Word: cheney
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...make a powerful Vice President do something he doesn't want to do, however much the President needs it? From the earliest days of this Administration, the President has been comfortable having a Vice President who answers only to him and pretty much scares everyone else. When Cheney simply shut down after the accident, there was no one else in the White House with the nerve or clout to bring him back online. Cheney "has a very protective family, plus there is an unfortunate intimidation factor," says a former Administration official. "Very few staff--either in Cheneyworld or Bushworld...
After that final nudge from the President Wednesday morning, Cheney retreated to his office with his longtime adviser Mary Matalin, chief of staff David Addington, daughter Liz and, later, his press secretary, Lea Anne McBride, to prepare. Matalin and McBride laid out all the questions being raised about the incident. Cheney just soaked it in "like a sponge," Matalin said, but not only did he not rehearse his answers, he also gave no indication of how he would respond. Matalin heard the full version of the accident only when he taped the interview...
...Cheney appeared genuinely shaken by what had happened. "The image of him falling is something I'll never be able to get out of my mind," Cheney said. "I fired, and there's Harry falling. And it was, I'd have to say, one of the worst days of my life, at that moment." But when it came to explaining his delay in getting the story out (see page 32) and his reluctance to speak, the V.P. expressed no regret, which was entirely in character. In any event, it might not have been necessary. White House aides had come...
...hunting accident," said an adviser who had talked to him. "While that's important in some ways when you're the Vice President, it's not as important as other matters that come before the President." As for critics on the Hill, a House Republican leadership aide said Cheney will remain the lawmakers' top back channel to Bush. "A hunting accident, even with their bungling, isn't going to change that. It's been helpful that the press has been so obnoxious and such prima donnas. It made people here feel sorry for the White House." Says Senator Lindsey Graham...
Other presidencies have had their own silent divisions: Clinton had Hillaryland (a more liberal and activist core); George H.W. Bush had Quayleland (a more conservative and activist core). But in one respect Cheney's shop has been completely different from any Vice President's since the Truman years. When Bush recruited him as his running mate in 2000, Cheney made his priorities clear: he would do the inside work and leave the outside work to others. The campaign team described a parade in which Cheney would meet and greet voters. "Um," said a Cheney staff member tentatively, "Mr. Cheney does...