In an interview aired on last weekend’s “This Week” on ABC, former Vice President Dick Cheney revealed his disappointment that Sarah Palin was the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee. He drew disagreement from even his own daughter.
On his Monday radio show, Mark Levin said Cheney was “the greatest vice president in modern American history,” but disagreed with his appraisal of Palin.
“Why do you have to make a gratuitous comment like that?” said Levin. “Not only is it inaccurate from my perspective and the perspective of tens of millions of others, but what’s the point?”
Levin then wondered aloud if Cheney would find New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie an unsuitable vice presidential pick.
“What is it exactly that qualifies somebody to be vice president of the United States?” Levin asked. “Or for that matter, president of the United States? Do you have to have been a politician? I say no. You have to have been a governor? I mean, that was the test. ‘You can’t have a senator or a congressman.’ We kept hearing that. So you have to be a governor? OK. How long do you have to be a governor? More than 20 months apparently. Oh, so Chris Christie is not qualified to be vice president, Mr. Producer? And yet his name is flopped around all the time.”
The conservative radio host praised Palin, reminding his audience of some of her efforts to promote the conservative cause at the ballot box.
“This is a phony constrict,” Levin said. “As for Sarah Palin herself, I don’t know anyone who has conducted herself more as a statesmen, or stateswoman if you will since 2008 — I don’t know of anybody who has started more work to promote the constitutional conservative cause, anybody and been more successful at it. She and only a handful of others like [Sen. Jim] DeMint and so forth, show up in these primaries to try to get Reagan constitutional conservatives nominated. I don’t see all the Bush guys doing this. I see the contrary.”
“This troubles me,” he said. “This troubles me the vice president said these things. Now the fact of the matter is, if you’re like me you voted for the McCain-Palin ticket because you were voting for Palin, not so much McCain.”
Levin also said Palin was much more impressive than Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman, one of the current favorites to be selected as presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney’s running mate.
“So I was really kind of appalled by this because Cheney is a very solid conservative,” he said. “Although I’m guessing he’s pushing this Portman left and right. OK, well who is Portman? A perfectly nice guy, very intelligent guy. I’ve been involved in the conservative movement for 40 years. He’s never been involved in the conservative movement. Has he been fighting in some Republican primary for conservatives and tea party activists? I haven’t seen it. John Boehner backs Portman too. That’s a negative for me. Why would Boehner back Portman?”