Democrats eyeing a novel target: VP [View All]

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/president/articles/2004/02/06/democrats_eyeing_a_novel_target_vp/

Democrats running for the presidential nomination have consistently trained their sights on President Bush, but the candidates and party leaders have spotted another target they believe shows that the administration's policies are conceived in secrecy and skewed to the rich: Vice President Dick Cheney.

The low-key, tough-talking vice president is portrayed by Democrats as a sinister operator behind the curtain of the Bush administration, secretly meeting with oil executives to formulate energy policy and intimidating intelligence officials into bolstering the case for overthrowing Saddam Hussein. Cheney's past ties to Halliburton, in particular, provide fodder for attack ads that are being considered for the fall campaign, say Democrats.

In two ways, those criticisms of Cheney represent novel political attacks on a vice president, political analysts say. Previous knocks on vice presidents suggested they were unfit to serve as president if something happened to the chief executive, but the criticism of Cheney instead hints that he is the real force behind the administration and a symbol of everything about it that is seen as wrong.

"He personifies a whole set of problems with the administration Democrats want to point out," said Harrison Hickman, a Democratic pollster who worked for Al Gore.