Wow! Only 20% of the American people have a favorable view of Dick Cheney! I knew I couldn’t stand the guy’s guts, but I had no idea that feeling was shared by so many of my fellow countrymen and women.
I found this juicy tidbit sunk in the middle of Cheney Unusually Visible as He Mends Fences in Europe, today’s New York Times article about Cheney’s current “charm offensive” to win over our European “allies.”
A New York Times poll this month found that Mr. Cheney’s favorable ratings had declined to 20 percent of the voters surveyed compared with 39 percent in a similar poll in January 2002. His unfavorable ratings increased to 24 percent, from 11 percent, in the same period. Many voters in both surveys said they were undecided or did not know enough to have an opinion.
“He’s clearly at a point in his vice presidency to do more harm than good, except among the most intense Republican partisans who look to him for reassurance,” said Paul Light, a vice-presidential scholar at the Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University. “Handling Dick Cheney is like handling nuclear material. It can be quite powerful, but it can be quite dangerous and has to be handled carefully.”
In case you missed it, Professor Light essentially called Dick Cheney radioactive. Couldn’t agree more and I’m delighted that Bush will be carrying this little piece of kryptonite on a chain around his neck through the upcoming election!
One shouldn’t lose track of the fact that 56% of Americans have no opinion of Cheney at all, which may not be surprising since many Americans don’t even know who their President is, let alone their Vice-President.
I never understood the logic behind Cheney as a VP. I know I know, he’s loyal and reliable. But he’s also drawn a good deal of negative attention to this administration. And what demographic of the voting public is he meant to appeal to, aside from yacht owners?
I would very much like to see the Democrats challenge him assertively in the election. There’s enough foul smell around him to turn off most rational people.