Dick Cheney in A Matter of Character

On Corporations: Donates $100,000s from Halliburton, so not compensation

When Cheney said in September 2003 that he had no interest in Halliburton, Senator Tom Daschle asserted Cheney needed to reconcile his statement with the fact that he continued to receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in deferred compensation from his former employer. In response, Cheney’s office said the vice president had taken out a $15,000 insurance policy that would guarantee the deferred payments even if Halliburton went under. Cheney was donating the deferred compensation, after taxes, to charity. Cheney also legally deferred his Halliburton stock options to a charity. Thus, he had no financial interest in Halliburton’s fortunes.

The news was that Cheney had taken out the insurance policy. Instead, nourishing the conspiracy theories about Cheney and Halliburton fostered by the Democrats, newspapers said Cheney “defended” his assertion that he had no financial ties to Halliburton “even though he still receives deferred compensation from the Houston-based energy conglomerate.”

Source: A Matter of Character, by Ronald Kessler, p.230 Aug 5, 2004

On Homeland Security: Urged shooting down hijacked planes on 9/11

On Sept. 11, after thinking about what his response would be, Bush cut short his presentation, and watched videos of the attacks. “Were at war,” Bush announced to his aides. Bush raced to the airport. At the end of the ride, Bush learned that a third jetliner had slammed into the Pentagon. Over a secure phone, he consulted with Cheney, who was in an emergency bunker underneath the White House grounds. The vice president urged him to authorize military planes to shoot down any commercial airliners that might be controlled by hijackers. Bush called Rumsfeld, who had elected to stay in the burning Pentagon, and conveyed the order. “We’re going to find out who did this, and were going to kick their ass,” Bush said.

The fact that Cheney recommended shooting down any commercial planes that might have been hijacked validated Bush’s decision to place him on the ticket. Only someone with his experience in the Defense Department could have conceived on the spot of such a drastic but necessary measure.

Source: A Matter of Character, by Ronald Kessler, p.138-39 Aug 5, 2004

On War & Peace: US beat communism because of leadership & military force

In 1989, Cheney became George H. W. Bush’s secretary of defense. While in that position, he recommended that the select Colin Powell to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Cheney directed the 1991 U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Cheney described Churchill as the first author to have had a profound impact on him. Churchill’s six-volume history of World War II impressed upon Cheney the point that leadership in world affairs is about recognizing dangers and confronting them rather than wishing them away. “The reason that the twentieth century ended with the forces of communism and fascism defeated and with capitalism and democracy increasing as the political and economic models people aspire to,” Cheney would say, “is due in no small part to US leadership backed by military force.

Source: A Matter of Character, by Ronald Kessler, p.140-41 Aug 5, 2004

The above quotations are from A Matter of Character: Inside the White House of George W. Bush, by Ronald Kessler. Click here for main summary page. Click here for a profile of Dick Cheney. Click here for Dick Cheney on all issues.
*Dick Cheney on other issues:*
Abortion Budget/Economy Civil Rights Corporations Crime Drugs Education Energy/Oil Environment Families Foreign Policy Free Trade	Govt. Reform Gun Control Health Care Homeland Security Immigration Jobs Principles/Values Social Security Tax Reform Technology/Infrastructure War/Iraq/Mideast Welfare/Poverty
Please consider a donation to OnTheIssues.org! Click for details -- or send donations to: 1770 Mass Ave. #630, Cambridge MA 02140 E-mail: submit@OnTheIssues.org (We rely on your support!)

Page last updated: Feb 15, 2019