GOP's signs point to Cheney

News reports suggest it. Ex-Sen. Danforth thinks so. An announcement is now expected Tuesday.

Compiled from Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 24, 2000

AUSTIN, Texas -- As George W. Bush privately pondered his choice for a vice presidential running mate, there were new signals Sunday that former Defense Secretary Dick Cheney might be the top contender to join the Republican ticket.

Cheney last week told board members of the Halliburton Co., where he is chairman and chief executive officer, that there was a strong likelihood he would be asked to be Bush's running mate, several news organizations reported.

"He in effect told us it was virtually certain if there wasn't a glitch," the Washington Post reported, quoting a board member who asked not to be named. "But he also made it clear it wasn't 100 percent."

Another person reportedly on Bush's short list, former Sen. John Danforth of Missouri, predicted that Cheney will get the nod.

"I think it's Cheney. You know, with the registration change, that's what I believe," Danforth told the Associated Press as he headed into church in St. Louis.

Danforth, dressed in the green robe of an ordained Episcopal minister on Sunday to assist in conducting services, said in the brief interview outside church that it would be tough to turn down a call to be on the ticket for the good of the country. But he wants to stay in Missouri.

Cheney, who had three heart attacks before age 48 and underwent quadruple coronary bypass surgery more than a decade ago, also recently had a thorough physical examination. Senior Republicans said Bush's campaign had been assured that Cheney, 59, is medically fit to serve as vice president.

Several news organizations reported Sunday night that Dr. Denton Cooley, the noted Houston heart surgeon, had reviewed the results of Cheney's physical examination at the request of the Texas governor and his father, former President George Bush.

In a telephone interview Sunday with the New York Times, Cooley said that after the Bushes made that request, he spoke almost immediately with Cheney's physician. And several hours later, Cooley said, both the governor and the former president got back in touch with him to check his findings about Cheney, which were favorable.

In seclusion at his Texas ranch, Bush tentatively planned to introduce his running mate Tuesday. Even his closest advisers said they did not know if he had made up his mind Sunday.

The silence from Bush on a day he had promised to decide prompted aides to caution that he could make a surprise pick. "Nobody has a lock on the job," a senior GOP official told the AP. Despite the admonition, the official added that Cheney was the front-runner.

Others mentioned as candidates include Govs. Frank Keating of Oklahoma, Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania and George Pataki of New York; Rep. John Kasich of Ohio; and Sens. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Bill Frist and Fred Thompson of Tennessee.

Signs continued to point toward Cheney, who's also leading Bush's search for a running mate. The former Wyoming lawmaker was White House chief of staff under President Gerald Ford and Pentagon chief under Bush's father

Bush's top two strategists fanned out to the Sunday TV news shows, defending Cheney against questions about his health and ties to the oil industry. Karl Rove and Karen Hughes said, however, that they had no idea who Bush's pick would be.

The Texas governor planned to make his decision Sunday night or today, well in advance of the July 31 opening of the GOP convention in Philadelphia, aides said. Bush assured advisers that he won't notify the winning candidate before today. Last week, as Cheney notified business associates and underwent the physical exam, he changed his voter registration from Texas to Wyoming to avoid a constitutional hurdle that crops up if the presidential and vice presidential candidate hail from the same state.

Cheney and Danforth would bring a range of national experience and stature lacking in the presumptive nominee. Both also would appeal to Bush's conservative base without alienating moderates, Republican operatives say.

"These two names say Bush is looking to play it safe," said Scott Reed, who ran Bob Dole's failed 1996 campaign.

Cheney left his suburban Washington home on Sunday and said he was heading to Dallas, where he also has a home, because "that's where my work is."

The former defense secretary did not say whether he was referring to Dallas-based Halliburton or his work on Bush's running mate search.

"You'll have to ask somebody above my pay grade," Cheney said when asked if he would be Bush's running mate as he and his wife Lynne packed a black Isuzu Trooper with about 10 suitcases and duffel bags.

Cheney made the surprise voter registration switch three days after Bush met with Danforth in St. Louis. The timing suggests Cheney's stock rose after the Texas governor had met and considered the large pool of candidates reviewed under Cheney's direction.

Bush strategist Rove said Cheney's history of heart trouble wouldn't be a campaign issue.

"Those heart attacks occurred in the '70s and '80s and he then served as secretary of defense in President Bush's administration and presided over Desert Storm," Rove said on CBS's Face the Nation. "I don't know of a more stressful situation than being secretary of defense during an armed combat, and he seemed to do just fine."

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