Vice President Dick Cheney leaves George Washington University Hospital, Saturday, July 1, 2006, in Washington. Cheney, who has a long history of heart ailments, had his annual physical Saturday. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Posted on 07/01/2006 12:15:10 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - From the baseball diamond to the speedway oval, Vice President Dick Cheney is turning up at lots of high-profile venues, increasing his visibility ahead of the fall election.
Saturday offered a double-dip in the all-important political state of Florida: seeing the space shuttle Discovery blast off and then catching a NASCAR race, complete with a visit with the drivers and their crews.
Cheney often does most of his work behind the scenes, but has taken on more public appearances this year. It's part of an all-hands-on-deck effort at the White House to improve the GOP's standing going into the November election with control of Congress at stake.
The events add to the list of memorable experiences for Cheney this year:
_throwing out the first pitch at the Washington Nationals home opener.
_touring a Harley-Davidson factory in Kansas City.
_visiting the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
In addition, he has spoken several times at military bases and politically important conventions.
Cheney has headlined about 70 Republican fundraisers during the current election cycle, raising more than $22 million.
Republicans are concerned that their control of Congress could be in jeopardy this fall, with Bush's leadership and the war in Iraq so unpopular among the public. Cheney is not particularly well liked among the general public — more than 40 percent of those surveyed routinely telling pollsters they have an unfavorable opinion of him — but he is more popular among the GOP faithful.
Cheney is an especially powerful vice president, with considerable influence on administration policy. But he has traditionally stayed out of the limelight and avoided many media interviews, except when it can help the GOP cause.
The vice president's aides even tried to extend exposure of Cheney's Florida trip beyond the traditional audience, inviting team from Sports Illustrated to join the White House media. He also took a team from Fox Sports and Motor Racing Network, which handles NASCAR's radio coverage.
Joining the vice president and his wife, Lynne, were three of their grandchildren: Kate, 12; Elizabeth 8; and Grace, 6.
More than 20 years ago, when Cheney was a congressman from Wyoming, he was at a shuttle launch. But the NASCAR race Saturday was a first for him.
The Pepsi 400 has become a popular event for national leaders. President Reagan was the commander in chief to attend a race when he went in 1984. Both President Bush and his father have been, and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld attended last year.
The Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway is a particularly patriotic event because it is scheduled for the Independence Day weekend and draws a large military crowd.
The flight plan for Air Force II would take Cheney directly over the race track at 1,000 feet before the plane landed at the Daytona Beach airport. Cheney planned to speak during the pre-race ceremony.
Vice President Dick Cheney leaves George Washington University Hospital, Saturday, July 1, 2006, in Washington. Cheney, who has a long history of heart ailments, had his annual physical Saturday. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
I expect to hear the DBM and the left start screaming that the Vice President is politicizing his office.
We'll be running a race thread later so stop by while we're watching Vice President Cheney making a big entrance and a visit to the track tonight in Daytona Beach.
NASCAR - Pepsi 400 - from Daytona, on FOX Saturday 7/1, at 7:30pm ET **VP Cheney speaking live** ^
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1657323/posts
"What the heck is he supposed to do,? Hide in a cave like Bin Laden?"
This bit; "Cheney emerging more often before election" makes him sound like a nervous groundhog.
Dumb, dumb, dumb idea having him attend the shuttle launch. There's already enough of a sentiment out there (played up with all those not-safe-to-launch stories in the last week or two) that it's going to be pretty risky. Something goes wrong and the initial (and partisan) reaction by the press and the Left is that the Administration pressured NASA to go for a launch when it shouldn't have.
I'm glad he's out there. I just love looking at him. Yummy. LOL! :0)
People like Cheney are the main reason to keep supporting Republicans. The talk of impeaching Bush makes me smile when I think of Cheney behind the desk in the Oval Office.
It was scrubbed because of weather. So your theory went out the window.
No, not a cave... just an undisclosed location.
LOL - have a look at my profile page then for more pics :0)
What great photos you have there. That Lynn is a lucky lady. Thanks for directing me to them. I also found the pictures of Reagan/Thatcher to be very touching. They were great friends weren't they? Much like our two nations. I enjoyed your personal photos too. Thanks for being here. :0)
Too true.
I suppose they expect him to stand behind a podium on a busy DC street corner, 24/7, just to be "more visible".
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