Posted on 07/18/2004 6:44:49 PM PDT by wagglebee
A month ago, after Vice President Dick Cheney caused a stir when he told Sen. Pat Leahy to "f--- yourself," White House Communications Director Dan Bartlett advised the Cheney team to "just make a joke of it," a senior White House official tells Newsweek.
But Cheney did not. Rather, the veep affirmed to Fox News that he had told off Leahy and "felt better afterwards."
Mary Matalin, the former White House aide who acts as an informal media and political adviser for the Cheneys tells Newsweek that she doubts Cheney had ever heard the White House official's advice. "I know what advice he was given because it came directly from me through [his daughter] Liz. And he already knew what he wanted to do," says Matalin.
It is significant that even Matalin communicated with Cheney "through Liz," the veep's 37-year-old daughter, who recently quit her job as a deputy assistant secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs to work on the Bush- Cheney re-election campaign, report White House Correspondent Tamara Lipper and Assistant Managing Editor Evan Thomas in the July 26 issue of Newsweek (on newsstands Monday, July 19).
Vice President Dick Cheney's wife, Lynne, and daughters Liz and Mary, known around the Bush-Cheney headquarters as The Family, can be intense, insular and prickly as they protect their man, his reputation and his place on the GOP ticket.
Matalin readily acknowledges the central role played by the Cheney family.
"They family together, they work together," she says. "It's a seamless operation." Liz Cheney says: "Family members can be completely honest. We're very direct with each other." That is not always true of Cheney staffers, who sometimes feel intimidated by going up against The Family. Since taking office, Cheney is on his fourth press secretary, and all of them have appeared to be afraid of even trying to pass on tough or annoying questions from reporters.
But The Family has been feeling a little besieged lately and Cheney is lagging in some polls. His favorable rating in a New York Times/CBS poll last month stood at 21 percent, compared with 39 percent for President George W. Bush. But other opinion surveys show Cheney hanging on to a slight favorable/unfavorable edge (46 to 43 percent in the latest Newsweek Poll).
A senior Bush-Cheney campaign official shrugged off the polls as meaningless. And every White House and campaign official contacted by Newsweek rejected the suggestion that Cheney might be dropped from the ticket. Still, a Bush campaign official concedes, "We didn't care enough about his image."
Buzz that Cheney may be dropped from the ticket is a "silly parlor game," says Matalin.
"Why won't he be a, you know, Washington B.S. guy? Because he's not a Washington B.S. guy," she says. "He might be burned by you guys [the media], but they love him out there...He is a reassuring guy, not because he has grandchildren sitting on his lap, but because he just exudes depth and breadth and experience and competence."
When I read his book 10 years ago; and the work he did in Gulf War I, I'd have agreed with you. Today, I'd say that Powell is a lightweight.
Get out of Cheney's house!
How old are ya, and how many Presidential elections have you participaed in?
One thing people need to understand - those not interested in politics...are just that...not interested - They simply can have premises spun to them...and once they stick...it is very hard to change - (simply because they don't have enough interest to invest enough of their time to pay attention any longer....or to admit they were wrong to begin with....this is very hard for many to do...easier to just believe the first lie they were spun as the truth)
Cheney is great, but as VP I really don't see him as an asset this time around - First off GWB is the man - Cheney is an adviser more then anything else (but he could have this job simply by being an adviser) - It is obvious Cheney doesn't like the VP job description....that being going out and being on the offensive for the Administration - He much prefers to stay behind the scene (per say) -
I think Rudy would be a great choice for VP - With that said I do believe Cheney is on the ticket and not going anywhere - However, Cheney doesn't bring one vote that GWB didn't get on his own in 2000 -
I agree. He's one tough hombre. W will NEVER drop Cheney. Personally, I thought Cheney would have been a better Prez than W; and I told my wife that during the '00 primaries. If I were a dim, I'd wet my pants coming up against Dick Cheney in a debate, or even in a private confrontational conversation.
Thanks Jim. I think he started to get some of us a lttle steamed.
"Big mistake. Collin Powell would give us a chance."
So you think we have no chance with Dick as VP? We will win big time, no problem.
Nope, her act grew thin on me long ago.
Anybody who would marry serpent head cannot be trusted. I know people who get divorced because the spouse won't tell the other one why he/she was an hour late from getting home from work. There is something wrong with this picture.
I can't imagine who could spice things up more than Chaney - except maybe Rumsfeld, and I thought he had a job already.
It leads me to believe me we are being duped by both parties.
Conservative Republicans like VP Cheney -- in fact some of us wanted him to run for President in 1996. We are going to win with him on the ticket and the only people wanting him off are those that want Bush-Cheney '04 to lose.
BTW, you spelled Secretary of State Colin Powell's name wrong and since you are new, don't think using the word "we" to want to dump VP Cheney is appropriate on FR.
Sure glad that we are not as dumb as the RATs who send people here think we are!
No, but it doesn't have anything to do with whether or not he's popular right now, or will be even in their second term. I don't believe he ever had any intentions of running for President. I think that, like President Bush has said about himself, this will be Cheney's last campaign.
Why on earth would true conservatives want John McCain on the ticket? It's bad enough we now have CFR and Medicare giveaways, but now we should bring on a hothead "maverick" [barf] that sides withe Dems far, far too often on social issues? I don't think so.
I just saw Vice President Cheney Saturday (shook his hand, thank you very much) and I can't imagine anyone else standing by President Bush's side more loyally, with more conviction, strength, and confidence.
And as far as "giving "us" a chance",a chance for what..losing BIG TIME?
So,I guess you are working for the Kerry team and are on the wrong forum.This site wants to get President Bush re-elected and dumping Cheney is NOT the way to do that..
Mary's not the one lying...so that leaves NewsMax;which should come as NO surprise.
Ooopppppppppsssss...meant NewsWeek.
no.........McCain would mean 12 years of the Democratic ticket disquised as GOP.......!!!!!!
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