Vice President Dick Cheney has been referred to as the most powerful vice president in American history. Yet today, he is mired with an embarrassingly low approval rating of 18 percent, providing constant fodder for late night comedians and is rapidly losing credibility among both politicos and average Americans.
It is obvious that the time has come for the vice president and his staff to take seriously his sinking approval rating, and give the public a more accurate image of the real Dick Cheney.
For the GOP, Cheney needs to raise his approval rating because it makes the administration stronger generally, improves relations on Capitol Hill and helps Republican candidates across the country — all keys to success in the last 1,000 days of Bush’s presidency.
Cheney’s unpopularity and seeming indifferent attitude toward public opinion is surprising. On a personal level, with the staff and reporters he regularly interacted with during the 2004 campaign, Cheney came across as an extremely knowledgeable, charming, friendly and compelling individual. On more than one occasion, reporters said to me that they always knew Cheney was intelligent, but after personal interaction in off-the-record and background sessions, found him to be much more personable and humorous than they would have guessed.
For many reporters, who never interacted with Cheney, these sessions put him in a positive light and allowing him to break through the false characterization painted by his opponents that had shaped these writers’ minds. The fact is the characterizations promoted by Democrats could not be further from the truth.
On the stump, I never saw Cheney disappoint a crowd, this while traveling with him to more than 30 states, practically nonstop from April 2004 through the election in November.
Whether on a bus trip through southwestern Michigan, at the Little League World Series in Pennsylvania, Kopp’s Frozen Custard in Milwaukee or a midnight rally in Hawaii, Cheney never failed to bring the house to their feet with cheers and send them home with a smile as a result of his quick wit, dry sense of humor and ability to effectively frame the campaign’s message.
In order to bring back to view the Cheney that was a major asset to the public image and success of President Bush’s presidency from 2000 through 2004, the vice president and his staff need to immediately adopt four principles.
» First, humanize Cheney by showing him enjoying himself and with his grandchildren, daughters and wife. A story describing Cheney’s iPod, love of Civil War history, fishing or showing him with his family relaxing at their homes in Maryland or Wyoming are the kinds of interesting images that the public needs to see and hear about. Since 2004, the personal side of the vice president has been totally blocked from the public.
» Second, court local and regional media while traveling. Last week, Cheney stopped in Indianapolis to raise money for the Republican National Committee. The accompanying Indianapolis Star headline was “Cheney drops in, flies out.” With minimal effort, Cheney could have held a roundtable with local reporters, visited a business to highlight economic growth in the region, or gone to a school to discuss education — thereby generating a headline that would be helpful to the administration.
» Third, regularly engage the national media. I am not suggesting Cheney rush off and do a sit down with the New York Times or Los Angeles Times, but he should engage wire services and other fair outlets making the case for the conservative agenda, Republicans in the midterm elections and why the decision to invade Iraq was the right thing to do. Cheney is a compelling advocate and spokesman andhe should not shy away from this role.
» Fourth, above all else, even if his staff ignores the first three suggestions, get out of the undisclosed location. Cheney keeps such a low profile, it is easy for the false characterizations from his opponents to take hold. The last time we saw the vice president, he was talking to Brit Hume and Bob Schieffer about his hunting accident, unless you count when he was loudly booed at the Washington Nationals season opener.
Friends of Cheney and other Bush loyalists have bragged about how he doesn’t care about his approval rating or what the press thinks of him. The fact is he needs to care.
If for no other reason, an engaged and visible Dick Cheney improves his historical standing, and a man with his lifetime commitment to public service deserves better than 18 percent of the American public approving his job performance.
Randy DeCleene served as Vice President Cheney’s deputy press secretary from Feb. 2004 until March 2005.
