial-lawyer, where he possessed a famed ability to charm a court room jury. There he made his millions (presumably giving him plenty of experience of both "Americas") before running for the Senate.

Edwards, the political cleanskin, will make a good contrast with Cheney, the consummate Washington insider. Cheney is accused of secret dealings, rank partisanship and assorted conflicts of interest, including one with a sitting justice of the Supreme Court. Edwards's easy-going campaign style will challenge Cheney, who often seems uncomfortable with public engagements.

Yet despite his success, Edwards was by no means guaranteed a place with Kerry on the Democratic ticket.

For months, many observers salivated about the prospect that outspoken Republican Senator John McCain might join Kerry, a friend and fellow Vietnam veteran, in a bipartisan bid for the White House. Party discipline in the US is far less rigid than in Australia. McCain is an established critic of Bush's radical agenda in foreign policy, frequently taking on members of the administration in very public stoushes. A Kerry-McCain team would have appealed to so-called moderate Democrats and Republicans alike, regarded as key swinging voters in the election.

Refusing to follow the script, McCain barely even feigned interest. Recalling how he spent several years in a North Vietnam prison camp, he memorably described the Vice-President's role as being kept in the dark and fed only on scraps.

This is because ultimately the American people will not vote according to their favourite Vice-Presidential candidate. This mini-contest will be interesting to political enthusiasts, with Edwards pushing the Democrat's domestic policy while Cheney continues to muckrake and attack.

But the real choice remains whether to vote for John Kerry and send George Bush back to Texas.