Our country was lucky to have him.
A free society always depends on the willingness of some of its ablest people to spend their lives in the service of the nation as public officials. People who understand themselves as providing that kind of service to their country stand out in our democracy. They are surely moved by the usual mix of motives that drive people into political life: ambition, confidence, curiosity, a desire to make a difference and to be known for making a difference, love of country. But they stand out because they tend to serve in a peculiar variety of offices over an unusually long stretch of time and to embody each of them by taking its distinct purpose and form seriously. America has always been fortunate to have such people in its public life. But their number has diminished over time, so those we have gotten to see in our own lifetimes really stand out.
Dick Cheney exemplified this essential democratic type, and from a ridiculously young age. He started out as a congressional staffer in his 20s and by age 34 had become the White House chief of staff (under Gerald Ford). In the decades that followed, he served as a member of the House of Representatives (and probably would have become the House Republicans’ leader in the 1990s if he had not been tapped to serve in the cabinet), secretary of defense, and then of course vice president. These are very different roles, yet Cheney somehow managed to become the consummate exemplar of each, because he understood what it meant to take on an office in our democratic republic — an understanding that has grown all too rare in our time, too.
I got to know Cheney just a little when I had the privilege to serve as a White House policy staffer under George W. Bush. I worked on domestic issues, which were supposed to be something Cheney didn’t really care about. But every interaction I had with him left me with an indelible impression of the seriousness with which he took his job. He hired great people, made judgments carefully and with an open mind, understood what it meant to serve the Constitution and the president, and could deploy the power of silence like no one I’ve ever encountered.
But even more than that — both in those years, and in getting to spend some time with him when he served on the board of the American Enterprise Institute, where I work — I was always struck by the way in which Cheney was moved by what he loved and not what he hated or resented. This, too, has become dangerously rare in our politics. And Cheney was never shy about it. For all that he could be sharp and confrontational, and relished his Darth Vader persona, what moved him was a love of country, a love of the people who served it, a love of Wyoming (which showed itself in some important domestic-policy debates in the Bush years), and above it all a love of his family. Cheney’s unabashed boosterism for his wife, the great historian Lynne Cheney, was not only charming but a model of how to mix love with respect that we could all surely learn from. And he would do pretty much anything for his daughters.
In a peculiar way, these loves of family and country were naturally intermixed for him. In 2007, President Bush underwent a colonoscopy that required general anesthesia and, under the terms of the 25th Amendment, he made Cheney the acting president for a few hours. Cheney used that time to write this letter to his grandchildren — the only document ever signed by an acting president:
Dear Kate, Elizabeth, Grace, Philip, Richard and Sam,
As I write this, our nation is engaged in a war with terrorists of global reach. My principal focus as Vice President has been to help protect the American people and our way of life. The vigilance, diligence and unwavering commitment of those who protect our Nation has kept us safe from terrorist attacks of the kind we faced on September 11, 2001. We owe a special debt of gratitude to the members of our armed forces, intelligence agencies, law enforcement agencies and others who serve and sacrifice to keep us safe and free.
As you grow, you will come to understand the sacrifices that each generation makes to preserve freedom and democracy for future generations, and you will assume the important responsibilities of citizens in our society. I ask of you as my grandchildren what I asked of my daughters, that you always strive in your lives to do what is right.
May God bless and protect you.
Richard B. Cheney
Acting President of the United States
(Grandpa Cheney)
There, in a nutshell, was a great American. Our country was lucky to have him. R.I.P.