Former President Gerald R. Ford felt Vice President Dick Cheney should be dumped from the GOP re-election ticket in 2004 because he had become a liability for Republicans.
President George W. Bush, however, refused to listen and kept Cheney on board, a fateful decision given the Vice President’s emergence as the “Darth Vader” of the Bush administration.
That, and other juicy details, can be found in a new book about the late President.
Reports CNN:
Ford preferred former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani because he feared Cheney had become a “liability” to President Bush, according to the book’s author.
CNN obtained an advance copy of “Write It When I’m Gone,” and interviewed author Thomas DeFrank.
Ford privately gave New York Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton high marks, saying she was “tougher and stronger” than her husband, who Ford said he had mixed feelings about, DeFrank said.
While Ford thought Bill Clinton was the best pure politician he had ever seen, he felt Clinton needed therapy for sex addiction.
“He thought Bill Clinton had a serious addiction here and he needed help,” DeFrank told CNN. “And Jerry Ford didn’t have a vengeful bone in his body. I think his comments about the addiction business were heartfelt on his part.”
In 1991, Ford began a series of off-the-record conversations with DeFrank. The reporter had gained Ford’s trust when he worked for Newsweek magazine covering Ford as vice president and president.
Book: Ford feared Cheney was GOP liability – Former President Gerald Ford suggested to a reporter in 2004 that Vice President Dick Cheney should be dumped from the Republican ticket, according to a new book to be published Tuesday.
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