Some / a lot of conservatives make the mistake of equating military prowess with “conservative” thought. They believe that a general who excels at his job simply cannot be a socialist...
Very little is known about his ideological bend, although this little bit of information does start to paint that picture.
I would also caution limited government type conservatives against blindly following dick and liz cheney as well. Even though they are strong debaters and strong on national security that does NOT equate to a strong belief in limiting the size and scope of the federal government.
The points you make are true on one level (*blindly* following) but we are still limited to supporting people who actually exist and who actually step up to the public debate.
Can you name any actual living person, active in politics, that articulates better positions than these? (This is not a flame, it is a serious question. I'm interested.)