Former President George W. Bush released a statement on Tuesday commemorating his vice president, Dick Cheney, who served alongside him for two terms as he led the country through the war on terror.
Bush praised Cheney, who passed away Monday at 84 due to complications from heart disease, as “the one I needed.”
“I asked him to join my ticket in 2000 after first enlisting him to help me find the best running mate. In our long discussions about the qualities a vice president should have — deep experience, mature judgment, character, loyalty — I realized that Dick Cheney was the one I needed,” Bush said in a statement. “I’m still grateful that he was at my side for the eight years that followed.”
Cheney emerged as one of the most influential vice presidents in U.S. history during his eight years in the White House with Bush. After the attacks of September 11, 2001, Cheney helped architect and execute the invasion of Iraq, expanding U.S. intelligence-gathering and military capabilities to topple Saddam Hussein and hunt down al-Qaeda terrorists.
“Laura and I will remember Dick Cheney for the decent, honorable man that he was,” Bush said. “History will remember him as among the finest public servants of his generation — a patriot who brought integrity, high intelligence, and seriousness of purpose to every position he held.”
Bush was joined in commemorating Cheney’s legacy by a host of other elected Republicans.
“Dick Cheney was a giant in American politics, and his impact will be felt for decades,” Representative Mike Collins (R., Ga.) said in a statement. “My condolences to the Cheney family as we remember the legacy of our 46th Vice President.”
Ohio Senator Jon Husted shared his condolences with the Cheney family. “He devoted much of his life to serving the United States — from Congress to the Pentagon to the White House. He had an unwavering commitment to our nation’s security, strength, and founding values,” Husted said.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine (R) reflected on his time serving alongside Cheney in the House.
“I first got to know him when we were members of Congress together and he was in the House Republican leadership. He was thoughtful, steady, and an advocate for his beloved Wyoming,” DeWine said. “Our nation got to see his leadership up close when he served as U.S. Secretary of Defense and directed our military operations in Operation Desert Storm. Vice President Cheney served his country faithfully in every office he held. He will be missed.”
Jon Meacham, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and presidential historian, spoke on Cheney’s legacy during a Monday morning appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. Meachum said Cheney “called them as he saw them.”
“A remarkable American figure, we really don’t make them like this anymore,” Meacham. “One of the things about Vice President Cheney that people will be wrestling with, and I think he would love the fact that he’s making us wrestle with something, would be the complexities of this legacy. He was an American patriot.”
Cheney spent more than 45 years working in American politics.