Former Vice President Dick Cheney made a surprise appearance this afternoon at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference gathering in Washington after a speech by his daughter, Liz Cheney. And a surprise proclamation.
He was greeted by cheers and chants of "Run, Cheney, Run!"
To which Cheney responded: "A welcome like that almost makes me want to run for office -- but I am not going to do it."Former Republican vice president Dick Cheney greets the crowd briefly at CPAC meeting Washington 2-18-10
The former representative, White House chief of staff, secretary of Defense and VP then stopped by the hall to chat with an old friend of his and The Ticket's, Scott Hennen, probably the Heartland's most prominent conservative talk-show radio host.
Cheney talked about his continuing concerns over the Obama administration's treatment of the man accused in the alleged Christmas Day bomb plot as a criminal case, not as part of a larger war on terror.
Cheney questioned the integrity of the Justice Department under the Democratic administration, especially its pursuit of investigations against CIA officials and attorneys from the previous administration.
Cheney repeated his support for the military strategy in Afghanistan outlined by Obama, who was off in Colorado today fundraising for embattled Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet.
And the Wyoming Republican even slipped in a plug for his daughter's website, KeepAmericaSafe.com. (Which has just posted a video of her CPAC speech, btw.)
Of special interest to politics fans awaiting the former VP's 2011 memoirs were Cheney's particularly outspoken responses to Hennen's questions about the nation's political situation in 2010.
This is the first midterm election year since Obama took office, historically a time when a new president's party suffers some membership losses on Capitol Hill.
Here are two Dick Cheney excerpts:
I think it is a combination of things. I think he totally misread the results of the last election.
He really believed he had some kind of a mandate to take the country in a radical direction...healthcare policy, cap and trade, economic policies, size of the government, the counter terrorism policy, and I think he’s been proven wrong on virtually every point.
We’re beginning to see the ramification of that now, and things like the Massachusetts election where Republicans captured that seat for the first time in 50 years, or what happened in Virginia and New Jersey. I think the year of 2010 is going to be a great year in congressional races, and I think President Obama is going to be a one-term president.
Another Dick Cheney excerpt:
I think 2010 is going to be a great year for Republicans. I was struck by the fact that Sen. Brown (who talked on election night in Massachusetts about his special election), that terrorism was on the top of the list of issues that he felt had been responsible for his victory in Massachusetts.
I think things are going to be very good this year, and for those of us in conservative causes, we need to get out there and do everything we can -- work hard. Lot of great candidates; we’ve got a lot of Democrats that I think are deciding not to run, like Sen. Bayh in Indiana.
He was greeted by cheers and chants of "Run, Cheney, Run!"
To which Cheney responded: "A welcome like that almost makes me want to run for office -- but I am not going to do it."Former Republican vice president Dick Cheney greets the crowd briefly at CPAC meeting Washington 2-18-10
The former representative, White House chief of staff, secretary of Defense and VP then stopped by the hall to chat with an old friend of his and The Ticket's, Scott Hennen, probably the Heartland's most prominent conservative talk-show radio host.
Cheney talked about his continuing concerns over the Obama administration's treatment of the man accused in the alleged Christmas Day bomb plot as a criminal case, not as part of a larger war on terror.
Cheney questioned the integrity of the Justice Department under the Democratic administration, especially its pursuit of investigations against CIA officials and attorneys from the previous administration.
Cheney repeated his support for the military strategy in Afghanistan outlined by Obama, who was off in Colorado today fundraising for embattled Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet.
And the Wyoming Republican even slipped in a plug for his daughter's website, KeepAmericaSafe.com. (Which has just posted a video of her CPAC speech, btw.)
Of special interest to politics fans awaiting the former VP's 2011 memoirs were Cheney's particularly outspoken responses to Hennen's questions about the nation's political situation in 2010.
This is the first midterm election year since Obama took office, historically a time when a new president's party suffers some membership losses on Capitol Hill.
Here are two Dick Cheney excerpts:
I think it is a combination of things. I think he totally misread the results of the last election.
He really believed he had some kind of a mandate to take the country in a radical direction...healthcare policy, cap and trade, economic policies, size of the government, the counter terrorism policy, and I think he’s been proven wrong on virtually every point.
We’re beginning to see the ramification of that now, and things like the Massachusetts election where Republicans captured that seat for the first time in 50 years, or what happened in Virginia and New Jersey. I think the year of 2010 is going to be a great year in congressional races, and I think President Obama is going to be a one-term president.
Another Dick Cheney excerpt:
I think 2010 is going to be a great year for Republicans. I was struck by the fact that Sen. Brown (who talked on election night in Massachusetts about his special election), that terrorism was on the top of the list of issues that he felt had been responsible for his victory in Massachusetts.
I think things are going to be very good this year, and for those of us in conservative causes, we need to get out there and do everything we can -- work hard. Lot of great candidates; we’ve got a lot of Democrats that I think are deciding not to run, like Sen. Bayh in Indiana.
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