CNN

(CNN) - In one of the most colorful YouTube questions, an animated impression of Vice President Dick Cheney - holding a hunting rifle - asked candidates whether they would give their VP "as much power and influence as I have had."

None took the bait to criticize President Bush.

Former Sen. Fred Thompson talked about the importance of a vice president having expertise in some areas such as national security. "I think that a vice president ought to have substantial authority," he said.

Sen. John McCain said, "I'm going to give you some straight talk. This president came to office within a time of peace, and then we found ourselves in 2001. And he did not have as much national security experience as I do. So he had to rely more on the vice president of the United States. And that's obvious."

McCain added, "I would not have to do that." But, he said, he might have to rely on the vice president for expertise in other areas such as telecommunications and information technology, which McCain called "the future of this nation's economy."

-CNN's Josh Levs