Clinton Feared Running Against Cheney

A fascinating tidbit from Taylor Branch’s history of the 42nd president’s term in office, “The Clinton Tapes,” drawn out in this review by Matthew Cooper:

Who did Bill Clinton think would be the strongest Republican candidate against him in 1996? The surprising answer: Dick Cheney. Branch doesn’t elaborate why, but the anecdote goes to show that Clinton’s vaunted political EQ sometimes failed him.

The Gulf War was seen, at the time Clinton was mulling this over, as the unmistakable triumph of George H.W. Bush’s presidency, and Cheney, Colin Powell, and Gen. Norman Schwartzkopf were all discussed as possible national candidates after their roles in the victory. Powell was the most attractive figure, politically, but Cheney had the ambition. And given what actually happened in 1996, it’s not hard to imagine the GOP performing just as well with the universally-respected post-Defense Department Cheney leading the ticket.

Here’s the relevant section from the book: