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.I suppose if I were only concerned about the longterm I would have stayed in the House. 4The following morning, Cheney called Sununu as promised.There was no time to waste.Sununu told Cheney to come to theWhite House as soon as possible.He quietly sneaked into thebuilding, using the diplomatic entrance so that his visit wouldnot generate any suspicion among the press corps or gossip-hawking White House officials.Once inside, Cheney was ledupstairs to the president s residential quarters, usually off-limitsto all but the most senior White House staff.He met with theCheney207president alone. The conversation was conducted on the basisnot of  I m offering you the job, but  Let s explore the possibil-ity and  How do you look at the job? and  Here s the kind ofthing I m interested in and  What I m looking for in a secretaryand so forth. 5There was one additional, unpleasant matter: the DUIs.Sucha history might complicate any confirmation, and it had the po-tential to be a sticking point given the attention paid to the issueduring the battle over Tower.Bush, however, was not concerned. He knew the full extent  Cheney pauses and laughs  ofmy youthful transgressions.He didn t think it d be a prob-lem. 6 After an hour, Sununu rejoined them and ended the meet-ing without a resolution.But Cheney thought the interview hadgone well.He raced back to Capitol Hill for a previously scheduledinterview with a first-year assistant professor from the Univer-sity of Georgia, John Maltese.Such meetings were common forCheney, who had a soft spot for academics: his schedule wascluttered with speeches to student groups, interviews with pro-fessors, and think-tank conferences around the country, in addi-tion to his congressional duties.The congressman was relaxed as the interview began.Malteseexplained that he was researching a book on news managementat the White House and was interested in Cheney s experienceas Ford s chief of staff.For sixteen minutes, they discussed theins and outs of the Ford White House and the campaign of 1976,their conversation occasionally interrupted by the loud thud ofCheney s boots pounding the desk as he sat back in his chair.AsCheney explained that he had asked a senior staff member towork on the transition throughout the summer of 1976, he wasinterrupted by the high-pitched beep of the telephone intercom.He was in no hurry to answer it, speaking for another elevenseconds. He laid the plans for the transition on my desk on Elec-tion Day  beep  and I never did anything with it because welost  beep  so you know, it became irrelevant after that.I mnot sure I even read it. 7Maltese clicked off the tape recorder and Cheney picked upStephen F.Hayes208his phone.The congressman sat up in his chair slightly and askedMaltese to step outside.One of Cheney s staffers noticed Maltesestanding near the photocopier and thought it odd that he wasnot allowed to remain in the office.Behind the door, Cheneytook the call from President Bush and accepted his formal offerto become secretary of defense.It was a quick conversation, andmoments after he had been ushered out, Maltese took his chairin front of Cheney s desk and asked about Michael Duval, whoworked for Cheney on Ford s campaign. Mike had been, when he originally came to town, he was anattorney, Cheney responded, his even manner betraying no hintof the life-changing conversation he had just completed. Hecame to town in 1967.Maltese remembers that Cheney s deportment was the samebefore and after the interruption. There was no change in tone,he says. No change at all. 8Bush had instructed Cheney to return to the White Houseat four PM.When Cheney left Capitol Hill that afternoon, thephones in his personal office lit up as word began to leak out thathe would be introduced as the new nominee.The reporters call-ing the office had more information than Cheney s staff.The congressman was already on his way to the White Housewhen Pete Williams, Cheney s press secretary, and Patty Howe,the chief of staff, returned to the office from a meeting on acidrain.Others in the office had gotten word of the appointmentand assumed that both Williams and Howe had been told.In fact,neither of Cheney s top advisers had any idea what was about tohappen.Williams went to sit at his desk, looking puzzled by allthe activity.Jim Steen asked him,  You mean you didn t knowDick was picked to be secretary of defense? Williams glancedquickly at Steen and dashed out of the room.In an announcement in the Rose Garden, Bush introducedCheney as  a thoughtful man, a quiet man, a strong manapproaches public policy with vigor, determination and dili-gence. Bush said that he d gotten to know Cheney in the Fordadministration as a  government manager, noted his service onthe Intelligence Committee, and reported the substance of theirdiscussion a few hours earlier [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]