The Cheney Factor
Editorial
The New York Times
August 13, 2002
As President Bush and his economic team interrupt their vacations today
to gather in Texas for an economic conference, Vice President
Dick Cheney may have trouble playing his customary role as elder statesman
The problem is not primarily Mr. Cheney's weak heart,
though that has impeded him, or his disappearances to unidentified secure locations,
which have been the subject of much mirth on
late-night television shows. Mr. Cheney's big problem is that he's
associated with a company,
Halliburton, that is under investigation for
possibly improper accounting practices. That makes him less than the ideal
front man for an administration trying to restore confidence in a
sputtering economy spooked by corporate malfeasance.
Mr. Cheney has rationed his public appearances of late, showing up mostly
at lobbying sessions on Capitol Hill or Republican fund-raisers.
When he takes questions from the public on Iraq or Halliburton,
the troubled energy services company he once headed, Mr. Cheney demurs.
He may be an insider asset to Mr. Bush, but outside his value is tipping from positive to negative.
On the economic issues to be discussed today, Mr. Cheney brings
formidable experience and expertise. He served as President Gerald Ford's
chief of staff, working closely with two other staffers who, like him,
went to positions of greater prominence: Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill
and Alan Greenspan, the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. Before
the wave of corporate scandals, Mr. Cheney might have been the
reassuring figure the markets are looking for in this administration.
But he has been severely hampered in recent weeks by a reticence to
talk about his own record at Halliburton. Last week at the Commonwealth
Club in San Francisco, he blandly referred questions about the
S.E.C. investigation to the company's Web site - hardly
the forthright discussion the public deserves.
Mr. Cheney says his service as vice president is the most rewarding experience
of his professional life and he would be happy to run for a
second term if Mr. Bush wishes. But Mr. Cheney does not serve
Mr. Bush well by dodging questions about Halliburton, or repeatedly
declining to identify the people who were consulted by his energy
task force last year. At a moment when Americans are looking to the
government to help remedy the nation's economic ills, Mr. Cheney
looks more like part of the problem than the solution.
Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company
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