Posted on 06/28/2002 8:30:45 PM PDT by Pokey78
RALEIGH, N.C., June 28 — Dick Cheney was called a curious pick as George W. Bush's running mate even by many Republicans during the 2000 election because — despite his stature in government — he was never known as impressive on the stump.
But Mr. Cheney has demonstrated once again that vice presidents are star attractions on the campaign trail. At event after event, Mr. Cheney is drawing packed crowds and raking in millions of dollars for Republican candidates.
Today, just a few days after lending a critical hand in shaping President Bush's speech on the Middle East, Mr. Cheney slipped into his job as vice fund-raiser-in-chief, speaking to 300 Republican faithful at a $500-a-plate luncheon for Elizabeth Dole, the likely Republican nominee to replace retiring Senator Jesse Helms.
In this midterm election year, Mr. Cheney has become not only a marquee attraction but also a critical behind-the-scenes player in Republican electoral politics. He often squeezes in two to three events a week — Mrs. Dole is his highest-profile candidate to date — and he has raised more than $11 million at some 30 events so far.
Mr. Bush usually pulls in much more money per event, but Republican donors and officials say the president and vice president have different kinds of star power. To be sure, most of Mr. Cheney's appearances are before partisan audiences who pay money to see him. Still, the excitement is obvious.
"When people meet George W. Bush, they get giddy," said Frank Luntz, a Republican pollster. "When they meet Cheney, it's more reverence. It's the difference between meeting Britney Spears and meeting the pope."
Political analysts say Mr. Cheney seems to be campaigning slightly less than many of his predecessors, who have typically used the prosaic vice presidential fund-raising duty to help build their own political bases and presidential aspirations. (Al Gore, for example, got into political trouble for his fund-raising calls from the White House.) Neither is true of Mr. Cheney, who has said he is not interested in the presidency.
Indeed, after today's 18-minute stump speech, in which Mr. Cheney gave his plug for Mrs. Dole, lauded Mr. Bush's handling of the economy and war on terrorism, and scolded the Senate for not acting faster to approve the president's nominations for federal judgeships, several listeners said the vice president lived up to his billing.
"I feel safer with him," said Laurie Payne, 42, a Republican campaign worker from Raleigh. "He's the man."
Russell Capps, a state legislator, added, "It's an honor to be in his presence."
Mr. Cheney was not on the ground here more than three hours. Before the luncheon, he met with large donors for a private round-table discussion and photo session. After speaking, he paid a private visit to Mr. Helms, who is recuperating from open-heart surgery, and then moved on to Charlotte, where he spoke to the Southern Republican Leadership Conference.
Predictably, Republican officials say Mr. Cheney's role as perhaps the most influential vice president ever is improving their chances for maintaining control of the House, regaining the Senate and stemming a loss of Republican governors.
But some independent analysts and Democrats say Mr. Cheney may have a few chinks in his political armor.
"Most vice presidents play this campaigning role reluctantly because it feels demeaning to them, but they do it to prove themselves to the president and White House staff, and increase their influence," said Paul Light, a government scholar at the Brookings Institution. "I call Cheney the vice president in reverse. He started out at the pinnacle of vice-presidential power, but since the transition he's been coming back to Earth. He's still very influential, but he's not the super vice president he was before."
Indeed, with corporate scandals erupting almost every week, Democrats sense that Mr. Cheney's background as a former chief executive of the Halliburton Company, the oil services giant, could make him vulnerable to political attack.
"I do think there will be big questions raised about his role at Halliburton as the country looks at the lack of leadership on the economy and cracking down on corporate problems," said Jenny Backus, a spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Not surprisingly, Republican strategists and Mr. Cheney's aides scoff at such talk.
"Next to the president, he's the hottest ticket in American politics today," said Rich Bond, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee.
White House political strategists said they consult with Mr. Cheney's aides about where to dispatch him to help candidates, but Mr. Cheney does not usually get directly involved.
"This is not a vice president who's going around looking at precinct results," said Ken Mehlman, the White House political director. "The test is where he can be decisive. There's been a tremendous clamor for him."
On Monday in Portland, Ore., Mr. Cheney raised $300,000 for Senator Gordon Smith, a Republican who is facing a stiff challenge in a state that Al Gore narrowly won two years ago. Mr. Smith not only banked some badly needed cash, but also hitched a ride back to Washington with Mr. Cheney on Air Force Two, and used the time to discuss problems facing Oregon, such as water shortages and the risk of forest fires.
As a former five-term congressman from Wyoming and House Republican leader, Mr. Cheney remains popular among lawmakers.<_>"He's a great asset for the administration, especially in dealing with the House," said Representative Jerry Lewis, a California Republican who was elected to the House in 1978 with Mr. Cheney and lunched with him on Capitol Hill this week. "He's always been a really great person to deal with legislators. He knows them well and has their confidence."
Mr. Cheney's credentials as a former Secretary of Defense and member of the House Intelligence Committee also play well with Republicans in relation to the war on terrorism.
"He's not the president, but he's a close second," said Richard Wadhams, campaign manager for Senator Wayne Allard, a Colorado Republican for whom Mr. Cheney raised $400,000 at a dinner in Denver in April. "With national security rising in prominence in terms of what people care about, Vice President Cheney is a very hot commodity."
Indeed, Senator John W. Warner of Virginia, the ranking Republican on the Armed Services Committee, did not figure to face a tough re-election this year, but just to make sure, he wanted to build a war chest large enough to scare away any serious Democratic contenders. Mr. Cheney raised $350,0000 in March for Mr. Warner, and the challenge disappeared.
As a party elder, Mr. Cheney has been called upon by the White House to sort out messy, interparty squabbles.
Last year, when the White House sought to avert a divisive Republican Senate primary in Minnesota that could ruin plans to unseat Senator Paul Wellstone, a Democrat, Mr. Cheney was asked to intervene.
Two hours before one of the contenders, Tim Pawlenty, the majority leader of the Minnesota House, planned to announce his intention to run, he received a call from Mr. Cheney urging him to abandon the race, to clear the field for Norm Coleman, a former mayor of St. Paul. Mr. Pawlenty quickly bowed out and is now running for governor instead.
The White House has scheduled Mr. Cheney to appear at 60 to 70 fund-raisers, and aides say he has not tired of a routine that has four months to go.
"It's something I enjoy doing," Mr. Cheney said in February while discussing the traditional vice presidential job of hitting the hustings in an interview during a campaign swing through California.
"It's good for business, shall we say, in terms of a lot of what I have to do on the Hill," he said. "The members care a lot about it. They know you're out there lending a hand to maintain or build a majority that's running the bank politically."
LOL, a poster near to my own heart.
What a power-packed combination, our President and Vice President, have become.
Just think back to the unmentionable times.....with the traitor/rapist/liar/thief/thug Clinton and the power mad, empty suit environazi running things - all for their own benefit....everything about THEM.
On second thought - don't think back - not healthy for a good Saturday morning!
OH - am glad to learn VP Cheney visited the recuperating Senator Helms who has just moved back "home" to finish recovering from his very major heart surgery. That explains why I40 was shut down longer than I thought it would be - given the VP's visit to the fundraiser was very short.
Both Senator Helms and VP Cheney - top notch people. How blessed we have been and are by their service to this country!
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