Today's Va-Pilot:
Cheney praises Drake and focuses on war
By ON FRANK, The Virginian-Pilot
© February 28, 2006
Last updated: 11:25 PM
NORFOLK — Vice President Dick Cheney charmed an admiring Republican crowd Monday, emphasizing the war on terror and saying U.S. Rep. Thelma Drake is “doing a superb job” and deserves re-election.
Cheney spoke for 20 minutes at a fund raising dinner for Drake’s re-election campaign at the Hilton Norfolk Airport. He made no mention of his hunting accident or the controversy surrounding port ownership and security.
Cheney told about 400 supporters that Drake exhibits “the common sense and solid values of the people who sent her to Washington.” He said President Bush needs Drake during this “time of incredible consequence.”
Secret Service agents flanked Cheney as he spoke before a sold-out audience in a first-floor ballroom. Tickets sold for $150 to $2,100.
About 100 of those attending had a brief meeting and photo opportunity with Cheney before the event. Party officials predicted the fundraiser would bring in about $200,000 for Drake’s 2006 campaign.
Her Democratic challenger, Philip J. Kellam, is the commissioner of the revenue in Virginia Beach.
Cheney was full of praise for Drake before turning his attention to war, terrorism and national security matters.
Drake, a first-term congresswoman, won election to Congress in 2004 against Democrat David Ashe, replacing retiring Rep. Ed Schrock. Since then, Cheney said, Drake has won the respect of colleagues “on both sides of the aisle.”
“It would be a better Congress if we had more members like Thelma,” Cheney said.
He told the crowd that Drake exhibits the qualities of seriousness and preparation that he valued during his five terms as a congressman from Wyoming.
Cheney made his strongest comments about national security measures taken by the Bush administration since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks , including the war in Iraq and the domestic surveillance program.
He defended secret domestic spying, saying, “I am convinced that it saved many, many lives and remains absolutely essential to the security of the United States.”
“If there are people inside our country talking about al-Qaida ,” Cheney said, “we want to know about it because we will not sit back and wait to be hit again.”
The vice president said all of the Bush administration’s military operations, including the war in Iraq, were necessary because of a weak approach to fighting terrorism during the 1990s that allowed the nation’s enemies to believe “they could strike America without pain or price.”
Despite criticism that civil war in Iraq already may have erupted, Cheney said progress toward democracy is being made. Voter participation is increasing and violence is decreasing with each passing election, he said.
Cheney said the Bush administration would stay the course in Iraq and that future U.S. troop strength in Iraq would be determined “by conditions on the ground and the judgment of commanders and not by artificial timelines and politicians in Washington, D.C.”
Across from the hotel, about 10 protesters from the Hampton Roads Peace and Justice Center held up signs criticizing the Bush-Cheney administration. The signs said “Cheney: Take Bush Hunting Next Time” and “Iraq’s Civil War Brought To You By Dick & George.”
The protesters were disappointed when authorities told them they couldn’t stand on hotel property as Cheney’s motorcade pulled behind the building. While Cheney spoke inside, the protesters waved at passing motorists.
“He is the worst vice president we’ve ever had,” said Connie Hannah, a protest organizer. “I hope someday he will be impeached.”
Cheney arrived at Norfolk International Airport on Air Force Two at 5:10 p.m. He stepped gingerly into the cold without an overcoat, waved toward six journalists about 200 feet away and walked slowly down the stairs.
He was greeted at the airport by a handful of guests and was driven down the road to the Hilton . After the speech, the protesters shouted as Cheney’s motorcade pulled away. The protesters got a glimpse of Cheney sitting in the back with the light on, looking down. He didn’t look up at them.
His visit to Norfolk, from landing to departure, took 70 minutes.
Drake called Cheney “one of the most influential vice presidents in history.”
She said the vice president’s office called her about a month ago to offer its support. She said that she was honored to accept Cheney’s offer to help at the start of her first re-election campaign.
Monday was the vice president’s first trip to Hampton Roads since July 2003, when he addressed sailors at the commissioning of the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan .
Staff writers Cindy Clayton and Duane Bourne contributed to this report.
Reach Jon Frank at (757) 222-5122 or jon.frank@pilotonline.com.
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