An Official End to a Lengthy and Unusual Process

Gov. George W. Bush officially introduced his running mate in front of a small crowd of enthusiastic supporters here Tuesday, calling former Defense Secretary Dick Cheney a “distinguished and experienced statesman” who will be a “valuable partner” in a future administration.

“I didn’t pick Dick Cheney because of Wyoming’s three electoral votes,” joked the presumptive Republican nominee for president, as the newly minted ticket appeared in public for the first time. “I picked him because he is without a doubt fully capable of being president of the United States.”

Bush and Cheney will travel today to Casper, Wyo., where Cheney and his wife, Lynne, attended high school together. Cheney represented the state in Congress for a decade before directing Operation Desert Storm under then-President Bush.

The Texas governor called Cheney at his Dallas home to offer him the job at 6:22 a.m. Tuesday, but not until after Bush had completed his usual morning ritual: feeding the cats, filling the dog’s water bowl and bringing morning coffee to his wife, Laura.

For his part, the job offer interrupted Cheney’s morning spin on the treadmill. His first words to his wife, upon hanging up the phone: “Honey, sell the house. I’m quitting my job. We’re going back into politics.”

Bush then called a list of candidates who were not as lucky--or unlucky--as Cheney.

Underscoring how taxing politics can be, Pennsylvania Gov. Thomas J. Ridge, an early favorite for the Republican vice presidential nod, announced Tuesday that he had pulled himself out of consideration three weeks earlier because of the potential stress on his family.

“In Washington, public family life can be difficult under the best of circumstances,” Ridge told reporters in Harrisburg. “With two young teenaged children, and a vice president’s travel schedule, it would be more difficult still.”

List of Candidates Remains Secret

Bush communications director Karen Hughes would not divulge the full contingent of also-rans contacted Tuesday, but she said Bush did have a “great conversation” with former rival John McCain, whose vice presidential fortunes had ebbed and flowed since the end of the contentious primary season.

So ended a fitful months-long courtship between Bush and Cheney, along with an odd and unprecedented vice presidential vetting process. This is how the man who ran the search for vice president became its subject, how Bush ended up choosing the person who “was working by my side” all along.

In a short speech that had the so-close-but-yet-so-far feel of a romantic comedy, Bush recounted that he had first asked Cheney in March over dinner at the Texas Governor’s Mansion if the 59-year-old would consider being considered for the No. 2 job.

The two men knew each other through Bush’s father, and Cheney had worked with Bush for at least the past year and a half, setting up the campaign’s team of foreign and defense policy advisors and consulting on general strategy.

Cheney said no to the first query. He had a good job with a huge company and was enjoying his life in the private sector, Bush recounted. “But I kept the thought of him joining me in the back of my mind.”

Several weeks later, Bush offered Cheney the next best thing: If you won’t be my vice president, be my political yenta, or matchmaker, and head the team that searches for my partner.

Cheney was up for that job, and what ensued was three months of intense discussion between the two men, punctuated by phone calls several times a week, often several times a day.

This Time, Bush Gets a ‘Yes’

The pivot point was July 3, when Cheney traveled to Bush’s 1,600-acre ranch outside of Waco and spent several hours with the governor in the den, talking about their possible choices. After a casual lunch, the two men wandered out on the porch, and Bush popped the question one more time.

Bush recounted Tuesday that all along he had “continued to believe the best candidate might be sitting next to me.” So he asked if Cheney would “be willing to join me to accomplish some great goals for our country.”

This time, Cheney said he would be happy to be considered.

And then began the fast footwork: Cheney, who has had three heart attacks and quadruple bypass surgery, got a physical and was cleared by his personal physician. He called Bush with the good news. Bush called his father, who called a cardiac surgeon and family friend to talk to Cheney’s doctors. The physicians consulted and concurred: Cheney’s heart could withstand the challenge.

Eleven days ago Cheney, Bush and his closest advisors cloistered themselves at the mansion here to talk about what it meant to have the chief VP hunter as VP himself. Cheney came armed with a list of other candidates.

The next day the vetting began. For all the other possible candidates, Cheney was the guy asking the tough questions: What about your personal life? What about your business relations? What about your finances?

But Cheney soon found himself answering questions. “In this case,” Hughes said, “Gov. Bush served as the chair of the search committee.”

Then Cheney broke the news to the board of directors of Halliburton Co., the oil services firm where he is chief executive.

The next step was to fly to Wyoming to change his voter registration in an effort to sidestep possible constitutional concerns that he and Bush lived in the same state.

Last weekend Bush holed up at Prairie Chapel Ranch to mull over his choices. He made the big call Tuesday morning. Seven hours and 38 minutes later, there they were, on stage in front of the cameras, together at last.

So why did Cheney change his mind? Why take the big plunge? Politically speaking, he was swept off his feet.

“I heard Gov. Bush talk about his unique vision for our party, for our nation,” Cheney said. “I saw sincerity. I watched him make decisions, always firm, always fair. And, in the end, I learned how persuasive he can be.”