Ventura may refer to:

Places

Ventura, California, US

Ventura, Iowa, US

Ventura County, California, US

Las Venturas, San Andreas, a fictional city in ''Grand Theft Auto'' series of video games

Ventura Boulevard, boulevard located in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California, US

People

Ventura Rodríguez (1717-1785), Spanish architect and artist

Charlie Ventura (1916-1992), American band leader

Felipe Ventura dos Santos (born 1984), Brazilian footballer (goalkeeper)

Giampiero Ventura, Italian football coach

Jean-Baptiste Ventura (ca. 1792-?), Italian-born soldier, mercenary and adventurer

Jesse Ventura (born 1951), American wrestler, actor and politician

Johnny Ventura (born 1940), Dominican composer and singer

Lino Ventura (1919-1987), Italian-French movie actor

Robin Ventura (born 1967), American baseball player

Sheherazade Ventura (born 1974), English socialite and environmentalist

Simona Ventura (born 1965), Italian TV hostess

Viviane Ventura (born 1947), English actress and socialite

Yolanda Ventura (born 1968), Spanish-born singer and actress

Zuenir Ventura (born 1931), Brazilian journalist and writer

Ace Ventura, a fictional character in several films

Cassandra Ventura (born 1986), American pop and R&B; singer

Transportation

Ventura Bus Lines, Australian bus and coach company

Ventura Freeway, connecting downtown Los Angeles with Ventura County, CA

Lockheed Ventura, World War II aircraft

Pontiac Ventura, automobile produced by General Motors

MS ''Ventura'', a cruise ship

Other uses

"Ventura Highway", a 1972 song by the band ''America''

Corel Ventura, software package from Corel Corporation

Paxman Ventura, diesel engine

Ventura (horse), American race horce

La-Ventura, Netherlands-based Gothic/melodic metal band

See also

Venture (disambiguation)

Boa Ventura (disambiguation)

Category:Place name disambiguation pages

bg:Вентура de:Ventura es:Ventura fr:Ventura it:Ventura ja:ベンチュラ pl:Ventura (ujednoznacznienie) pt:Ventura ru:Вентура sv:Ventura vo:Ventura

Name	Jesse Ventura
Order	38th
Office	Governor of Minnesota
Term start	January 8, 1999
Term end	January 6, 2003
Lieutenant	Mae Schunk
Predecessor	Arne Carlson
Successor	Tim Pawlenty
Office2	Mayor of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota
Term start2	1991
Term end2	1995
Birthname	James George Janos
Birth date	July 15, 1951
Birth place	Minneapolis, Minnesota
Spouse	Terry Ventura
Children	Tyrel VenturaJade Ventura
Profession	US Navy UDTProfessional WrestlerColor commentatorActorTalk Show hostPoliticianAuthor
Party	Reform Party (1999–2000)Independence Party of Minnesota (2000–present)
Religion	Atheist
Branch	United States Navy
Serviceyears	1969–1975
Rank	Petty Officer Third Class
Unit	UDT 12SEAL Team 1 (Reserve)
Awards	National Defense Service MedalVietnam Service Medal }}

James George Janos (born July 15, 1951), better known as Jesse Ventura, is an American politician, the 38th Governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003, Navy UDT veteran, former SEAL reservist, actor, and former radio and television talk show host. As a professional wrestler, he is best known for his nickname, Jesse "The Body" Ventura, and tenure in the World Wrestling Federation as a combatant and color commentator. In 2004, he was inducted into the company's Hall of Fame.

In the Minnesota gubernatorial election of 1998, running as a member of the Reform Party, he was elected the 38th Governor of Minnesota and served from January 4, 1999, to January 6, 2003, without seeking a second term.

Early life

Ventura was born James George Janos in Minneapolis, the son of Bernice Martha (née Lenz) and George William Janos, both of whom were World War II veterans. His father's parents were from what is today Slovakia, and his mother was of German descent. Ventura has described himself as Slovak. Ventura was raised a Lutheran. Ventura (then still using his legal name of Janos) attended the now-closed Cooper Elementary School and graduated from Minneapolis' Roosevelt High School in 1969.

Navy career

From September 11, 1969, to September 10, 1975, during the Vietnam War era, Ventura served in the United States Navy. Ventura graduated with BUD/S class 58 in December 1970 and was part of Underwater Demolition Team 12 (UDT). The UDTs were merged with the US Navy SEALs in 1983, 8 years after Ventura had left the Navy.

Bill Salisbury, an attorney in San Diego and a former Navy SEAL officer, accused Ventura of "pretending" to be a SEAL and wrote that Ventura would be blurring an important distinction by claiming to be a SEAL when he was actually a frogman with the UDT. Compared to SEAL Teams, UDTs saw less combat and took fewer casualties. Following that, Governor Ventura's office confirmed that Ventura was a member of the UDTs. His spokesman stated that Ventura has never tried to convince people otherwise. Ventura stated: "Today we refer to all of us as SEALs; that's all it is."

Ventura has frequently referred to his military career in public statements and debates. He was criticized by hunters and conservationists for stating in an interview with the Minneapolis StarTribune in April 2001, "Until you have hunted men, you haven't hunted yet."

In January 2002, Ventura, who had never specifically claimed to have ''fought'' in Vietnam, disclosed for the first time that he did not see combat. He did not receive the Combat Action Ribbon, which was awarded to those involved in a firefight or who went on clandestine or special operations where the risk of enemy fire was great or expected.

Post Navy

In 1973, Ventura was released from active duty and enrolled with the Naval Reserves, at which point he was assigned to SEAL Team 1.

In the fall of 1974, Ventura left the bike club to return to Minnesota. Shortly after his leaving, the Mongols entered into open warfare with their rivals the Hells Angels.

In Minnesota Ventura attended North Hennepin Community College in the mid-1970s. At the same time, he began weightlifting and wrestling. He was a bodyguard for The Rolling Stones for a short time before he ventured into professional wrestling and changed his name.

Professional wrestling career

Name	Jesse Ventura
Names	Jesse "The Body" Ventura
Height	-
Weight
Birth date	July 15, 1951
Birth place	Minneapolis, Minnesota
Billed	Brooklyn Park, MinnesotaSan Diego, California
Trainer	Eddie Sharkey
Debut	October 1975
Retired	1986
Website	}}

Early career

He created the stage name Jesse "The Body" Ventura to go with the persona of a bully-ish beach bodybuilder, picking the name "Ventura" from a map as part of his "bleach blond from California" character. As a wrestler, Ventura performed as a villain and often used the motto "Win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat!" Much of his flamboyant persona was adapted from "Superstar" Billy Graham, a charismatic and popular performer during the 1970s and '80s. Years later, as a broadcaster, Ventura made a running joke out of it claiming that Graham stole all of his ring attire ideas from him.

Singles and tag team success

In 1975, Ventura made his debut in the Central States territory, before moving to the Pacific Northwest, where he wrestled for promoter Don Owen as Jesse "The Great" Ventura. Sometime later, he adopted the more permanent nickname, "The Body". During his stay in Portland, Oregon, he had notable feuds with Dutch Savage and Jimmy Snuka and won the Pacific Northwest Wrestling title twice (once from each wrestler), and the tag team title five times (twice each with Bull Ramos and "Playboy" Buddy Rose, and once with Jerry Oates). He later moved to his hometown promotion, the American Wrestling Association in Minnesota, and began teaming with Adrian Adonis as the "East-West Connection" in 1979. The duo won the promotion's World Tag Team Championship on July 20, 1980 on a forfeit when Verne Gagne, one-half of the tag team champions along with Mad Dog Vachon, failed to show up for a title defense in Denver, Colorado. The duo held the belts for nearly a year, losing to "The High Flyers" (Greg Gagne and Jim Brunzell).

Retirement and commentary

Shortly after losing the belts, the duo moved on to the World Wrestling Federation, where they were managed by "Classy" Freddie Blassie. Although the duo was unable to capture the World Tag Team Championship, both Adonis and Ventura became singles title contenders, each earning several title shots at World Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund.

Ventura continued to wrestle until September 1984, when blood clots in his lungs ended his in-ring career. Ventura claimed the blood clots were a result of his exposure to Agent Orange during his time in Vietnam. Ventura did return to the ring in 1985 forming a tag-team with "Macho Man" Randy Savage & Savage's manager Miss Elizabeth. Often after their televised matches Ventura would taunt and challenge fellow commentator Bruno Sammartino but nothing ever came of this. He also participated in a six-man tag team match in December 1985 as he, Roddy Piper, and "Cowboy" Bob Orton defeated Hillbilly Jim, Uncle Elmer, and Cousin Luke in a match which was broadcast on ''Saturday Night's Main Event''. After a failed comeback bid, he began to do color commentary on television for ''All-Star Wrestling'' (replacing Angelo Mosca) and later ''Superstars of Wrestling'' (initially alongside Vince McMahon and Sammartino, and with McMahon after Sammartino's departure from the WWF in 1988), hosted his own talk segment on the WWF's ''Superstars of Wrestling'' called "The Body Shop", and did color commentary on radio for a few National Football League teams (among them, the Minnesota Vikings and Tampa Bay Buccaneers). Ventura most notably co-hosted ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' with Vince McMahon and the first six WrestleManias (1985–1990) and most of the WWF's pay-per-views at the time with Gorilla Monsoon (the lone exception for Ventura being the first SummerSlam, in which Ventura served as the guest referee during the main event). Following a dispute with Vince McMahon over the use of his image for promoting a Sega product, McMahon—who had a contract with rival company Nintendo at the time—released Ventura from the company in August 1990.

In February 1992 at SuperBrawl II, Ventura joined World Championship Wrestling as a commentator. His professional wrestling commentary style was an extension of his wrestling persona, as he was partial to the villains, which was something new and different at the time, but would still occasionally give credit where it was due, praising the athleticism of Dynamite Kid and Randy Savage (who was championed by Ventura for years, even when he was a fan favorite). The lone exception to this rule was the WrestleMania VI match between Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior. Since they were both crowd favorites, Ventura took a neutral position in his commentary; even praising Hogan's display of sportsmanship at the end of the match when he handed over the WWF Championship to the Warrior after he lost the title. The praise of Hogan's action was unusual for Ventura because he regularly rooted against Hogan during his matches. Hogan and Ventura were, at one point, close friends. Ventura, however, abruptly ended the friendship after he discovered, during his lawsuit against Vince McMahon, that Hogan was the one who had told Vince about Ventura's attempt to form a labor union in 1984. Ventura was released by WCW President Eric Bishoff for allegedly falling asleep during a ''WCW Worldwide'' TV taping at Disney MGM Studios in July 1994, though its been speculated the move may have had more to do with Hulk Hogan's arrival shortly before.

Litigation

In 1987, while negotiating his contract as a WWF commentator, Ventura waived his rights to royalties on videotape sales when he was falsely told that only feature performers received such royalties. In 1991, having discovered that other non-feature performers received royalties, Ventura brought an action for fraud, misappropriation of publicity rights, and quantum meruit in Minnesota state court against Titan Sports. Titan removed the case to federal court, and Ventura won an $801,333 jury verdict on the last claim. The judgment was affirmed on appeal, and the case,'' '' 65 F.3d 725 (8th Cir.1995), is an important result in the law of restitution.

Return to the World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment

In mid-1999, Ventura reappeared on WWF television during his term as Governor of Minnesota, acting as the special guest referee for main event of SummerSlam held in Minneapolis. Ventura would continue his relationship with the WWF by performing commentary for Vince McMahon's short-lived XFL. On the March 20, 2003 episode of ''SmackDown!'', Ventura appeared in a taped interview to talk about the match between McMahon and Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania XIX. Less than a year later, he would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on March 13, 2004 and the following night at WrestleMania XX, he approached the ring to interview Donald Trump, who had a front row seat at the event. Trump affirmed that Ventura would receive his moral and financial support were he to ever reenter the world of politics. Alluding to the 2008 election, Ventura boldly announced that "In 2008, maybe we oughta put a wrestler in the White House". On the June 11, 2007 episode of ''Raw'', Ventura appeared to give comments about Vince McMahon.

Ventura was guest host on the November 23, 2009 episode of ''Raw'' during which he retained his villainous persona by siding with the number one contender, Sheamus over WWE Champion John Cena. This happened while he confronted Cena about how it was unfair that Cena always got a title shot in the WWE while Ventura didn't during his WWE career. After that Sheamus attacked Cena and put him through a table. Ventura then made the match a Table match at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs. During the show, for the first time in nearly 20 years, Vince McMahon joined Ventura at ringside to provide match commentary together.

In wrestling

Finishing moves: ''Body Breaker'' (WWF) / Inverted bearhug (AWA) Nicknames:"The Great", "The Body", "The Mouth", "The Actor", "The Governor" World Wrestling Entertainment: WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2004)

Title History

American Wrestling Association: AWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Adrian Adonis

Cauliflower Alley Club: Iron Mike Mazurki Award (1999)

Central States Wrestling: NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Central States version)'' (1 time) – with Tank Patton Continental Wrestling Association: AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

International Wrestling Institute and Museum: Frank Gotch Award (2003)

NWA Mid-Pacific Promotions: NWA Hawaii Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Steve Strong Pacific Northwest Wrestling: NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship (2 times),NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship (5 times) – with Bull Ramos (2), Buddy Rose (2) and Jerry Oates (1)

Pro Wrestling Illustrated: PWI ranked him #239 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003, PWI ranked him #67 of the 100 best tag teams of the "PWI Years" with Adrian Adonis

Political career

Mayor of Brooklyn Park

Following his departure from the WWF, Ventura took advice from a former high school teacher and ran for mayor of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota in 1990. Ventura defeated the city's 25-year incumbent mayor and served from 1991 to 1995.

Governor of Minnesota

Ventura ran for Governor of Minnesota in 1998 as the nominee for the Reform Party of Minnesota (he later joined the Independence Party of Minnesota when the Reform Party broke from its association with the Reform Party of the United States of America). His campaign consisted of a combination of aggressive grassroots events and original television spots, designed by quirky adman Bill Hillsman, using the phrase "Don't vote for politics as usual." He spent considerably less than his opponents (about $300,000) and was a pioneer in his using the Internet as a medium of reaching out to voters in a political campaign.

He won the election in November 1998, narrowly (and unexpectedly) defeating the major-party candidates, St. Paul mayor Norm Coleman (Republican) and Minnesota Attorney General Hubert H. "Skip" Humphrey III (Democratic-Farmer-Labor). After his victory, bumper stickers and T-shirts bearing the slogan "My governor can beat up your governor" appeared in Minnesota. The nickname "Jesse 'The Mind (from a last-minute Hillsman ad featuring Ventura posing as Rodin's ''Thinker'') began to resurface sarcastically in reference to his frequently controversial remarks. Ventura's old stage name "Jesse 'The Body (sometimes adapted to "Jesse 'The Governing Body) also continued to appear with some regularity.

After a trade mission to China in 2002, he announced that he would not run for a second term. He accused the media of hounding him and his family for personal behavior and belief while neglecting coverage of important policy issues. Ventura later told a reporter for ''The Boston Globe'' that he would have run for a second term if he had been single, citing the media's effect on his family life.

Governor Ventura sparked media criticism when, nearing the end of his term, he suggested that he might resign from office early to allow his lieutenant governor, Mae Schunk, an opportunity to serve as governor. He further stated that he wanted her to be the state's first female governor and have her portrait painted and hung in the Capitol along with the other governors. Ventura quickly retreated from the comments, saying he was just floating an idea.

Political positions

As Minnesota Governor, Ventura succeeded in several initiatives. One of the most notable was the rebate on Sales tax. In each year of his administration, Minnesotans received a tax-free check in the late summer. The state was running a budget surplus at the time, and Ventura believed that the money should be given back to the public. In political debates, he often admitted that he had not formed an opinion on certain policy questions. Ventura frequently described himself as "fiscally conservative and socially liberal." He selected teacher Mae Schunk as his running mate.

Later, he came to support a unicameral (one-house) legislature, property tax reform, gay rights, and abortion rights. In an interview on ''The Howard Stern Show'', he affirmed his support of gay rights, including gay marriage and gays in the military, humorously stating he would've gladly served alongside homosexuals when he was in the Navy as they would've provided less competition for women. While funding public school education generously, he opposed the teachers' union, and did not have a high regard for the public funding of higher education institutions. Additionally, Ventura supported the use of medicinal marijuana, advocated a higher role for third parties in national politics, and favored the concept of instant-runoff voting.

Ventura was elected on a Reform party ticket, but he never received support from Ross Perot's Texas faction. When the Reform party was taken over by Pat Buchanan supporters before the presidential elections of 2000, Ventura left the party in February 2000, referring to it as "hopelessly dysfunctional". However, he maintained close ties to the Independence Party of Minnesota, which also broke from the Reform party around the same time.

Despite being a supporter of third parties in the past, in 2010 Ventura advocated that all political parties, including third parties, be abolished. Feeling that the two-party system has corrupted the government, Ventura has expressed concern that if a third party became as successful as the Republicans and Democrats, it "will likewise have to corrupt itself. If you already have a two-headed monster, why would you need three?"

Lacking a party base in the Minnesota House and Senate, Ventura's policy ambitions had little chance of being introduced as bills. Initially, the residents of Minnesota feared Ventura's vetoes would be overturned. He vetoed 45 bills in his first year, and only three of those vetoes were overridden. The reputation for having his vetoes overridden comes from his fourth and final year, where six of his nine vetoes were overturned. He vetoed a bill to require recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools.

During the first part of his administration, Ventura strongly advocated for land-use reform and substantial mass transit improvements, such as light rail. He made the light rail project a priority, obtaining additional funding from the Minnesota state legislature to keep the project moving. The Hiawatha Line was completed in 2004.

During another trade mission to Cuba in the summer of 2002, he denounced the economic sanctions of the US against that country.

====Wellstone memorial==== Ventura greatly disapproved of some of the actions that took place at the 2002 memorial for Senator Paul Wellstone, his family, and others who died in a plane crash on October 25, 2002. Ventura said, "I feel used. I feel violated and duped over the fact that [the memorial ceremony] turned into a political rally". He left halfway through the controversial speech made by Wellstone's best friend, Rick Kahn. Ventura had initially planned to appoint a Democrat to Wellstone's seat, but he instead appointed Dean Barkley to represent Minnesota in the Senate until Wellstone's term expired in January 2003.

Political criticisms

After the legislature refused to increase spending for security, Ventura attracted criticism when he decided not to live in the governor's mansion during his tenure, choosing instead to shut it down and stay at his home in Maple Grove. Critics pointed to the loss of jobs for several working-class people at the mansion and the extra cost of reopening the mansion later.

In 1999, a group of disgruntled citizens petitioned to recall Governor Ventura, alleging, among other things, that "the use of state security personnel to protect the governor on a book promotion tour constituted illegal use of state property for personal gain." The petition was denied.

During his tenure as Governor, Ventura drew frequent fire from the press in the Twin Cities. He referred to reporters as "media jackals," a term that even appeared on the press passes required to enter the governor's press area. Shortly after Ventura's election as governor, author and humorist Garrison Keillor wrote a satirical book about the event, spoofing Ventura as "Jimmy (Big Boy) Valente," a self-aggrandizing former "Navy W.A.L.R.U.S. (Water Air Land Rising Up Suddenly)" turned professional wrestler turned politician. Initially, Ventura responded angrily to the satire, but later, in a conciliatory vein, said that Keillor "makes Minnesota proud". During his term, Ventura appeared on ''The Late Show with David Letterman'', in which he responded controversially to the following question: "So which is the better city of the Twin Cities, Minneapolis or St. Paul?". Ventura responded, "Minneapolis. Those streets in St. Paul must have been designed by drunken Irishmen". He later apologized for the remark, adding that it was not intended to be taken seriously.

Acting career

Ventura acted in the 1987 movie ''Predator'', whose cast included future California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and future Kentucky Gubernatorial candidate Sonny Landham. He appeared in two episodes of ''Zorro'' filmed in Madrid, Spain, in 1991. He had a starring role in the 1990 sci-fi movie ''Abraxas, Guardian of the Universe'', and supporting roles in ''The Running Man'', ''Thunderground'', ''Demolition Man'', ''Repossessed'', ''Ricochet'', ''The Master of Disguise'' (in which he steals the Liberty Bell), and ''Batman & Robin'' – the first two and last of these also starring Schwarzenegger. Ventura also made a cameo appearance in ''Major League II'', as "White Lightning". He also appeared as a self help guru (voice only) in ''The Ringer'' trying to turn Johnny Knoxville into a more confident worker. Ventura also had a cameo in ''The X-Files'' episode "Jose Chung's ''From Outer Space''" as a Man in Black alongside fellow 'MiB' Alex Trebek. In 2008, Ventura filmed the independent comedy ''Woodshop'', starring as a high school shop teacher named Mr. Madson. The film was released September 7, 2010.

Other media

In 1989 Ventura co-hosted the four episodes of the DiC Entertainment children's program ''Record Breakers'' along with Gary Apple. In 1991, the pilot episode for "Tag Team", a television program about two ex-professional wrestlers turned police officers, starred Ventura and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper.

Between 1995 and his run for governor in 1998, Ventura had radio call-in shows on (KFAN 1130) and (KSTP 1500) in Minneapolis – Saint Paul. Jesse had a brief role on the television soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'' in 1999.

Ventura has been criticized for privately profiting from his heightened popularity. He was hired as a television analyst for the failed XFL football enterprise, served as a referee at a World Wrestling Federation match, and published several books during his tenure as governor. On his weekly radio show, he often criticized the media for focusing on these deals rather than on his policy proposals.

Media parodies

Ventura has been portrayed frequently by comedian James Adomian since 2009 on the popular Earwolf podcasts Comedy Bang Bang and Sklarbro Country, with the "Ventura" character uncovering a wide range of absurd conspiracies. Adomian also played Ventura in a YouTube parody of Conspiracy Theory, investigating the secret truth behind professional wrestling.

Ventura has been parodied on the KXXR (93X) "Half assed morning show" by hosts Nick Born and Josh in segments called the "Fish Police" and "Pics with Bits" in both he is described with his famous deep voice saying non-sense phrases like, "I'm busy carrying these two sacks".

Post-gubernatorial life

Show name	Jesse Ventura's America
Starring	Jesse Ventura
Location	Saint Paul, Minnesota,
Network	MSNBC
First aired	October 4, 2003
Last aired	December 26, 2003
italic title	no }}

Ventura was succeeded in his office by Republican Tim Pawlenty. He began a cable television show in October 2003, on MSNBC called ''Jesse Ventura's America''. The show was broadcast once a week, on Saturdays, unlike many MSNBC shows which are on five nights a week (this show was originally planned for five nights a week as well, but MSNBC executives changed their minds). At the time of its airing, ''Jesse Ventura's America'' was the only national television show filmed in Minnesota. Among his guests were Charles Barkley, Gray Davis, Arianna Huffington, Rob Kampia, and Kathy McKee.

In 2004, Harvard graduate student and fellow Navy veteran Christopher Mora promoted the idea that the academic establishment had failed to reach out to citizens experienced in public service, but who did not fit the traditional idea of a politician. He successfully lobbied for the selection of Ventura, who started teaching a study group at Harvard University for the Spring 2004 semester as a visiting fellow at the Kennedy School of Government's Institute of Politics (IOP). His 90-minute study group focused on third party politics, campaign finance, the war on drugs, and other relevant political issues. Ventura scheduled multiple famous friends to appear for his seminars including Dean Barkley and Richard Marcinko.

On October 22, 2004, with Ventura by his side, former Maine Governor Angus King endorsed John Kerry for President at the Minnesota state capitol building. Ventura did not speak at the press conference. When prodded for a statement, Governor King responded, "He plans to vote for John Kerry, but he doesn't want to make a statement and subject himself to the tender mercies of the Minnesota press".

In November 2004, an advertisement began airing in California featuring Ventura. In it, Ventura voices his opposition to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's policies regarding Native American casinos. Ventura is serving as an advisory board member for a new group called Operation Truth, a non-profit organization set up "to give voice to troops who served in Iraq." “The current use of the National Guard is wrong....These are men who did not sign up to go occupy foreign nations”.

In August 2005, Ventura became the spokesperson for BetUS, an online Sportsbook. In 2005, Ventura repeatedly discussed leaving the United States. In September 2005, Ventura announced on ''The Mike Malloy Show'' that he was leaving the U.S. and planned to "have an adventure". In late October 2005, he went on ''The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch'' and reiterated that he was leaving the U.S. due to, among other things, censorship. He has since moved to Baja California, Mexico.

In September 2006, Ventura endorsed and campaigned with independent Texas gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman, and Independence Party of Minnesota's gubernatorial candidate Peter Hutchinson and Team Minnesota. He revealed he now spends much of his time surfing near his home in Mexico.

In April 2008, a book authored by Ventura, titled ''Don't Start the Revolution Without Me'', was released. In it, Ventura describes a hypothetical campaign in which he is a candidate for President of the United States in 2008, running as an independent. In an interview with the Associated Press at the time of the book's release, however, Ventura denied any plans for a presidential bid, stating that the scenario is only imaginary and not indicative of a "secret plan to run". On MinnPost.com, Ventura's agent, Steve Schwartz, describes the book thus: "[Ventura is revealing] why he left politics and discussing the disastrous war in Iraq, why he sees our two-party system as corrupt, and what Fidel Castro told him about who was really behind the assassination of President Kennedy."

However, in an interview on CNN's ''The Situation Room'' on April 7, Ventura hinted that he was considering entering the race for the United States Senate seat then held by Norm Coleman, his Republican opponent in the 1998 Gubernatorial race. A poll commissioned by Twin Cities station Fox 9 put him at 24 percent, behind Al Franken at 32 percent and Norm Coleman at 39 percent in a hypothetical three-way race. However, Ventura announced on ''Larry King Live'' on July 14, 2008 that he would not run.

He spoke at former Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul's "Rally for the Republic", organized by the Campaign for Liberty, on September 2, 2008. At the event, Ventura implied a possible future run at the U.S. Presidency. Ventura stated before a live audience that "If America proves itself worthy, in 2012 we'll give them a race they'll never forget!"

Bush/Cheney administration and torture

In a May 11, 2009 interview with Larry King, Ventura twice stated that George W. Bush was the worst president of his lifetime, adding "President Obama inherited something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. You know? Two wars, an economy that's borderline depression." On the issue of waterboarding, Ventura added:

I'll put it to you this way, you give me a water board, Dick Cheney and one hour, and I'll have him confess to the Sharon Tate murders. ... If it's done wrong, you certainly could drown. You could swallow your tongue. [It] could do a whole bunch of stuff to you. If it's done wrong orit's torture, Larry. It's torture.''}}

Ventura then stated that he had no respect for Dick Cheney because he is "a guy who got five deferments from the Vietnam War. Clearly, he's a coward. He wouldn't go when it was his time to go. And now he is a chickenhawk. Now he is this big tough guy who wants this hardcore policy. And he's the guy that sanctioned all this torture by calling it 'enhanced interrogation'." Ventura also expressed interest in being appointed ambassador to Cuba should U.S. relations with Cuba continue to improve. On a May 18, 2009 appearance on ''The View'', Ventura asked Elisabeth Hasselbeck if waterboarding is acceptable, why were the Oklahoma City bombers, Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, not waterboarded. "We only seem to waterboard Muslims." Comparing the waterboarding of detainees to the North Vietnamese torture of American P.O.W.s, Ventura asserted, "We created our own Hanoi Hilton in Guantánamo. That's our Hanoi Hilton." "'Enhanced interrogation' is Dick Cheney changing a word. Dick Cheney comes up with a new word to cover his ass." On May 20, 2009, Ventura appeared on ''Fox & Friends''. When Brian Kilmeade told Ventura that he would stop supporting waterboarding when "they're dead", Ventura responded, "Really? Have you enlisted? Have you enlisted or are you just talking?... Go walk the walk, don't talk the talk."

Questions regarding 9/11

In April and May 2008, Jesse Ventura, in several radio interviews for his new book, ''Don't Start the Revolution Without Me'', expressed concerns about what he described as some of the unanswered questions of the September 11 attacks. His remarks about the possibility that the World Trade Center was demolished with explosives were also repeated in newspaper and television stories following some of the interviews.

Ventura was interviewed on the Alex Jones radio show on April 2, 2008 where he said that he felt that many unanswered questions remain, and he believes that World Trade Center Building 7, which was not struck by a plane, collapsed on the afternoon of 9/11 in a manner which resembled a controlled demolition Ventura stated:

''}}''

He also states the Twin Towers appeared to be pulverized to dust, that they fell at virtually free-fall speed, and that no other massive steel-framed buildings had ever collapsed in this manner due to fire before.

On May 18, 2009, when asked by Sean Hannity of Fox News, how George W. Bush could have avoided the attacks of September 11, 2001, Ventura answered, "Well, you pay attention to memos on August 6'th that tell you exactly what bin Laden's gonna do."

''Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura''

In August 2009, it was announced that Ventura would host TruTV's new show ''Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura''. "Ventura will hunt down answers, plunging viewers into a world of secret meetings, midnight surveillance, shifty characters and dark forces," truTV said in a statement. On the program, which debuted on December 2, 2009, Ventura travels the country, investigating cases and getting input from believers and skeptics before passing judgment on a theory's validity. According to TruTV, the first episode drew 1.6 million viewers, a record for a new series on the network.

The second season of the series debuted in October 2010 and aired 8 episodes through December 2010.

''American Conspiracies''

''American Conspiracies'' is a book Ventura wrote with Dick Russell, published by Skyhorse Publishing in 2010 which discusses conspiracy theories related to several notable events in United States history.

''Lawsuit Against the TSA''

In January 2011, Jesse Venutra filed a lawsuit against the Transportation Security Administration for being subject to controversial pat-downs. Ventura has claimed that these pat-downs violate his Fourth Amendment rights. Ventura's attorney has claimed that while he is not seeking any monetary compensation, Ventura wants an acknowledgment from the court that his rights were violated and that the TSA halt future pat-downs on him.

Personal life

Family

In 1975, Ventura married his wife Terry. The couple have two grown children: a son, Tyrel (b. 1980), who is a film and television director and producer, and a daughter, Jade (b. 1983).

Currently, Ventura and his wife live in Mexico, "There are no newspapers down where I live. Where I live, I'm an hour from pavement and an hour from electricity. I'm completely off-the-grid."

Steroid use

During his wrestling days, Ventura used anabolic steroids. He admitted this after retiring from competition, and went on to make public service announcements and appear in printed ads and on posters warning young people about the potential dangers and potential health risks of abusing steroids.

Health problems

In 2002, Ventura was hospitalized for a severe blood clot in his lungs, the same kind of injury that ended his wrestling career.

Religion

In a ''Playboy'' interview, he said, "Organized religion is a sham and a crutch for weak-minded people who need strength in numbers. It tells people to go out and stick their noses in other people's business." In his 1999 best-selling memoir ''I Ain't Got Time to Bleed'', Ventura responded to the controversy sparked by these remarks by elaborating on his views concerning religion: "I’d like to clarify [my comments published in ''Playboy''] about religious people being weak-minded. I didn’t mean all religious people. I don’t have any problem with the vast majority of religious folks. I count myself among them, more or less. But I believe because it makes sense to me, not because I think it can be proven. There are lots of people out there who think they know the truth about God and religion, but does anybody really know for sure? That’s why the Founding Fathers built freedom of religious belief into the structure of this nation, so that everybody could make up their minds for themselves. But I do have a problem with the people who think they have some right to try to impose their beliefs on others. I hate what the fundamentalist fanatics are doing to our country. It seems as though, if everybody doesn’t accept their version of reality, that somehow invalidates it for them. Everybody must believe the same things they do. That’s what I find weak and destructive."

Ventura endorsed equal rights for religious minorities, as well as people who don't believe in God, by declaring July 4, 2002, "Indivisible Day". Ventura proclaimed October 13–19, 2002 as "Christian Heritage Week" in Minnesota.

Ventura identified himself as an atheist on April 5, 2011, on ''The Howard Stern Show'' and stated that he had been convinced to become an atheist by watching George Carlin. Ventura stated he had been a Lutheran before.

Electoral history

1998 election for Governor

*Jesse Ventura (Ref.), 37%

*Norm Coleman (R), 34%

*Hubert H. Humphrey III (DFL), 28%

Books

''I Ain't Got Time to Bleed: Reworking the Body Politic from the Bottom Up'' (May 1999) ISBN 978-0-375-50332-0

''Do I Stand Alone? Going to the Mat Against Political Pawns and Media Jackals'' (September 2000) ISBN 978-0-7434-0586-7

''Jesse Ventura Tells it Like it Is: America's Most Outspoken Governor Speaks Out About Government'' (September 2002, co-authored with Heron Marquez) ISBN 978-0-8225-0385-9

''Don't Start the Revolution Without Me!'' (March 2008, co-authored with Dick Russell) ISBN 978-1-60239-273-1

''American Conspiracies'' (March 2010, co-authored with Dick Russell) ISBN 978-1-60239-802-3

''63 Documents the Government Doesn't Want You to Read'' (April 2011, co-authored with Dick Russell) ISBN 978-1-61608-226-0

Notes

References

deFiebre, Conrad. "Record-high job approval for Ventura; Many Minnesotans like his style, don't mind moonlighting." ''Star Tribune'' 22 July 1999: 1A+.

deFiebre, Conrad. "Using body language, Ventura backs Kerry." ''Star Tribune'' 23 October 2004: 1A+.

Kahn, Joseph P. "The Body Politic." ''The Boston Globe'' 25 February 2004. Accessed April 28, 2004.

Olson, Rochelle and Bob von Sternberg. "GOP demands equal time; Wellstone aide apologizes; Ventura upset." ''Minneapolis Star-Tribune'' 31 October 2002: 1A+.

External links

Jesse Ventura Official Website

WWE Hall of Fame Profile

Ventura "on the issues"

Analysis of Jesse Ventura's ''Playboy'' interview by Aubrey Immelman

Jesse Ventura – Media Man Australia profile

Election Of Bonapartist Figure Ventura In Minnesota Is Danger To Working People – article in ''The Militant'' 1998.

Radiotapes.com Recordings of Jesse Ventura for Governor commercials from 1998 (scroll down to Misc Recordings).

Larry King Live: Jesse Ventura CNN April 1, 2008

"Jesse's back! New Ventura book 'Revolution' will cover political waterfront" from Minnpost.com

The Jesse Ventura Forums

Jesse Ventura on Wrestling-Radio.com

Jesse Ventura interview, Diaday.com

Jesse Ventura on The Young Turks Show.

http://images.radcity.net/5163/2969012.mp3

Category:1951 births Category:Actors from Minnesota Category:American actor-politicians Category:American atheists Category:American athlete-politicians Category:American film actors Category:American memoirists Category:American military personnel of the Vietnam War Category:American people of Slovak descent Category:American professional wrestlers Category:American talk radio hosts Category:American television sports announcers Category:American people of German descent Category:Conspiracy theorists Category:Governors of Minnesota Category:Independence Party of Minnesota politicians Category:Independent politicians in the United States Category:Former Lutherans Category:Living people Category:Mayors of places in Minnesota Category:Mongols (motorcycle club) Category:Radio personalities from Minneapolis, Minnesota Category:Professional wrestling announcers Category:Reform Party of the United States of America politicians Category:Minnesota Vikings broadcasters Category:Tampa Bay Buccaneers broadcasters Category:United States Navy sailors Category:WWE Hall of Fame

bg:Джеси Вентура cs:Jesse Ventura de:Jesse Ventura es:Jesse Ventura fa:جسی ونچورا fr:Jesse Ventura it:Jesse Ventura he:ג'סי ונטורה nl:Jesse Ventura ja:ジェシー・ベンチュラ pl:Jesse Ventura pt:Jesse Ventura ru:Джесси Вентура fi:Jesse Ventura sv:Jesse Ventura vi:Jesse Ventura zh:傑西·溫圖拉

colour	orange
name	Ace Ventura
portrayer	Jim Carrey
voice	Charlie Schlatter
gender	Male
occupation	Pet Detective
spouse	Melissa Ventura ''(formerly Melissa Robinson)''
children	Ace Ventura Jr.
relatives	Rex Ventura ''(father)'' }}

Ace Ventura is a fictional character, created by screenwriter Jack Bernstein. Ace was played by Jim Carrey in the films (''Ace Ventura: Pet Detective'', released in 1994, and ''Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls'', released in 1995.) He was voiced by Charlie Schlatter in the animated television series.

Biography

Ace is a Miami-based private detective specializing in missing animals, Ace was the son of Ron Ventura and is a direct descendant of famous historical figures including , Ernest Ventura Shackleton, and Jacques Ventura Costeau. He spent his adult life working as an investigator on cases involving animals, cases that took him all over the United States, as well as the world. It is not known if the Ace Ventura animated television series was canon with the films, but if it was it likely takes place before them because the only one of his pets from the movies to appear in the series is his capuchin monkey, Spike (this suggests that he may not have gotten the rest of his pets until some point between the movies and series). During the second film, Ace becomes a Buddhist monk after a failed rescue attempt of a raccoon, only to be called out of retirement to investigate a missing sacred animal. By the events portrayed in Ace Ventura, Jr. it is established that Ace disappeared somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle. Ergo, Ace never appears in the film itself.

Development

Ace's mannerisms and catch-phrases are based on Carrey's "Overly Confident Gay Man" character from In Living Color.

Bernstein had wanted to do a comedic version of Sherlock Holmes, and when watching the ''Stupid Pet Tricks'' segment on ''Late Night With David Letterman'', got the idea for a pet detective.

Personality

Ace Ventura is an eccentric, possibly insane, self styled 'pet detective' who gave up regular police work so he could focus more on crimes against animals ("I don't do humans."). Like all the great fictional sleuths, he is gifted with incredible powers of observation and deduction, such as when he quickly noted that a certain balcony door would have to have been closed when a man fell out in an apparent suicide or the victim's scream would have been heard. On at least one occasion, he also managed to escape being shot at by catching a bullet in his teeth.

Ventura's many personality quirks include his persistent, almost pathological vulgarity and exceedingly flamboyant, extroverted behaviour, one well known quirk is grasping his butt cheeks and moving them as to talk. Despite his frequently psychotic personality, he is a very dedicated gumshoe, driven by an insatiable love of animals and a desire to protect them from the sinister machinations of man. It is revealed in ''Ace Ventura Jr: Pet Detective'' by Rex (Ace Sr.'s father) that his love for animals, detective skills, personality, insanity, and even hairdo are due to a mutated chromosome which has been in the Ventura family for thousands of years. This is reinforced by the fact that Ace's son, Ace Jr., developed his father's personality, attire, and hair style in his absence.

Although Ace is an animal lover, the second film reveals that he has a deep seated fear of bats which caused problems throughout, especially when Ace was forced to carry a live bat ''by hand''.

Regarding appearance, he usually wears an unbuttoned Aloha shirt over a plain white A-shirt, with red and black striped trousers. Many of Ace's mannerisms (such as his laugh) are drawn from the character Fire Marshall Bill, played by Jim Carrey during his time on ''In Living Color''. He lives in an apartment alongside many different animals, all of whom discretely hide from his pet-forbidding landlord, Mr. Schickadance, in his absence.

Appearance in ''The Mask: The Animated Series''

In the episodes ''"The Aceman Cometh/Have Mask, Will Travel"'' of ''The Mask: The animated series'', when Milo, the pet dog of Stanley Ipkiss, was stolen by Dr. Pretorius, Ipkiss calls Ace for help. Both Ipkiss/the Mask and Ace Ventura were the animated version of characters portrayed by Jim Carrey himself, who appeared face to face. Ace wears the mask (accidentally) on his butt, turning into a face similar to his own and having the ability to speak, ironizing his gag of making his butt "talk" (as in the "ass a few questions" joke from the original film).

Reception

Ace was ranked the 60th Greatest Movie Character in a November, 2008 list by Empire Magazine. Cyborg Franky from Japanese anime and manga One Piece is based on the character.

See also

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective

External links

References

Category:Ace Ventura Category:Comedy film characters Category:Fictional characters from Florida Category:Fictional private investigators Category:Fictional Buddhist monks Category:Fictional postal workers Category:Fictional characters introduced in 1994

es:Ace Ventura (personaje) it:Ace Ventura ru:Эйс Вентура fi:Ace Ventura (hahmo)

name	Dick Cheney
order	46th
office	Vice President of the United States
term start	January 20, 2001
term end	January 20, 2009
president	George W. Bush
predecessor	Al Gore
successor	Joe Biden
order3	17th
office3	United States Secretary of Defense
term start3	March 20, 1989
term end3	January 20, 1993
president3	George H. W. Bush
deputy3	Donald J. Atwood, Jr.
predecessor3	Frank Carlucci
successor3	Les Aspin
order4	15th
title4	United States House of Representatives Minority Whip
term start4	January 3, 1989
term end4	March 20, 1989
leader4	Robert H. Michel
predecessor4	Trent Lott
successor4	Newt Gingrich
state5	Wyoming
district5	At-large
term start5	January 3, 1979
term end5	March 20, 1989
predecessor5	Teno Roncalio
successor5	Craig L. Thomas
order6	7th
office6	White House Chief of Staff
term start6	November 21, 1975
term end6	January 20, 1977
president6	Gerald Ford
predecessor6	Donald Rumsfeld
successor6	Hamilton Jordan
birth date	January 30, 1941
birth place	Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S.
spouse	Lynne Cheney (m. 1964-present)
children	Elizabeth CheneyMary Cheney
residence	McLean, VirginiaJackson, Wyoming
profession	PoliticianBusinessman
alma mater	Yale UniversityUniversity of Wyoming (BA, MA) University of Wisconsin-Madison
religion	Methodist
party	Republican
signature	Dick Cheney Signature.svg
Signature alt	Cursive signature in ink
awards	}}

Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney (born January 30, 1941) served as the 46th Vice President of the United States (2001-2009), under George W. Bush.

Cheney was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, but was primarily raised in Sumner, Nebraska and Casper, Wyoming. He began his political career as an intern for Congressman William A. Steiger, eventually working his way into the White House during the Nixon and Ford administrations, where he served the latter as White House Chief of Staff. In 1978, Cheney was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Wyoming; he was reelected five times, eventually becoming House Minority Whip. Cheney was selected to be the Secretary of Defense during the presidency of George H. W. Bush, holding the position for the majority of Bush's term. During this time, Cheney oversaw the 1991 Operation Desert Storm, among other actions.

Out of office during the Clinton presidency, Cheney was chairman and CEO of Halliburton Company from 1995 to 2000.

Early life and education

Cheney was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, the son of Marjorie Lorraine (née Dickey) and Richard Herbert Cheney. He is of predominantly English and Welsh ancestry; Cheney's 8th great-grandfather, William Cheney immigrated from England to Massachusetts in the 17th century. Although not a direct descendant, he is collaterally related to Benjamin Pierce Cheney (1815–1895), the early American expressman. Cheney is a distant cousin of both Harry S. Truman and Barack Obama; the three share a common ancestor in Mareen Duvall, a Huguenot who fled from France to England in the 17th century and later settled in Maryland.

He attended Calvert Elementary School before his family moved to Casper, Wyoming, where he attended Natrona County High School. His father was a soil conservation agent for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and his mother was a softball star in the 1930s; Cheney was one of three children. He attended Yale University, but by his own account had problems adjusting to the college, and flunked out twice. Among the influential teachers from his days in New Haven was Professor H. Bradford Westerfield, whom Cheney repeatedly credited with having helped to shape his approach to foreign policy. He later attended the University of Wyoming, where he earned both a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts in political science. He subsequently started, but did not finish, doctoral studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

In November 1962, at the age of 21, Cheney was convicted of driving while intoxicated (DWI). He was arrested for DWI again the following year. Cheney said that the arrests made him "think about where I was and where I was headed. I was headed down a bad road if I continued on that course."

In 1964, he married Lynne Vincent, his high school sweetheart, whom he had met at age 14.

When Cheney became eligible for the draft, during the Vietnam War, he applied for and received five draft deferments. In 1989, ''The Washington Post'' writer George C. Wilson interviewed Cheney as the next Secretary of Defense; when asked about his deferments, Cheney reportedly said, "I had other priorities in the '60s than military service." Cheney testified during his confirmation hearings in 1989 that he received deferments to finish a college career that lasted six years rather than four, owing to sub par academic performance and the need to work to pay for his education. Initially, he was not called up because the Selective Service System was only taking older men. When he became eligible for the draft, he applied for four deferments in sequence. He applied for his fifth exemption on January 19, 1966, when his wife was about 10 weeks pregnant. He was granted 3-A status, the "hardship" exemption, which excluded men with children or dependent parents. In January 1967, Cheney turned 26 and was no longer eligible for the draft.

Early White House appointments

Cheney's political career began in 1969, as an intern for Congressman William A. Steiger during the Richard Nixon Administration. He then joined the staff of Donald Rumsfeld, who was then Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity from 1969–70. He held several positions in the years that followed: White House Staff Assistant in 1971, Assistant Director of the Cost of Living Council from 1971–73, and Deputy Assistant to the president from 1974–1975. As deputy assistant, Cheney suggested several options in a memo to Rumsfeld, including use of the US Justice Department, that the Ford administration could use to limit damage from an article, published by ''The New York Times,'' in which investigative reporter Seymour Hersh reported that Navy submarines had tapped into Soviet undersea communications as part of a highly classified program.

Cheney was Assistant to the President under Gerald Ford. When Rumsfeld was named Secretary of Defense, Cheney became White House Chief of Staff, succeeding Rumsfeld. He later was campaign manager for Ford's 1976 presidential campaign.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

In 1978, Cheney was elected to represent Wyoming in the U.S. House of Representatives and succeed retiring Congressman Teno Roncalio, having defeated his Democratic opponent, Bill Bailey. Cheney was reelected five times, serving until 1989.

Committee assignments

Originally declining, U.S. Congressman Barber Conable persuaded Cheney to join the moderate Republican Wednesday Group in order to move up the leadership ranks. He was elected Chairman of the Republican Policy Committee from 1981 to 1987. Cheney was the Ranking Member of the Select Committee to investigate the Iran-Contra Affair. He promoted Wyoming's petroleum and coal businesses as well,

Leadership

In 1987, he was elected Chairman of the House Republican Conference. The following year, he was elected House Minority Whip. He served for two and a half months before he was appointed Secretary of Defense instead of former U.S. Senator John G. Tower, whose nomination had been rejected by the U.S. Senate in March 1989.

Votes

He voted against the creation of the U.S. Department of Education, citing his concern over budget deficits and expansion of the federal government, and claiming that the Department was an encroachment on states' rights. He voted against funding Head Start, but reversed his position in 2000.

Cheney supported Bob Michel’s (R-IL) bid to become Republican Minority Leader. In April 1980, Cheney endorsed Governor Ronald Reagan for President, becoming one of Reagan's earliest supporters.

In 1986, after President Ronald Reagan vetoed a bill to impose economic sanctions on South Africa for its policy of apartheid, Cheney was one of 83 Representatives to vote against overriding Reagan's veto. In later years, he articulated his opposition to unilateral sanctions against many different countries, stating "they almost never work" and that in that case they might have ended up hurting the people instead.

In 1986, Cheney, along with 145 Republicans and 31 Democrats, voted against a non-binding Congressional resolution calling on the South African government to release Nelson Mandela from prison, after the Democrats defeated proposed amendments that would have required Mandela to renounce violence sponsored by the African National Congress (ANC) and requiring it to oust the communist faction from its leadership; the resolution was defeated. Appearing on CNN, Cheney addressed criticism for this, saying he opposed the resolution because the ANC "at the time was viewed as a terrorist organization and had a number of interests that were fundamentally inimical to the United States."

The federal building in Casper, a regional center of the fossil fuel industry, is named the Dick Cheney Federal Building.

Secretary of Defense

President George H. W. Bush nominated Cheney for the office of Secretary of Defense immediately after the U.S. Senate failed to confirm John Tower for that position. The senate confirmed Cheney by a vote of 92 to 0 and he served in that office from March 1989 to January 1993. He directed the United States invasion of Panama and Operation Desert Storm in the Middle East. In 1991 he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Bush.

Early tenure

Cheney worked closely with Pete Williams, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, and Paul Wolfowitz, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, from the beginning of his tenure. He focused primarily on external matters, and left most internal Pentagon management to Deputy Secretary of Defense Donald J. Atwood, Jr.

Budgetary practices

Cheney's most immediate issue as Secretary of Defense was the Department of Defense budget. Cheney deemed it appropriate to cut the budget and downsize the military, following President Ronald Reagan's peacetime defense buildup at the height of the Cold War. As part of the fiscal year 1990 budget, Cheney assessed the requests from each of the branches of the armed services for such expensive programs as the B-2 stealth bomber, the V-22 Osprey tilt-wing helicopter, the Aegis destroyer and the MX missile, totaling approximately $4.5 billion in light of changed world politics. Cheney opposed the V-22 program, which Congress had already appropriated funds for, and initially refused to issue contracts for it before relenting. When the 1990 Budget came before Congress in the summer of 1989, it settled on a figure between the Administration's request and the House Armed Services Committee's recommendation. In subsequent years under Cheney, the proposed and adopted budgets followed patterns similar to that of 1990. Early in 1991, he unveiled a plan to reduce military strength by the mid-1990s to 1.6 million, compared with 2.2 million when he entered office. Cheney's 1993 defense budget was reduced from 1992, omitting programs that Congress had directed the Department of Defense to buy weapons that it did not want, and omitting unrequested reserve forces.

Over his four years as Secretary of Defense, Cheney downsized the military and his budgets showed negative real growth, despite pressures to acquire weapon systems advocated by Congress. The Department of Defense's total obligational authority in current dollars declined from $291 billion to $270 billion. Total military personnel strength decreased by 19 percent, from about 2.2 million in 1989 to about 1.8 million in 1993.

Political climate and agenda

Cheney publicly expressed concern that nations such as Iraq, Iran, and North Korea, could acquire nuclear components after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The end of the Cold War, the fall of the Soviet Union, and the disintegration of the Warsaw Pact obliged the first Bush Administration to reevaluate the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO's) purpose and makeup. Cheney believed that NATO should remain the foundation of European security relationships and that it would remain important to the United States in the long term; he urged the alliance to lend more assistance to the new democracies in Eastern Europe.

Cheney's views on NATO reflected his skepticism about prospects for peaceful social development in the former Eastern Bloc countries, where he saw a high potential for political uncertainty and instability. He felt that the Bush Administration was too optimistic in supporting General Secretary of the CPSU Mikhail Gorbachev and his successor, Russian President Boris Yeltsin. Cheney worked to maintain strong ties between the United States and its European allies.

Cheney persuaded the Saudi Arabian aristocracy to allow bases for US ground troops and war planes in the nation. This was an important element of the success of the Gulf War, as well as a lightning-rod for Islamists who opposed having non-Muslim armies near their holy sites.

International situations

Using economic sanctions and political pressure, the United States mounted a campaign to drive Panamanian ruler General Manuel Antonio Noriega from power after he fell from favour. In May 1989, after Guillermo Endara had been duly elected President of Panama, Noriega nullified the election outcome, drawing intensified pressure. In October, Noriega suppressed a military coup, but in December, after soldiers of the Panamanian army killed a US serviceman, the United States invasion of Panama began under Cheney's direction. The stated reason for the invasion was to seize Noriega to face drug charges in the United States, protect US lives and property, and restore Panamanian civil liberties. Although the mission was controversial, US forces achieved control of Panama and Endara assumed the Presidency; Noriega was convicted and imprisoned on racketeering and drug trafficking charges in April 1992.

In 1991, the Somali Civil War drew the world's attention. In August 1992, the United States began to provide humanitarian assistance, primarily food, through a military airlift. At President Bush's direction, Cheney dispatched the first of 26,000 US troops to Somalia as part of the Unified Task Force (UNITAF), designed to provide security and food relief. Cheney's successors as Secretary of Defense, Les Aspin and William J. Perry, had to contend with both the Bosnian and Somali issues.

Iraqi invasion of Kuwait

On August 1, 1990, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein sent invading forces into neighboring Kuwait, a small petroleum-rich state long claimed by Iraq as part of its territory. An estimated 140,000 Iraqi troops quickly took control of Kuwait City and moved on to the Saudi Arabia/Kuwait border. The United States had already begun to develop contingency plans for the defense of Saudi Arabia by the US Central Command, headed by General Norman Schwarzkopf, because of its important petroleum reserves.

US and world reaction

Cheney and Schwarzkopf oversaw planning for what would become a full-scale US military operation. According to General Colin Powell, Cheney "had become a glutton for information, with an appetite we could barely satisfy. He spent hours in the National Military Command Center peppering my staff with questions."

Shortly after the Iraqi invasion, Cheney made the first of several visits to Saudi Arabia where King Fahd requested US military assistance. The United Nations took action as well, passing a series of resolutions condemning Iraq's invasion of Kuwait; the UN Security Council authorized "all means necessary" to eject Iraq from Kuwait, and demanded that the country withdraw its forces by January 15, 1991. By then, the United States had a force of about 500,000 stationed in Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf. Other nations, including Britain, Canada, France, Italy, Syria, and Egypt, contributed troops, and other allies, most notably Germany and Japan, agreed to provide financial support for the coalition effort, named Operation Desert Shield.

On January 12, 1991, Congress authorized Bush to use military force to enforce Iraq's compliance with UN resolutions on Kuwait.

Military action

The first phase of Operation Desert Storm, which began on January 17, 1991, was an air offensive to secure air superiority and attack Iraq's forces, targeting key Iraqi command and control centers, including Baghdad and Basra. Cheney turned most other Department of Defense matters over to Deputy Secretary Atwood and briefed Congress during the air and ground phases of the war. He flew with Powell to the region (specifically Riyadh) to review and finalize the ground war plans.

After an air offensive of more than five weeks, the UN coalition launched the ground war on February 24. Within 100 hours, Iraqi forces had been routed from Kuwait and Schwarzkopf reported that the basic objective—expelling Iraqi forces from Kuwait—had been met on February 27. After consultation with Cheney and other members of his national security team, Bush declared a suspension of hostilities.

Aftermath

A total of 147 U.S. military personnel died in combat, and another 236 died as a result of accidents or other causes. Iraq agreed to a formal truce on March 3, and a permanent cease-fire on April 6. There was subsequent debate about whether the UN coalition should have driven as far as Baghdad to oust Saddam Hussein from power. Bush agreed that the decision to end the ground war when they did was correct, but the debate persisted as Hussein remained in power and rebuilt his military forces. Arguably the most significant debate concerned whether U.S. and coalition forces had left Iraq too soon. In an April 15, 1994 interview with C-SPAN, Cheney explained that occupying and attempting to take over the country would have been a "bad idea" and would have led to a "quagmire."

Cheney regarded the Gulf War as an example of the kind of regional problem the United States was likely to continue to face in the future.

We're always going to have to be involved [in the Middle East]. Maybe it's part of our national character, you know we like to have these problems nice and neatly wrapped up, put a ribbon around it. You deploy a force, you win the war and the problem goes away and it doesn't work that way in the Middle East it never has and isn't likely to in my lifetime.

Private sector career

Between 1987 and 1989, during his last term in Congress, Cheney was a director of the Council on Foreign Relations foreign policy organization.

With the new Democratic administration under President Bill Clinton in January 1993, Cheney left the Department of Defense and joined the American Enterprise Institute. He also served a second term as a Council on Foreign Relations director from 1993 to 1995. From 1995 until 2000, he served as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Halliburton, a Fortune 500 company and market leader in the energy sector.

Cheney's record as CEO was subject to some dispute among Wall Street analysts; a 1998 merger between Halliburton and Dresser Industries attracted the criticism of some Dresser executives for Halliburton's lack of accounting transparency. Although Cheney is not named as an individual defendant in the suit, Halliburton shareholders are pursuing a class-action lawsuit alleging that the corporation artificially inflated its stock price during this period; the United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments on whether the case can continue to be litigated. Cheney was named in a December 2010 corruption complaint filed by the Nigerian government against Halliburton, which the company settled for $250 million.

During Cheney's tenure, Halliburton changed its accounting practices regarding revenue realization of disputed costs on major construction projects. Cheney resigned as CEO of Halliburton on July 25, 2000. As vice president, he argued that this step removed any conflict of interest. Cheney's net worth, estimated to be between $30 million and $100 million, is largely derived from his post at Halliburton, as well as the Cheneys' gross income of nearly $8.82 million.

He was also a member of the board of advisors of the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA) before becoming vice president.

2000 election

In early 2000, while serving as the CEO of Halliburton, Cheney headed then-Governor of Texas George W. Bush's vice-presidential search committee. On July 25, after reviewing Cheney's findings, Bush surprised some pundits by asking Cheney himself to join the Republican ticket. Halliburton reportedly reached agreement on July 20 to allow Cheney to retire, with a package estimated at $20 million.

A few months before the election Cheney put his home in Dallas up for sale and changed his drivers' license and voter registration back to Wyoming. This change was necessary to allow Texas' presidential electors to vote for both Bush and Cheney without contravening the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which forbids electors from voting for someone from their own state for both President and Vice-President.

Cheney campaigned against Al Gore's running mate, Joseph Lieberman, in the 2000 presidential election. While the election was undecided, the Bush-Cheney team was not eligible for public funding to plan a transition to a new administration. So, Cheney opened a privately funded transition office in Washington. This office worked to identify candidates for all important positions in the cabinet. According to Craig Unger, Cheney advocated Donald Rumsfeld for the post of Secretary of Defense to counter the influence of Colin Powell at the State Department, and tried unsuccessfully to have Paul Wolfowitz named to replace George Tenet as director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Vice Presidency

First term

Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, Cheney remained physically apart from Bush for security reasons. For a period, Cheney stayed at an undisclosed location, out of public view. He also utilized a heavy security detail, employing a motorcade of 12 to 18 government vehicles for his daily commute from the Vice Presidential residence at the U.S. Naval Observatory to the White House.

On the morning of June 29, 2002, Cheney served as Acting President of the United States under the terms of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, while Bush was undergoing a colonoscopy. Cheney acted as President from 11:09 UTC that day until Bush resumed the powers of the presidency at 13:24 UTC.

Iraq War

Following 9/11, Cheney was instrumental in providing a primary justification for entering into a war with Iraq. Cheney helped shape Bush's approach to the "War on Terrorism", making numerous public statements alleging Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, and made several personal visits to CIA headquarters, where he questioned mid-level agency analysts on their conclusions. Cheney continued to allege links between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda, even though President Bush received a classified President's Daily Brief on September 21, 2001 indicating the U.S. intelligence community had no evidence linking Saddam Hussein to the September 11th attacks and that "there was scant credible evidence that Iraq had any significant collaborative ties with Al Qaeda." Furthermore, in 2004, the 9/11 Commission concluded that there was no "collaborative relationship" between Iraq and al Qaeda.

Following the US invasion of Iraq, Cheney remained steadfast in his support of the war, stating that it would be an "enormous success story", and made many visits to the country. He often criticized war critics, calling them "opportunists" who were peddling "cynical and pernicious falsehoods" to gain political advantage while US soldiers died in Iraq. In response, Senator John Kerry asserted, "It is hard to name a government official with less credibility on Iraq [than Cheney]."

In a March 24, 2008 extended interview conducted in Ankara, Turkey with ABC News correspondent Martha Raddatz on the fifth anniversary of the original U.S. military assault on Iraq, Cheney responded to a question about public opinion polls showing that Americans had lost confidence in the war by simply replying "So?" This remark prompted widespread criticism, including from former Oklahoma Republican Congressman Mickey Edwards, a long-time personal friend of Cheney.

Second term

Bush and Cheney were re-elected in the 2004 presidential election, running against John Kerry and his running mate, John Edwards. During the election, the pregnancy of his daughter Mary and her sexual orientation as a lesbian became a source of public attention for Cheney in light of the same-sex marriage debate. Cheney has stated that he is in favor of gay marriages but that each individual state should decide whether to permit it.

Cheney's former chief legal counsel, David Addington, became his chief of staff and remained in that office until Cheney's departure from office. John P. Hannah served as Cheney's national security adviser. Until his indictment and resignation in 2005, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Jr. served in both roles.

On the morning of July 21, 2007, Cheney once again served as acting president for about two and a half hours. Bush transferred the power of the presidency prior to undergoing a medical procedure, requiring sedation, and later resumed his powers and duties that same day.

After his term began in 2001, Cheney was occasionally asked if he was interested in the Republican nomination for the 2008 elections. However, he always maintained that he wished to retire upon the expiration of his term and he did not run in the 2008 presidential primaries. The Republicans nominated Arizona Senator John McCain.

Disclosure of documents

Cheney was a prominent member of the National Energy Policy Development Group (NEPDG), commonly known as the Energy task force, which comprised energy industry representatives, including several Enron executives. After the Enron scandal, the Bush administration was accused of improper political and business ties. In July 2003, the Supreme Court ruled that the US Department of Commerce must disclose NEPDG documents, containing references to companies that had made agreements with the previous Iraqi government to extract Iraq's petroleum.

Beginning in 2003, Cheney's staff opted not to file required reports with the National Archives and Records Administration office charged with assuring that the executive branch protects classified information, nor did it allow inspection of its record keeping. Cheney refused to release the documents, citing his executive privilege to deny congressional information requests. Media outlets such as ''Time'' magazine and CBS News questioned whether Cheney had created a "fourth branch of government" that was not subject to any laws. A group of historians and open-government advocates filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, asking the court to declare that Cheney's vice-presidential records are covered by the Presidential Records Act of 1978 and cannot be destroyed, taken or withheld from the public without proper review.

CIA leak scandal

On October 18, 2005, ''The Washington Post'' reported that the vice president's office was central to the investigation of the Valerie Plame CIA leak scandal, for Cheney's former chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, was one of the figures under investigation. Following an indictment, Libby resigned his positions as Cheney's chief of staff and assistant on national security affairs.

On September 8, 2006, Richard Armitage, former Deputy Secretary of State, publicly announced that he was the source of the revelation of Plame's status. Armitage said he was not a part of a conspiracy to reveal Plame's identity and did not know whether one existed.

In February 2006, ''The National Journal'' reported that Libby had stated before a grand jury that his superiors, including Cheney, had authorized him to disclose classified information to the press regarding intelligence on Iraq's weapons .

On March 6, 2007, Libby was convicted on four felony counts for obstruction of justice, perjury, and making false statements to federal investigators.

Assassination attempt

On February 27, 2007, at about 10 a.m., a suicide bomber killed 23 people and wounded 20 more outside Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan during a visit by Cheney. Qari Yousef Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, claimed responsibility for the attack and said Cheney was its intended target. The Taliban claimed that Osama Bin Laden supervised the operation. The bomb went off outside the front gate, however, while Cheney was inside the base and half a mile away. He reported hearing the blast, saying "I heard a loud boom...The Secret Service came in and told me there had been an attack on the main gate." The purpose of Cheney's visit to the region had been to press Pakistan for a united front against the Taliban.

Policy formulation

Cheney has been characterized as the most powerful and influential Vice President in history. Both supporters and detractors of Cheney regard him as a shrewd and knowledgeable politician who knows the functions and intricacies of the federal government. A sign of Cheney's active policy-making role was then-House Speaker Dennis Hastert's provision of an office near the House floor for Cheney in addition to his office in the West Wing, his ceremonial office in the Old Executive Office Building, and his Senate offices (one in the Dirksen Senate Office Building and another off the floor of the Senate).

Cheney has actively promoted an expansion of the powers of the presidency, saying that the Bush administration’s challenges to the laws which Congress passed after Vietnam and Watergate to contain and oversee the executive branch—the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the Presidential Records Act, the Freedom of Information Act and the War Powers Resolution—are, in Cheney's words, "a restoration, if you will, of the power and authority of the president."

In June 2007, the ''Washington Post'' summarized Cheney’s vice presidency in a Pulitzer Prize-winning four-part series, based in part on interviews with former administration officials. The articles characterized Cheney not as a "shadow" president, but as someone who usually has the last words of counsel to the president on policies, which in many cases would reshape the powers of the presidency. When former Vice President Dan Quayle suggested to Cheney that the office was largely ceremonial, Cheney reportedly replied, "I have a different understanding with the president." The articles described Cheney as having a secretive approach to the tools of government, indicated by the use of his own security classification and three man-sized safes in his offices.

The articles described Cheney’s influence on decisions pertaining to detention of suspected terrorists and the legal limits that apply to their questioning, especially what constitutes torture. U.S. Army Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, who served as Colin Powell's chief of staff when he was both Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the same time Cheney was Secretary of Defense, and then later when Powell was Secretary of State, stated in an in-depth interview that Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld established an alternative program to interrogate post-9/11 detainees because of their mutual distrust of CIA.

The Washington Post articles, principally written by Barton Gellman, further characterized Cheney as having the strongest influence within the administration in shaping budget and tax policy in a manner that assures "conservative orthodoxy." They also highlighted Cheney’s behind-the-scenes influence on the administration’s environmental policy to ease pollution controls for power plants, facilitate the disposal of nuclear waste, open access to federal timber resources, and avoid federal constraints on greenhouse gas emissions, among other issues. The articles characterized his approach to policy formulation as favoring business over the environment.

In June 2008, Cheney allegedly attempted to block efforts by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to strike a controversial US compromise deal with North Korea over the communist state's nuclear program.

In July 2008, a former Environmental Protection Agency official stated publicly that Cheney's office had pushed significantly for large-scale deletions from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report on the health effects of global warming "fearing the presentation by a leading health official might make it harder to avoid regulating greenhouse gases." In October, when the report appeared with six pages cut from the testimony, The White House stated that the changes were made due to concerns regarding the accuracy of the science. However, according to the former senior adviser on climate change to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen Johnson, Cheney's office was directly responsible for nearly half of the original testimony being deleted.

On February 14, 2010, in an appearance on ABC's This Week, Cheney reiterated his support of waterboarding and enhanced interrogation techniques for captured terrorist suspects, saying, "I was and remain a strong proponent of our enhanced interrogation program." At the time, Cheney still enjoyed strong support from voters in the Republican Party.

Post Vice-Presidency

Political activity

The ''Washington Post'' reported in 2008 that Cheney purchased a home in McLean, Virginia (Washington suburbs), which he was to tear down for a replacement structure. He also maintains homes in Wyoming and on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

Said to be writing a book, his memoirs are likely to be published in spring 2011. ''The Washington Post'' reported that the book will charge that in his second term George W. Bush ignored Cheney's advice and, in a word, went "soft". According to the article, Cheney "felt Bush was moving away from him." Cheney said Bush was "shackled by public reaction and the criticism he took." The article characterized the Cheney doctrine as "cast iron strength at all times—never apologize, never explain" while Bush moved towards a conciliatory approach. Personal factors also contributed to the growing distance between the two men. Cheney was dismayed when Mr. Bush forced his old friend and mentor Donald Rumsfeld out of the Pentagon in 2006. Cheney reportedly further accused Bush of abandoning Lewis "Scooter" Libby, likening his action to "leaving a soldier on the battlefield".

Cheney will be subject of an HBO television mini-series based on Barton Gellman's 2008 book ''Angler'' and the 2006 documentary "The Dark Side"^video, produced by the Public Broadcasting System.

Cheney maintained a visible public profile after leaving office, being especially critical of Obama administration policies on national security. In May 2009, Cheney spoke of his support for same-sex marriage, becoming one of the most prominent Republican politicians to do so. Speaking to the National Press Club, Cheney stated: "People ought to be free to enter into any kind of union they wish, any kind of arrangement they wish. I do believe, historically, the way marriage has been regulated is at a state level. It's always been a state issue, and I think that's the way it ought to be handled today."

Although, by custom, a former Vice President receives unofficial six month protection from the United States Secret Service, President Obama reportedly extended the protection period for Cheney.

On July 11, 2009 CIA Director Leon E. Panetta told the Senate and House intelligence committees that the CIA withheld information about a secret counter-terrorism program from Congress for eight years on direct orders from Dick Cheney. Intelligence and Congressional officials have said the unidentified program did not involve the CIA interrogation program and did not involve domestic intelligence activities. They have said the program was started by the counter-terrorism center at the CIA shortly after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but never became fully operational, involving planning and some training that took place off and on from 2001 until this year. Wall Street Journal reported, citing former intelligence officials familiar with the matter, that the program was an attempt to carry out a 2001 presidential authorization to capture or kill al Qaeda operatives.

Criticism of President Obama

Cheney has publicly criticized President Obama since the 2008 presidential election. On December 29, 2009, four days after the attempted bombing of an international passenger flight from Netherlands to United States, Cheney criticized Obama: "[We] are at war and when President Obama pretends we aren't, it makes us less safe. [...] Why doesn't he want to admit we're at war? It doesn't fit with the view of the world he brought with him to the Oval Office. It doesn't fit with what seems to be the goal of his presidency—social transformation—the restructuring of American society." In response, White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer wrote on the official White House blog the following day, "[I]t is telling that Vice President Cheney and others seem to be more focused on criticizing the Administration than condemning the attackers. Unfortunately too many are engaged in the typical Washington game of pointing fingers and making political hay, instead of working together to find solutions to make our country safer."

During a February 14, 2010 appearance on ABC's ''This Week'', Cheney reiterated his criticism of the Obama administration's policies for handling suspected terrorists, criticizing the "mindset" of treating "terror attacks against the United States as criminal acts as opposed to acts of war".

In a May 2, 2011, interview with ABC News, Cheney praised the Obama administration for the operation that resulted in the killing of Osama bin Laden.

Memoir

In My Time: A Personal and Political Memoir is a memoir written by former Vice President of the United States Dick Cheney with Liz Cheney. The book was released on August 30, 2011 and outlines Cheney's version of 9/11, the War on Terrorism, the 2001 War in Afghanistan, the run-up to the 2003 Iraq war, enhanced interrogation techniques and other events.

Health problems

Cheney's long histories of cardiovascular disease and periodic need for urgent health care raised questions of whether he was medically fit to serve in public office. Once a heavy smoker, Cheney sustained the first of five heart attacks in 1978, at age 37. Subsequent attacks in 1984, 1988, 2000, and 2010 have resulted in moderate contractile dysfunction of his left ventricle. He underwent four-vessel coronary artery bypass grafting in 1988, coronary artery stenting in November 2000, urgent coronary balloon angioplasty in March 2001, and the implantation of an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator in June, 2001.

On September 24, 2005, Cheney underwent a six-hour endo-vascular procedure to repair popliteal artery aneurysms bilaterally, a catheter treatment technique used in the artery behind each knee. Cheney was hospitalized for tests after experiencing shortness of breath five months later. In late April 2006, an ultrasound revealed that the clot was smaller. CBS News reported that during the morning of November 26, 2007, Cheney was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation and underwent treatment that afternoon.

On July 12, 2008, Cheney underwent a cardiological exam; doctors reported that his heartbeat was normal for a 67-year-old man with a history of heart problems. As part of his annual checkup, he was administered an electrocardiogram and radiological imaging of the stents placed in the arteries behind his knees in 2005. Doctors said that Cheney had not experienced any recurrence of atrial fibrillation and that his special pacemaker had neither detected nor treated any arrhythmia. On October 15, 2008, Cheney returned to the hospital briefly to treat a minor irregularity.

On January 19, 2009, Cheney strained his back "while moving boxes into his new house". As a consequence, he was in a wheelchair for two days, including his attendance at the 2009 United States presidential inauguration.

On February 22, 2010, Cheney was admitted to George Washington University Hospital after experiencing chest pains. A spokesperson later said Cheney had experienced a mild heart attack after doctors had run tests. On June 25, 2010, Cheney was admitted to George Washington University Hospital after reporting discomfort.

In early July 2010, Cheney was outfitted with a left-ventricular assist device (LVAD) at Inova Fairfax Heart and Vascular Institute to compensate for worsening congestive heart failure. The device pumps blood continuously through his body. He was released from Inova on August 9, 2010, and will have to decide whether to seek a full heart transplant. This pump is centrifugal and as a result he is alive without a pulse.

Public perception

In the beginning of the Bush administration, Cheney's public opinion polls were more favorable than unfavorable. In the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks, both Bush's and Cheney's approval ratings rose, with Cheney reaching 68 percent and the president with 90 percent. The polling numbers for both men declined after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, however. Cheney's Gallup poll figures are consistent with those from other polls:

April 2001 – 63% approval, 21% disapproval

January 2002 – 68% approval, 18% disapproval

January 2004 – 56% approval, 36% disapproval

January 2005 – 50% approval, 40% disapproval

January 2006 – 41% approval, 46% disapproval

July 2007 – 30% approval, 60% disapproval

March 2009 – 30% approval, 63% disapproval

In April 2007, Cheney was awarded an honorary doctorate of public service by Brigham Young University, where he delivered the commencement address. His selection as commencement speaker was controversial. The college board of trustees issued a statement explaining that the invitation should be viewed "as one extended to someone holding the high office of vice president of the United States rather than to a partisan political figure". BYU permitted a protest to occur so long as it did not "make personal attacks against Cheney, attack (the) BYU administration, the church or the First Presidency".

Cheney has often been compared to Darth Vader, a characterization originated by his critics but later adopted humorously by Cheney himself as well as members of his family and staff.

Personal life

Cheney is a member of the United Methodist Church and was "the first Methodist Vice President to serve under a Methodist president."

His wife, Lynne Cheney, was Chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities from 1986 to 1996. She is now a public speaker, author, and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. The couple have two children, Elizabeth and Mary, and six grandchildren. Elizabeth, his elder daughter, is married to Philip J. Perry, former General Counsel of the Department of Homeland Security. Mary Cheney, a former employee of the Colorado Rockies baseball team and Coors Brewing Company, a campaign aide to the Bush re-election campaign, and an open lesbian, currently lives in Great Falls, Virginia with her longtime partner Heather Poe.

Hunting incident

On February 11, 2006, Cheney accidentally shot Harry Whittington, a 78-year-old Texas attorney, in the face, neck, and upper torso with birdshot pellets when he turned to shoot a quail while hunting on a southern Texas ranch.

Whittington suffered a mild heart attack and atrial fibrillation due to a pellet that embedded in the outer layers of his heart. The Kenedy County Sheriff's office cleared Cheney of any criminal wrongdoing in the matter, and in an interview with Fox News, Cheney accepted full responsibility for the incident. Whittington was discharged from the hospital on February 17, 2006. Later, Whittington stated, "My family and I are deeply sorry for all that vice president Cheney has had to go through this past week."

References

Further reading

;Works by

''Professional Military Education: An Asset for Peace and Progress : A Report of the Crisis Study Group on Professional Military Education (Csis Report)'' 1997. ISBN 0-89206-297-5

''Kings of the Hill: How Nine Powerful Men Changed the Course of American History'' 1996. ISBN 0-8264-0230-5

;Works about

Andrews, Elaine. ''Dick Cheney: A Life Of Public Service''. Millbrook Press, 2001. ISBN 0-7613-2306-6

Gellman, Barton. ''Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency''. Penguin Press, 2008. ISBN 9781594201868

Goldstein, Joel K. "Cheney, Vice Presidential Power and the War on Terror," APSA 2009 Toronto Meeting Paper, ''available at'' http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1450601

Hayes, Stephen. ''Cheney: The Untold Story of America's Most Powerful and Controversial Vice President''. HarperCollins, 2007. ISBN 0060723467

Mann, James. ''Rise of the Vulcans: The History of Bush's War Cabinet''. Viking, 2004. ISBN 0-670-03299-9

Nichols, John. ''Dick: The Man Who is President''. New Press, 2004. ISBN 1-56584-840-3

External links

US Department of State from the Internet Archive

'' The New York Times'' — Dick Cheney archives

Vice Presidential Debate, October 5, 2004: Transcript text, 1, 2004&endDate;=&s; Audio and Video (RealPlayer or MPG format)

{{U.S. Cabinet Official box | before= Donald Rumsfeld | after= Hamilton Jordan | years= 1975–1977 | president= Gerald Ford | office= White House Chief of Staff}} {{U.S. Secretary box |before=Frank C. Carlucci |after=Les Aspin |years=1989–1993 |president= George H. W. Bush |department= Secretary of Defense}}

Category:1941 births Category:American anti-communists Category:American chief executives Category:American Enterprise Institute Category:American Methodists Category:American people of English descent Category:American people of Welsh descent Category:American people of French descent Category:Attempted assassination survivors Category:Cheney family Category:Ford Administration personnel Category:United States congressional aides Category:Living people Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives from Wyoming Category:People from Casper, Wyoming Category:People from Jackson, Wyoming Category:People from Lincoln, Nebraska Category:People of Huguenot descent Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Category:Republican Party Vice Presidents of the United States Category:United Methodists Category:United States Secretaries of Defense Category:United States vice-presidential candidates, 2000 Category:United States vice-presidential candidates, 2004 Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Category:University of Wyoming alumni Category:White House Chiefs of Staff Category:Wyoming Republicans

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