Both Campaigns Train the Spotlight on Cheney
WASHINGTON — Vice President Dick Cheney is the master of the monotone speech and a man who relishes his backstage role at the White House. But Republican strategists are suddenly pushing the consummate inside guy into a more prominent role in the closely fought presidential campaign.
And oddly, both Democrats and Republicans are happy about it.
Republicans are putting a spotlight on Cheney to shore up support with the party's conservative base.
Democrats have their own focus on him -- trying to draw attention to his ties to contractor Halliburton Co., his role in building the case for war with Iraq and his recent use of a vulgarity on the Senate floor.
The strategy is a gamble for both sides.
Cheney, for instance, is being dispatched this weekend on a two-day bus tour through Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania -- an unusual assignment in these battleground states for someone who acknowledges that he is less comfortable with the flash of retail politics than with "solid, serious conversation."
"I can't even form a mental picture of Dick Cheney on a bus," said Michael Nelson, a political scientist at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn., who has written a book on the vice presidency.
"This could be a test to see whether Cheney out there campaigning helps the president or helps the Democrats," Nelson added. "The kind of response he gets on this trip could offer some real evidence about how viable he is on the ticket this time."
Cheney, a former congressman and Defense secretary, was hailed four years ago as a senior statesman who could balance then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush's lack of Washington experience. But polls suggest that he has since become a polarizing force, at least among those with an opinion about him.
A CBS News/New York Times survey published this week found that 22% of registered voters had a favorable impression of Cheney, compared with 31% who had an unfavorable impression.
As most politicians are at sporting events, the vice president was greeted with a chorus of boos Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium, where he met team owners and players, when his picture was displayed on the big stadium screens.
To Democrats, this is fertile ground, a chance to cast Cheney in the role of one of their former favorite antagonists.
"In the absence of Newt Gingrich, there's Dick Cheney," said Jano Cabrera, spokesman for the Democratic National Committee, referring to the former House speaker from Georgia who helped spearhead the impeachment of President Clinton.
