He was traveling to Ohio to join Kerry at a late-night rally. The campaign appearance was set to begin moments after the Republican convention concluded in New York, part of the Democrats' effort to trim the GOP's post-convention momentum.

In his appearance, Edwards described last month's Democratic convention in Boston as a positive gathering in which they laid out their agenda and vision for the country. By comparison, the Republicans have devoted "all of their time and all of their energy trying to tear down a patriot," he said, reminding the audience that just a few years ago Miller had called Kerry, a decorated Vietnam War veteran, a patriot.

Edwards also made the rounds of Thursday morning talk shows to respond to the criticism of Kerry, calling it "completely over the top."

On CBS's "The Early Show," Edwards mocked Cheney for saying "the black market network that supplied nuclear weapons technology to Libya, as well as to Iran and North Korea, has been shut down."

"He said that with a straight face on the same day that the Iranians themselves were declaring that they were moving forward with their nuclear weapons development program," Edwards said.

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Contributing: Jennifer Kay.