I'll grant you this much
Cheney and his staff has done their homework, and he is capable of speaking without long pauses to remember what he was coached to say. He is, of course, spewing the party line, as is Edwards. On the other hand, he sounds more like the author of the party line than the man who was supposed to sound that way.
In such a structured debate format, competence is in the ear of the beholder. In this election, the incumbents have been challenged on the very issue of competence -- rightfully, IMO. Bush sounded as incompetent as I believe him to be. Cheney sounds competent.