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Change Your Life! |
Dick Cheney may run with Bush |
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News
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July 23, 2000
WASHINGTON (AP) - Turning to a respected Washington insider in the final days of his search, U.S. presidential candidate George W. Bush is seriously considering former Defense Secretary Dick Cheney as his running mate, two highly placed Republican Party officials say. Cheney, the head of Bush's vice presidential search team, changed his voter registration Friday from Texas to Wyoming to ensure he is eligible for the job if the governor decides to offer it, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity. One said he is the leading contender. Bush said he has not made his decision but will do so this weekend, promising to ponder "long and hard" in the privacy of his Texas ranch. "The days of speculation are over," Bush said, and aides indicated an announcement could come as early as next week, just days before the July 31 opening of the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia. The emergence of Cheney, who also has served as a House of Representatives member and White House chief of staff, serves to shift focus away from a campaign by at least 60 House lawmakers to get Arizona Senator John McCain on the ticket. Bush advisers say he has shown no inclination toward selecting his former rival, and the lobbying effort is viewed as an unwelcome distraction at Bush's headquarters in Austin, Texas. Others who have figured prominently in the speculation include Gov. Frank Keating of Oklahoma, Gov. Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania and Gov. George Pataki of New York; Representative John Kasich of Ohio and senators Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Fred Thompson and Bill Frist, both of Tennessee. A respected public figure with a long record of service, Cheney would be a low-risk choice, something Bush signaled this week he wants. At 59, he is just five years older than Bush but would bring a range of experience and stature lacking in the presumptive nominee. Bush has tried to close the gravitas gap with Vice President Al Gore, his Democratic Party rival, by suggesting that Washington veterans such as retired Gen. Colin Powell and McCain may be part of his administration. One of the sources called Cheney the leading candidate, saying Bush was very close to settling on the man who once served under Bush's father, former President George Bush. A second official, also familiar with the selection process, cautioned that Bush normally doesn't rank his personnel choices in terms of front-runners and leading candidates. Both sources said Bush could still turn elsewhere, noting that he has kept his own counsel. The officials made the disclosure after confirming that Cheney, a Texas businessman, switched his voter registration to Wyoming. "Today was the last day for him to register to vote in Wyoming so he could be a viable candidate for the governor's consideration," one official said. Cheney wanted to avoid conflict with language in the 12th Amendment to the Constitution that forbids Electoral College members in Texas from voting for both the president and vice president who are "inhabitants" of their state. Cheney, who has a history of heart trouble, would be a surprise pick. He suggested weeks ago that he would not be a candidate, after accepting the job of reviewing the backgrounds of potential candidates and helping Bush narrow his list. Cheney worked in the Office of Economic Opportunity, the Cost of Living Council and the White House in the 1970s, serving as President Gerald Ford's chief of staff. He served six terms in Congress from Wyoming before going to the Pentagon under President Bush, where he was a key strategist in the Persian Gulf War.
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