Former Vice President Dick Cheney died at 84 after a storied career that included 9/11 and the War on Terror.
Former Vice President Dick Cheney was eulogized on Tuesday by his running mate, former President George W. Bush, as a “calm and steady presence” and “among the finest public servants of his generation.”
Cheney built long lists of both admirers and adversaries during his years in politics, a career that went from him growling at reporters to stop calling him a “moderate” to endorsing Kamala Harris over Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
The on Tuesday remembered Cheney peevishly telling an aide to “call the Post and tell them I’m a conservative” after the paper described him as a “moderate” during his days as a congressman from Wyoming. Cheney, and later his daughter Liz, have been very insistent upon describing themselves as the metaphysical center of conservatism.
“Calm” is the word most often associated with Cheney after his death on Tuesday at age 84, but once upon a time, another word was branded upon him by the media with comical fervor: “gravitas.” The media narrative of Cheney’s ascent to the vice presidency was that he supposedly added “gravitas” to a ticket headed by the boyish and goofy George W. Bush.
“Mr. Cheney’s most obvious asset as a running mate is that he could provide an instant gravitas injection for a ticket headed by Governor Bush. Given Mr. Cheney’s role in running the gulf war, his presence would shore up Mr. Bush in his weakest areas, foreign policy and national security,” the New York Times said in 2000, setting the tone for media coverage of Cheney’s role in the Bush campaign.
Another label the Left liked to slap on Cheney was “evil.” His redemption in the eyes of the Left for claiming “there has never been an individual who was a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump” and calling Trump a “coward” in a political ad for his daughter, Rep.
