Is that true? Or could it be that Cheney didn't care about economic or social or domestic issues and would have compromised on them the way that his mentors, Gerald Ford and GHW Bush did?
I don't know the answer, but it's certainly possible that people err in their assessment of what Cheney's views and priorities are. Isn't it often the case that politicians who give priority to foreign policy let other matters slide?
He wouldn't have won in any case, and the election wouldn't have been a referendum on conservatism. Other matters would decide the results. First, the economy. Second, Cheney's health. Third, his personality and unpopularity.
I'm a Cheney fan, turning into a one-man Cheney Campaign, but your point is well taken. Cheney is outspoken and clear-minded on matters of foreign policy and the broad-strokes of economic policy. He is probably every bit as squishy as Bush on social issues if not a little more so. He might very well make the Bush mistake of giving away the farm domestically in order to get a blank check internationally.
On foreign policy he would probably be the best we could ask for, and he probably has a better understanding than most on matters involving energy policy. He's not perfect, I remember him lobbying to get American companies into Saddam's Iraq during the nineties, although I understood his reasoning. He might easily have the now traditional fondness for the Saudis that seems endemic in Washington's establishment. And I'm sure he's not nearly as socially conservative as I am.