God Bless Dick Cheney: American Hero and Unabashed Patriot!

Close to 10,000 people crowded into the Bakersfield Business Conference's main tent to see former Vice President Dick Cheney be "interviewed" by Lynne Cheney, his wife of 46 years. Collecting that many people all under one tent roof is a sight to see, and Mrs. Cheney commented on what a great crowd the conference had brought together. "It's almost enough to make you want to run for office again," the former vice president quipped. "Almost." Dick Cheney worked with four of the five Republican presidents following the Eisenhower administration. With that in mind, Mrs. Cheney asked, "So who's your favorite?" Dick Cheney answered, "I got to work for all those presidents because I never said who was my favorite." His proudest accomplishment came because of something that didn't happen: The nation did not suffer another devastating terrorist attack in the years following Sept. 11. His greatest fear? A nuclear weapon in the hands of a terrorist. "We came to the point that we could no longer treat terrorist attacks as a simple law enforcement problem," he told the appreciative crowd. "They were an act of war."