VP Debate Importance

According to this article http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/10/05/debate.main/index.html vice presidential debates are not very important, and that the primary focus of them is on the presidential candidates. It also says that with less pressure, the debate often is more nasty and entertaining. I tend to agree with these statements, and I didn't think that very many people were influenced by who is even running for vice president. I, for one, am not. I like John Edwards far more than John Kerry, however I would vote for Kerry even with a different vice president. However, the QuickVote on CNN.com's main page today showed 51% of people voting that who is running for vp does influence their decision. These results admit that they are not scientific, and I understand that they will be skewed by the fact that more people who care will vote, however the results still surprised me. Maybe the debate tonight will be more important, as well as entertaining.