A Cheney Link to St. Louis

Published the week of July 26-August 1, 2000

Comments (0) By Ray Hartmann Wednesday, Jul 26 2000

...continued from page 1

All the while, though, Cheney has maintained the same benign persona that endeared him to the Washington press corps when he was a young chief of staff to President Gerald Ford, the last Republican president to embrace the term "moderate." He doesn't "look" like a far-right-winger.

Cheney did, however, vote like one in Congress. So he represents the best of both worlds to Bush: He carries himself like a traditional, pro-business Republican, but he has taken great care to pay homage to the Religious Right.

Ray Hartmann

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Besides, he clearly looks and acts like a grownup. One can't imagine him at one of W's rowdy frat parties. They probably won't even bother asking about former drug use.

Cheney doesn't help Bush with his electoral geography, but he might help teach him geography, at least. And having had his charisma removed at a young age, he will certainly not overshadow the underwhelming guy on the top of the ticket.

There you have it: a bland and uninspiring guy, but one with no particular negatives. Presumably that's why Dick Cheney is seen as a good veep choice for Bush.

But that's not going to put any food on those 5,600 tables in St. Louis, is it now?