The Man Behind The Curtain
Dick Cheney is the most powerful vice president in history. Is that good?
While at his $3 million home at Teton Pines, a gated golf community, the vice president and his wife, Lynne (former chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities), have massages to relax, go for walks with their two Labrador retrievers, and dine with their daughters and granddaughters, who visit often. The vice president sometimes runs errands into Jackson and likes to stop at the Jack Dennis Outdoor Sports shop to stock up on flies and chat with customers.
When making appearances outside Washington, Cheney presents a hard-line view of the world. His visit to Dallas on September 5 appeared to be typical. Delivering his address to GOP donors in a monotone, he praised Bush for pressing ahead on a conservative agenda that included massive tax cuts, and he gave a detailed defense of the administration's war on terrorism. When he was done, he took no questions, acknowledging the applause from the well-heeled crowd. Then he smiled, waved, and disappeared offstage.
Where's the veep?
Dick Cheney's staff often keeps his whereabouts secret, citing security concerns; aides sometimes say that he is at an "undisclosed, secure location." But Cheney has also been active on the political front, raising money for Republicans and cultivating the party's conservative base.
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1 September 5: Fundraisers in Huntsville, Ala., and Dallas.
2 September 8: Fundraisers in Roanoke, Va., and Cincinnati.
3 September 11: Appearance in New York City marking the two-year anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
4 September 12: Fundraisers in Charlotte, N.C., and Raleigh, N.C.
5 September 14: Appeared on Meet the Press to defend the administration's Iraq policy.
6 September 15: Fundraiser in Charleston, W.Va.
7 September 17: Speech in Washington, D.C., to the convention of the Air Force Association.
8 September 22: Fundraising luncheon in Hartford, Conn.
9 September 23: Fundraising reception in Manchester, N.H.
10 September 29: Fundraising luncheon in Memphis.
11 October 3: Fundraisers in Malvern, Pa., and Des Moines.
Cheney's Loyal Acolytes
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. "Rummy" (right, above) was Cheney's mentor a generation ago as President Gerald Ford's White House chief of staff. Cheney succeeded him in that job, and they have remained close. Today, they form the nucleus of the unilateralist forces that persuaded Bush to adopt the doctrine of pre-emptive war.
Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz. A prominent neoconservative and key intellectual ally of both Cheney and Rumsfeld, especially on Iraq. He served as under secretary of defense for policy under Cheney from 1989-93.
White House Deputy National Security Advisor Steve Hadley. Another aide to Cheney when he was at Defense, Hadley pushes the vice president's ideas within the National Security Council. Winning points for loyalty, he accepted responsibility for Bush's dubious claim in his State of the Union address that Iraq was trying to buy uranium from Africa. Hadley said he forgot the CIA had expressed doubts.
Vice presidential chief of staff Lewis "Scooter" Libby. He's the vice president's eyes and ears at the White House; he meets with Cheney daily. Libby shares the vice president's ideology and some of his avocations, like fishing and skiing.
Richard Perle. A member of the Defense Policy Board that advises the Pentagon, Perle was a strong voice supporting the war against Iraq. Perle was assistant secretary of defense for international security policy from 1981-87. -Kenneth T. Walsh
With Kevin Whitelaw, Angie C. Marek and Jim Stanford
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