Dick Cheney isn’t sold on Sarah Palin, GOP candidates

Former Vice President Dick Cheney suggested Friday that Sarah Palin lacked the “thick skin” needed to serve even in the nation’s No. 2 role, the latest critique of a would-be GOP president as part of his book tour.

In an interview with conservative talk show host Laura Ingraham, Cheney said he’s “never gotten around the question” of why Palin resigned as governor of Alaska in the middle of her first and only term.

“I’ve never heard that adequately explained so that I could understand [it],” Cheney said. “I’d still like to know more about that.”

To be vice president requires a “thick skin,” Cheney said to an earlier question about what it takes to serve in the role.

“You really do need to have the capacity to do what you think is right, offer the advice that you think the president and the country need. You gotta remember you’re not in charge of anything; you don’t run anything as vice president. And you do need to have a thick skin,” he said. “You’ll be the subject of a lot of criticism -- some of it funny, and some of it not so funny.”

Palin’s sparring with both late night comedians and the so-called “lamestream” media has been one of her calling cards. Cheney, on the other hand, joked about how he embraced the caricature of him that developed during his eight years as George W. Bush’s No. 2.

“I was honored to be compared with Darth Vader,” he said.

Earlier this week, Cheney sounded lukewarm at best when asked to give his assessment of the field of announced candidates for the GOP nomination.

“We badly need a Ronald Reagan. Now, do we have that yet in the Republican field? I don’t know,” he told CNBC’s Larry Kudlow. “I haven’t endorsed anybody yet, and I expect to support the Republican nominee, but they have a lot to show me before I’ll be enthusiastic about any one of those candidates.”