Former Vice President Dick Cheney said in interview excerpts aired on “Good Morning America” today that President Obama is “one of our weakest presidents,” even worse than Jimmy Carter.
“I just fundamentally disagree with him philosophically,” Cheney said. “…I wouldn’t say he’s soft on terror, but I think — I think he’s made a number of mistakes. Bin Laden, fine, a lot of that intelligence that laid the groundwork for what ultimately led to the capture of bin Laden came as a result of programs we had in place in the Bush administration.”
Speaking with ABC from Jackson Hole, Wyo., he said that his recent heart transplant was “nothing short of a miracle.”
“That was the toughest of all the surgeries. I lost 40 pounds. I was heavily sedated, in the intensive care unit for weeks afterwards. I had pneumonia while I was in recovering from the surgery. And by the time I came out from under, looked in a mirror, and what I saw was my dad shortly before he died,” Cheney said.
“It was just four months ago. There’s not been a single glitch, no sign of rejection. Everything’s just gone perfectly.”
The ex-veep told ABC that he’s perfectly at peace with his legacy.
“I’m very comfortable with what I did and why I did it and how I did it,” Cheney said. “And I’ll let others judge whether they liked it or not.”
Cheney told ABC News that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) made a “mistake” by picking Sarah Palin to be on the 2008 ticket. Having been governor of Alaska for two years at the time, she “did not pass the test” of being ready to be president, he said. Palin resigned from her gubernatorial post several months after the presidential election.
The VP also wryly described how the list of vice presidential candidates is used by officials up for reelection.
“I had a couple of calls from politicians who’d say, ‘You know, it’d really help me in my race back home, Dick, if I was on the list.’ Done. You’re on the list,” said Cheney. “Then somebody could go leak the fact that they were on the list.”
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