MESA, Ariz. — The vice president's low-pitched voice carries poorly through the hangar. Even with a public address system, the 400 veterans gathered at a vintage aircraft museum outside Phoenix must listen carefully to catch Dick Cheney's words.
"In our servicemen and -women, the United States," he begins, then pauses. He mumbles an "excuse me" and starts over: "In our servicemen and -women, the world is seeing the best qualities of the United States, and we are proud of every single one of them."
The audience sits patiently while he corrects the line. They did not show up expecting a smooth, TV-ready performance.
Cheney reads his remarks with the steady intonation of a priest. His audiences tend to applaud from their seats, not stand up and cheer. He does not have blow-dried good looks or a Colgate smile; on the contrary, he has a pinkish pate and a crooked grin.
And yet, it would be hard to overstate Cheney's appeal to the Republican rank and file.
In crowds like this -- friendly, pro-military -- his charm arises precisely from his unadorned style, which enhances the sense that he's leveling with his audience.
Now, as the presidential campaign moves into high gear, the White House is preparing to make new use of this unusual weapon: the anticharisma of Dick Cheney. Largely a behind-the-scenes power player, Cheney is emerging to take on an increasingly public role -- partly as emissary to the party's conservative base and partly to argue before a wider audience that the Bush administration has the wisdom and experience to navigate an increasingly dangerous world.
In the last week, Cheney undertook a four-day swing through the West, making speeches and raising money in Los Angeles and other cities. Next week he is heading to Europe to mend fences with allies at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and to have an audience with the pope in Rome.
On Thursday, Cheney sat for a formal interview with the Los Angeles Times and USA Today, his first with a national newspaper in nearly two years.
He said his lack of political flair is part of his message.
"I do [campaigning] differently than anybody else, I suppose, than maybe the normal candidate," Cheney said in a Century City hotel suite, a cup of Starbucks coffee balanced on his knee. "I grew up in Wyoming, and in Wyoming you campaign sort of one vote at a time. They don't like a lot of flash. Solid, serious conversation is sort of what I'm about, anyway."
