Lieberman was elected to the Connecticut State Senate in 1970 and served there for 10 years, including the last 6 as Majority Leader. He also spent time in the private practice of law, and as an Assistant Dean of the School of Art and Architecture at Yale.

He is the author of five books. The most recent, "In Praise of Public Life" (2000), is a spirited defense of public life that draws on his personal experience.

From 1982 to 1988, Joe Lieberman served as Connecticut's 21st Attorney General.

Lieberman, who is Jewish, lives in New Haven with his wife Hadassah. They are the parents of four children: Matthew, Rebecca, Ethan and Hana. He also has two granddaughters, Tennessee and Willie.

Richard Cheney was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, on January 30, 1941. He grew up in Casper, Wyoming. He earned BA and MA degrees from the University of Wyoming.

Cheney was Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Halliburton Company, when asked to be the Republican nominee for Vice President.

His career in public service began in 1969 when he joined the Nixon Administration. Under Gerald Ford he served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff. After he returned to his home state of Wyoming in 1977, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He was re-elected five times. As Secretary of Defense from March 1989 to January 1993, Cheney directed Operation Just Cause in Panama and Operation Desert Storm in the Middle East. For his leadership in the Gulf War, Secretary Cheney was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George Bush on July 3, 1991.

Cheney, who is Methodist, married Lynne Ann Vincent in 1964. She has served as chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The Cheneys have two children, daughters Liz and Mary.