Cheney's role at GOP convention a question
Will he or won't he? Vice President Dick Cheney is one of the nation's most prominent Republicans, but there are doubts about whether he will attend the GOP convention.
Cheney press secretary Megan Mitchell left the question open on Tuesday, saying Cheney's schedule has not been set for September. Delegates are set to meet in St. Paul, Minn., on Sept. 1-4.
Cheney has low approval ratings and is widely regarded as a secretive, behind-the-scenes power broker. But his approach plays well to conservatives. The White House has to calculate whether Cheney would help or hurt Sen. John McCain's campaign for the presidency.
President Bush will deliver a speech on the first night of the convention and then leave, turning over the spotlight to McCain.
Democrats are working hard to link McCain to Cheney, mindful of his unpopularity with the general public and his villan-like status among their party's rank and file.
The DNC rolled out a new Web site on Tuesday called "The Next Cheney." It assails McCain's potential vice presidential picks and links each to Cheney.
McCain is quoted on the page as saying to Cheney in 2001, "With a little more luck, I might have been able to ask you to be my vice president."
