His master’s voice: Cheney takes charge
US VICE PRESIDENT Dick Cheney is emerging as the most important figure in the Bush White House and one of the most polarising politicians in this year’s election campaign.
Of all of the conditions the White House tried to attach to the president’s appearance yesterday in front of the 9/11 commission, by far the most peculiar was the insistence that President George W Bush only appear in concert with Mr Cheney rather than have them appear separately as the commission requested.
With the White House steadfastly refusing to say why they insisted upon the joint appearance, speculation among the late night comics has been rife about sophisticated ventriloquist act where Cheney controls Bush’s answers. As the satirical newspaper The Onion reported, the commission would have to insist that Cheney drink a glass of water while Bush talks.
Certainly, Bush is notorious for his inability to directly answer, or even effectively evade, questions requiring a detailed answer and Cheney is likely to be invaluable on that score.
The White House is also thought to be anxious that discrepancies do not emerge between the two testimonies for fear they would be leaked and prove to be an endless source of controversy in an election year. That there is to be no transcript or recording of the private hearings will help but there is no better way to avoid that scenario than to insist upon a joint appearance.
Whatever the reason, Bush’s need to “phone a friend” underscores the enormous influence wielded by the vice president in the Bush administration. Cheney is emerging, as many expected, as the dominant force in the Bush White House, transforming the office Lyndon Johnson once derided as “not worth a bucket of warm spit” into a powerhouse of influence.
At 63, Cheney seems to have been at the centre of Republican Party politics for an eternity. After a few wild years during which he dropped out of Yale, worked on construction sites, and evaded service in Vietnam, he reinvented himself in his mid 20s.
He went back to college and started his career with an unsuccessful interview for an internship with a then rising star in Congress by the name of Donald Rumsfeld. Within a year, Cheney had managed to secure himself a position in Rumsfeld’s staff and soon followed his boss to the Ford White House.
When Rumsfeld left the White House to become the youngest Secretary of Defence in history, Cheney made history himself succeeding Rumsfeld to become, at 33, the youngest ever chief of staff. Interestingly, his secret service code name at that time was “Backseat”, an ideal description of his timeless role as an anonymous, behind the scenes strategist and fixer. Over the next 20 years he was to turn this role into an art form, developing an unrivaled reputation for discretion and reliability, During this time Cheney also emerged as one of the most conservative politicians in Washington, battling against reconciliation with the Soviet Union and even voting against the release of Nelson Mandela.
He first came to international prominence when he was appointed Secretary of Defence in Bush senior’s administration. It was at this time that tensions first emerged with Colin Powell, who was then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, America’s highest ranking military officer. The subject was a familiar one, Iraq.
Powell privately opposed going to war with Iraq to reverse the invasion of Kuwait and he secretly lobbied the President to this effect. This infuriated Cheney who told Powell that as a soldier he should avoid policy and stick to military matters. Over 12 years later history was to repeat itself. Cheney, as the administration’s leading hawk, again did battle with Powell.
Again, Cheney won, although relations between the two men are so poisoned that they are reportedly no longer on speaking terms if the subject is foreign policy or America’s place in the world.
That a vice president can trump a secretary of state is unprecedented in recent memory and is a testimony to Cheney’s influence. However, his success may also prove to be his undoing. As his success becomes more public he becomes more polarising. Democrats are seizing upon this and targeting their guns on him rather than on the more affable Bush.
As Democratic Party strategist Bruce Reed told the Wall Street Journal: “Ever since Newt Gingrich left the scene, Republicans have benefited from having no high-profile face on hard-nosed conservatism. Cheney is the best proof that Bush isn’t a compassionate conservative.”
It could be a message that resonates. Cheney is the bad cop in the White House tag team. His favourability ratings are low and he is thought to have more empathy with big business than the little guy. Of late, he has been the administration’s attack dog, tearing into the Democratic nominee John Kerry for being weak on defence. The joint appearance in front of the commission makes it even easier to portray Cheney as the real power behind the throne.
There has even been speculation, most of it probably wishful thinking by his opponents, that Bush may drop Cheney from the ticket even though the president insists he will do no such thing.
In the face of the onslaught, Cheney is adopting a higher profile. After a lifetime of secrecy, he is trying to improve his public image so as to buttress the White House against Democratic Party attacks. The world may be about to meet a different, kinder, gentler Dick Cheney.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
