Vice President Dick Cheney is
widely considered to be the
most powerful vice president
in American history. He was a
key architect on the war on
terror and the Iraq war and --
according to recent news
reports -- has played a
significant role in shaping
domestic policy.As President
Bush's vice president, Dick
Cheney has broug
more

Vice President Dick Cheney is
widely considered to be the
most powerful vice president
in American history. He was a
key architect on the war on
terror and the Iraq war and --
according to recent news
reports -- has played a
significant role in shaping
domestic policy.As President
Bush's vice president, Dick
Cheney has brought a wealth of
experience to the job. A
former White House chief of
staff, a former congressman,
and defense secretary under
the first President Bush,
Cheney knows how Washington
works. And this may be why,
when he ran for president in
2000, Mr. Bush chose Cheney to
be his running mate. The
American Constitution assigns
no specific role for the vice
president, except to preside
over the Senate and cast a
vote when there is a tie.
Past vice presidents have
tended to travel a lot,
representing the president
overseas. But Cheney is
especially influential and
powerful. A recent series in
The Washington Post newspaper
described the extent of his
power. The Washington Post
articles also described
Cheney's impact on domestic
issues, including intervening
in a dispute over water use in
Oregon that led to the deaths
of tens of thousands of
salmon.The personal
relationship between President
Bush and his vice president is
unknown. But White House
spokeswoman Dana Perino
recently described it this
way: 'I think that the
president thinks of the vice
president as a very close and
trusted advisor -- somebody
who has nothing but the
country's best interests at
heart.'But the Post series and
a widely-publicized attempt by
Cheney to ignore an executive
order on handling classified
information have prompted
criticism. His reputation
also suffered following the
conviction of his top aide,
Lewis 'Scooter' Libby on
perjury charges in the CIA
leak case. But as long as he
retains the trust of the
president, Dick Cheney seems
likely to continue to work the
levers of power in Washington.

Category News & Politics

Tags Vice, President, Dick, Cheney, politics, history, Iraq, war