History > 2007 > USA > Politics > White House

Vice-President Dick Cheney (II)

Patrick O'Connor

Los Angeles Daily News        Cagle        14 December 2007

L to R :

President George W. Bush,

Vice-President Dick Cheney

Steve Sack

Minnesota        The Minneapolis Star-Tribune        Cagle

29 October 2007

Cheney lauds Iraq war vets

11 November 2007
USA Today

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — Vice President Cheney paid tribute Sunday to veterans of the Iraq war, honoring them for keeping the United States democratic and free and hoping "they will return in victory."

In a 10-minute Veterans Day speech at Arlington National Cemetery, Cheney said soldiers from World War I to "the current fight against terrorism" have served their country valiantly and "above all they kept us free at the land we call home."

"Free to live as we see fit, free to work, worship, speak our minds, to choose our own leaders," the vice president said. "May the rest of us never take them for granted."

Hundreds of people of braved the crisp November weather to witness Cheney's tribute and they cheered when the vice president offered "personal regards from commander in chief President George W. Bush."

The crowds at the Tomb of the Unknowns, where Cheney laid a wreath, and the nearby the Memorial Amphitheater included children dressed in military fatigues and motorcyclists in leather jackets.

Cheney quoted Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, in saying troops there are fighting in a complex and challenging situation, and praised them for a "magnificent job."

"Our conduct of our military today and throughout our nation's history makes this country very proud," Cheney said. "It is our prayer they will return in victory, safely home, to live out their lives and be here to observe many Veterans Days to come."

Earlier, Cheney placed a wreath on the tomb, pausing to straighten the ribbons on the front. The Army band played the national anthem and a bugler played taps.

President Bush, who spent the weekend at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, planned to visit an American Legion post in nearby Waco and make remarks Sunday afternoon.

Cheney lauds Iraq war vets, UT, 11.11.2007, http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-11-11-cheneyveterans_N.htm

Cheney:

Being Darth Vader Not So Bad

November 1, 2007
Filed at 5:23 a.m. ET
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The New York Times

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The joke's on Vice President Dick Cheney. Apparently, around the White House, they're OK with that. As he launched into a health-care speech Wednesday, President Bush warmed up his audience with a nod to Halloween, at Cheney's expense.

''This morning I was with the vice president,'' Bush told a gathering of grocery manufacturers. ''I was asking him what costume he was planning. He said, 'Well, I'm already wearing it.' Then he mumbled something about the dark side of the force.''

Ah yes, that old Darth Vader line. Used to be that only Cheney's critics called him that, not his boss. Or his wife. Or Cheney himself.

''Most of you knew me long before anyone called me Darth Vader,'' Cheney said in a speech at The Washington Institute last week. ''I've been asked if that nickname bothers me, and the answer is, no. After all, Darth Vader is one of the nicer things I've been called recently.''

Darth Vader is the heavy-breathing villain of the Star Wars movies -- a reference to Cheney's terse manner and sometimes gloomy view of world affairs.

Cheney's wife, Lynne, went even further in her appearance on ''The Daily Show'' earlier in October. She showed up with a Darth Vader doll.

''It's a special present for you,'' she told the show's host, Jon Stewart, who has been known to skewer the vice president. ''It's an old family heirloom.''

That's three times this month that the White House has embraced the label.

So what is this? Some Jedi mind trick?

Cheney's spokeswoman, Lea Anne McBride, said the vice president has always had a good sense of humor. He's made his share of self-deprecating references to his Darth Vader reputation over the years. It just so happens that they seem to be piling up during this season of ghoulish costumes.

It is also hunting season, another time when Cheney takes a ribbing. He made headlines this week just for going hunting at a secluded Hudson Valley gun club in New York. The outing inevitably evoked memories of 2006, when Cheney accidentally shot his friend while quail hunting.

Asked why Cheney seems fine with the Darth Vader tag, McBride said: ''If it brings some levity to politics, he's fine being the target.''

Clearly.

At the vice president's home at the Naval Observatory, his staff put both of the Cheneys' dogs in Halloween costumes on Wednesday, just for fun and family photos. The yellow lab got to be Superman. The black lab? Darth Vader.

Cheney: Being Darth Vader Not So Bad, NYT, 1.11.2007, http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Cheney-Darth-Vader.html