Bush, Cheney officially debut the full 2000 Republican presidential ticket

Vice presidential finalists express strong support for Bush's choice

By Ian Christopher McCaleb/CNN

AUSTIN, Texas (CNN) -- Texas Gov. George W. Bush, in his first public appearance with former defense secretary and newly minted running mate Dick Cheney, said Tuesday that the completion of the Republican ticket provided the party with "an outstanding individual capable of serving as president of the United States."

Lynne and Dick Cheney, left, embrace with George W. and Laura Bush, right, after Gov. Bush introduced Dick Cheney as his running mate.

Bush's Tuesday afternoon declaration brought his earlier insistence that his top criteria for a running mate -- an ability for a vice presidential candidate to "get along" with the GOP nominee, and a capability to assume the mantle of the presidency in the event of a catastrophe -- full circle.

Bush first vocalized those items on his vice presidential wish list three months ago, when his deliberations were initiated. And in the end, he intimated on Tuesday, he chose a partner who he believed would fulfill those principles. That partner, he said, had been working under his nose the whole time.

Gesturing toward Cheney before an excited crowd of onlookers and a national television audience, Bush said, "I'm proud to call him my friend, and honored to call him my running mate."

Ironically, Cheney was the man Bush had tapped to lead his vice presidential search efforts. After three months of deliberations and "vetting" of potential candidates, Bush has chosen a trusted family adviser with whom he has already forged a close working relationship.

"I believe you are looking at the next vice president of the United States," Bush said Tuesday afternoon, as he and Cheney appeared side by side with their wives. "The person most qualified to be the vice president has been working by my side," Bush added of Cheney.

"I am proud to announce that Dick Cheney, a man of great integrity, sound judgement and experience, is my choice to be the next vice president of the United States," a beaming Bush said.

Cheney agreed to Bush's offer to run for the vice presidency early on Tuesday, then flew from Dallas to Austin to meet up with the governor.

"I am honored and to join your team," Cheney said after Bush completed his brief but enthusiastic remarks. "Governor," Cheney continued, "I believe you have the vision and the courage to be a great president, and I want to do absolutely everything I can to make sure that happens."

Cheney characterized Bush as "a leader with consistency and conviction," and immediately adopted one of the Bush campaign's most employed phrases, saying Bush's brand of "compassionate conservatism has worked in the great state of Texas with tremendous results."

"I look forward to working with you, governor, to change the tone in Washington. It's time for America's leaders to stop pointing the finger of blame, and begin sharing the credit."

"Big changes are coming to Washington, and I want to be a part of it," Cheney continued. "We have a tough race ahead of us, but I look forward to this campaign, and I am absolutely confident we will prevail."

The 59-year-old Cheney served as a Wyoming congressman and chief of staff to President Gerald Ford before becoming defense secretary to former President George Bush in 1989. He led the Defense Department during the 1991 Persian Gulf war, and had a collegial reputation among Republicans and Democrats alike in the House, as well as a solidly conservative voting record.

The full GOP presidential ticket for the 2000 election year was introduced at a rally in the Texas state capital, Austin, on Tuesday afternoon. The event, held at a University of Texas meeting hall, was designed as a boisterous kick-off to a dual campaign that will get underway in earnest on Wednesday, with an appearance by both in Cheney's home state of Wyoming.

According to campaign sources, Bush placed a telephone call to Cheney at 6:22 a.m. EDT, and Cheney quickly responded that he would accept the Texas governor's invitation. Bush then began a series of telephone calls to those one-time vice presidential possibilities said to be on his so-called short list, with Sens. Bill Frist of Tennessee and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska confirming to CNN early on in the day that they had received courtesy calls.

Frist said he was informed that Cheney was indeed Bush's choice, and said Bush thanked him for participating in the process.

"He has experience very few people in the United States have," Frist said upon learning of Cheney's good fortune. Cheney, Frist continued, has extensive experience "in the Oval Office as a chief of staff" and in the private sector -- "something very rare in politics today, in public service today."

The full GOP presidential ticket for the 2000 election year was introduced at a rally in the Texas state capital, Austin, on Tuesday.

Cheney and his wife Lynne, after flying from Dallas to Austin on Tuesday morning, met Bush and his wife Laura at the governor's mansion for lunch. The foursome waved to photographers before retiring to the mansion, Bush's hand secured on Cheney's shoulder.

With their pairing made official, Bush and Cheney planned to depart for a trip to Wyoming on Wednesday morning.

The United States Secret Service announced Tuesday morning that Cheney, as the presumed Republican vice presidential nominee, would immediately qualify for around-the-clock protection.

A leading Bush strategist characterized the selection of Cheney on Tuesday morning as "solid, serious," and said Cheney's addition to the GOP ticket should convey a message of how determined Bush is to build a "staff of experienced adults ready to effectively manage the government and do the people's business in an air of greatly reduced partisanship."

Cheney emerged as the front-runner for the position quite suddenly last Friday, when it was learned that he changed his voter registration from Dallas, where he has served as CEO of the oil field services firm Halliburton Co., back to Wyoming -- which would eliminate a constitutional barrier to his serving as vice president.

Under the Constitution, one party's candidates for the nation's two highest offices may not reside in the same state.

Cheney also reached out to several close friends to discuss the prospect of joining the ticket, Republican sources told CNN into the weekend.

Former Defense Secretary Cheney, right, bills himself as being conservative without being an ideologue.

Bush settled on Cheney after isolating himself on his Crawford, Texas, ranch over the weekend, emerging only to attend the funeral of Sen. Paul Coverdell, R-Georgia, in Atlanta on Saturday.

Interviews with several leading GOP officials and strategists indicated widespread support in the party for a Cheney selection. Former National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft, one of Cheney's colleagues in the Bush administration, called Cheney an "outstanding" candidate. Scowcroft noted Cheney had spent time in both the legislative and executive branches of government, "So he knows both perspectives."

A veteran GOP strategist with experience in several presidential campaigns said the overall reaction within the Republican Party to Cheney was positive.

"There could be a short term problem with the old man," the strategist said, referring to the advocacy of the governor's father, former President George Bush, of his former trusted adviser.

Gov. Bush's top advisers insist that the governor arrived at the choice on his own, but several close advisers to the former president said he has for weeks been talking up Cheney as a prospect and that they were certain he had spoken to his son about it.

"Everything else the governor has done is forward looking -- a new face of the Republican Party, a new bipartisanship; this is backwards looking to a degree," this veteran Republican explained.

Addressing his father's presumed influence, the younger Bush told NBC in an interview broadcast on Tuesday that George the elder acted only as an "observer."

"He knows that only one person can make the decision and that's me. He's a good listener, let me put it that way," Bush said.

Cheney's supporters bill him as a conservative but not an ideologue. A senior Republican said the Bush campaign aggressively reviewed Cheney's voting record in the House of Representatives to look for potential Democratic lines of attack.

In this 1975 photo, President Gerald Ford, left, chats with recently named White House Chief of Staff Dick Cheney outside the White House.

While in the House, Cheney voted against federal funding for abortions; creating the Department of Education; re-funding the Clean Water Act; and requiring industries to publicly release records of toxic emissions. He voted against a seven-day waiting period for handgun purchases, and he opposed bans on armor-piercing bullets and plastic guns that can slip through metal detectors.

"Wyoming is a very conservative state. He was simply voting the convictions of the people back home," said Bob Michel, an Illinois congressman who served as House minority leader during Cheney's tenure.

Republicans say Cheney's record was unlikely to make him vulnerable to Democratic accusations of extremism.

CNN political analyst Stuart Rothenberg said Tuesday morning that while Cheney presents Bush with the advice and counsel of a Washington insider with impeccable defense and foreign policy credentials, he is not the sort of vice presidential choice calculated to give Bush a "boost" at the polls.

Wyoming's participation in the Nov. 7 election after all, will not be that pivotal in determining who wins the presidency. Bush acknowledged as much Tuesday afternoon at the Austin rally, joking, "I did not select Dick Cheney because of Wyoming's three electoral votes, although we will work hard to earn them."

"[Cheney] is a good choice, a solid citizen," Rothenberg said. "But he doesn't do a lot electorally. The question is whether Cheney helps him get [to the White House]. I don't think that is the case."

But many who have watched Bush engage in the selection process argue that he isn't interested in a boost, he's interested in building a strong leadership team.

"[The choice] tells us he expects to be president because Cheney will be ready and able to step right into the job of vice president next January," said John Pitney, a political scientist at Claremont McKenna College in southern California. Pitney worked with Cheney early in his career.

"Cheney is not going to be very dynamic on the campaign trail, although he's very effective on TV talk shows. He comes across best in one-on-one situations," Pitney said.

Others suggested that Cheney's quiet demeanor was Bush's main motivator.

"Bush likes people who keep low profiles," said University of Texas political scientist Bruce Buchanan. "He likes to be the star. He doesn't like competition from within."

CNN's Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider added that Cheney most likely had to be convinced to take the job by the Texas governor, saying that one of Cheney's preconditions to heading Bush's vice presidential search was that he not be among those considered.

"Even a month ago, it was clear that he did not want to be considered," Schneider said. "The governor prevailed on him."

Even Cheney admitted he did not expect to be standing on a podium as Bush's vice presidential selection. Insisting that he wanted only to lead the search effort, Cheney said Tuesday, "I had an experience that changed my mind last spring.

"I heard Gov. Bush talk about his unique vision for our party and for our nation. I saw sincerity as I watched him make decisions, always firm, always fair. In the end, I learned how persuasive he can be."

Though many observers had concluded by early Monday that Cheney was most likely to be Bush's choice, other names played into the mix throughout that day. As the sun rose Tuesday from the East across the West, and early word of Cheney's appointment escaped Dallas and Austin, those whose names were on many observer's lists praised Bush's move.

Colin Powell, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff -- who vigorously denied news reports Monday that he would serve in the party's No. 2 spot -- praised Cheney for his "depth of character."

"He's a good manager and a good leader, and he'll do what the president wants done." Powell said.

In this 1991 photo, Defense Secretary Cheney, left, and Gen. Colin Powell, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, greet airmen at a U.S. air base in Saudi Arabia.

Former Missouri Sen. John Danforth, whose name was again thought to feature prominently on Bush's short-list after he asked to be removed from contention some weeks ago, said Tuesday that Bush called him early in the morning with the news.

Danforth said he told Bush he thought Cheney was a good choice who would bring integrity to the race.

In addition to Danforth, Nebraska's Hagel and Tennessee's Frist, Bush contacted several of the men on his list of contenders in short, courtesy telephone calls, to tell each of them of his decision.

Closing a touchy subplot to the larger Republican presidential contest, Bush called McCain around 9 a.m. EDT, according to a source close to the senator. McCain, who engaged Bush in blistering battle for the Republican nomination early in the primary season, became the object of speculation late last week, when he reportedly told Pennsylvania's Republican Gov. Tom Ridge that he would serve in the Number 2 slot if asked.

McCain denied he was interested in the vice presidency, saying he asked Bush not to be considered when McCain delivered his endorsement of Bush three months ago, and his position was unchanged.

The two former rivals spoke for about a minute on Tuesday in what was described as a "friendly and cordial conversation."

"I congratulated him on his selection," McCain told reporters. "He was very enthusiastic about it, as was I, and I am looking forward to campaigning together right after the conventions."

Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., also received a call from Bush on Tuesday morning telling him of the news. Thompson said he told Bush "Cheney is the right man at the right time."

A spokesman for Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating, once rumored as a leading candidate for the post, said Bush called him at 8:30 a.m. local time and thanked him for his willingness to participate in the process, but said that he was "going with a different balance" on the ticket. In return, Keating told Bush he thought Cheney would be "great for the campaign," the spokesman said.

Bush also called Ridge around 9 a.m., and he called New York Gov. George Pataki, who wished him well and said he thought Cheney was a good choice.

CNN's Dana Bash, Chris Black, Jonathan Karl, John King, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report