PHILADELPHIA–The selection of Dick Cheney as George W. Bush's running mate was supposed to have a calming effect. Cheney, who arrived in town on Sunday–days ahead of the top of the ticket–was supposed to calm fears about Bush's lack of experience in foreign affairs, in dealing with Congress, and in managing the White House. Instead, Bush and his campaign have had to spend a great deal of time calming fears about Cheney, even among some in their own party. Contrary to what his voting record in Congress might seem to suggest, the Bush forces assure us that Cheney did not want Nelson Mandela to rot in jail for the rest of his life, does not think cop-killer bullets are a swell idea, and does think that if you are going to buy a plastic handgun you should not be an assassin.

A few weeks before Cheney's selection, I was in Austin talking to Bush's top aides and they all said the same thing about what Bush wanted in a vice president.

"The governor does not care if he comes from a big state, because vice presidents don't usually attract many votes even in their home state," one aide said. "And he does not have to provide ideological balance. But this will be seen as Gov. Bush's first presidential decision and all he has to do is look presidential in making it."

But if this was Bush's first presidential decision and if we are supposed to judge his presidential acumen by it, we have a right to ask how much care he took in making it.

A good clue was provided by New Jersey Gov. Christie Todd Whitman, who, in a meeting with U.S. News staff members on Sunday, said, "When Gov. Bush called me and told me it was Cheney, I mentioned his legislative record and Bush said, 'You know, I really wasn't looking that closely at it.' "

He was picking a vice president, the person–from Day 1!–who is ready to become president and the person who is supposed to make Bush look presidential, but Bush "wasn't looking that closely" at how Cheney had voted?

What? The Rangers were on TV that day?

Not that Whitman thinks Cheney was a bad choice. Au contraire.

Whitman said the selection of Cheney was Bush's way of saying, "I know I need some help" and Cheney "can get my agenda moving right away."

"I've known Cheney for 30 years," Whitman said. "I've always known him as balanced. [In Congress] he could work both sides of the aisle. Do I share all his beliefs? Of course not."

Whitman does say she is a big, big fan of Cheney, even though she also says, "He's got to explain these votes"–he still hasn't explained several of the most controversial. She added, "I think we were all surprised what came out on the voting record."

But why were we surprised? Wasn't Cheney vetted?

Well, that was the problem. Cheney was the vetter and couldn't vet himself, and so Bush says he vetted the guy personally.

When I asked a top Republican operative and Bush supporter who really vetted Cheney, he sighed and said, "Obviously, no one."

Sounds presidential to me.