So far, Bush's loyalties outweigh VP's liabilities - USAToday [View All]

[TacticalPeek]

Posted 6/17/2004 8:55 PM

Hype and Glory

Walter Shapiro

So far, Bush's loyalties outweigh VP's liabilities


WASHINGTON - snip

Cheney's home state of Wyoming, with its paltry three electoral votes, is as reliably Republican as a meeting of the Bush Cabinet. The vice president's oratorical style can be charitably described as dutiful, not electric. Cheney's pre-administration stewardship of Halliburton has been repeatedly pilloried in a series of campaign ads by such independent anti-Bush groups as the Media Fund and MoveOn.org. And Monday, just before the commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks released a staff report dismissing claims of a link between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda, Cheney asserted in a speech that the terrorist group had "long-established ties" with the Iraqi dictator. While Bush quickly backed up Cheney, the vice president has returned to his familiar role as the administration's most controversial proponent of an alarmist view of Saddam's intentions.

By most objective measures, that would be four strikes and Cheney's out. But the vice president's enduring political strength is entirely based on that final overriding factor: Bush wants him around for a second term, and even Cheney's harshest critics admit that he has the intellect and the experience to serve as president.

It's been almost 30 years since Gerald Ford dumped Nelson Rockefeller from the GOP ticket to try to salvage his 1976 election prospects. Since then, incumbent vice presidents haven't had to worry about their job security at a party convention.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/columnist/shapiro/2004-06-17-hype_x.htm