24Jan04-AP-Cheney Takes Issue With O'Neill's Book
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: January 24, 2004
Filed at 3:20 p.m. ET
DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) -- Dick Cheney said Saturday that ``deficits do matter,'' taking issue with the claim by former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill that the vice president said shortfalls were not critical to U.S. economic stability.
``I believe deficits do matter,'' Cheney said during a question-and-answer session that followed his speech at the World Economic Forum.
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``They matter in the long run. You do have to worry about them.''
Cheney said O'Neill did not support the tax cuts that he and President Bush favored.
Cheney said the Bush administration believes the deficit, recently forecast to reach $500 billion this year, is manageable. While the deficit is large, it is not that large from a historic standpoint as a percentage of the gross domestic product, he said.
He said the administration's long-term goal is to return to a balanced budget, though not immediately if that would mean jeopardizing funds for current military operations, for example.
``We think we've got it calibrated right and I wouldn't believe everything I believe in Paul O'Neill's book,'' Cheney joked.
In the book, ``The Price of Loyalty'' by journalist Ron Suskind, O'Neill reveals what he says are the inner workings of the Bush White House.
O'Neill, who was fired by Bush, depicts an administration where Cheney and the political team won most arguments. O'Neill cited issues such as imposing steel tariffs to protect the domestic industry, rejecting a global warming treaty and deciding to go for a third round of tax cuts despite the growing federal deficit.
Cheney said Bush took his advice to name O'Neill as treasury chief.
``I guess the way you could look at that whole exercise is that I'm not the best personnel officer in the world,'' he joked.
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