Cheney Enters the Twilight of His Career

Vice President Dick Cheney awaits another Senator in the Old Senate Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington in this Jan. 4, 2007 file photo, where he administered the Senate oath during re-enactment swearing-in ceremonies. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File) (Evan Vucci - AP)

WASHINGTON -- One by one, the hardline conservatives like Donald H. Rumsfeld and John Bolton who stood shoulder to shoulder with Vice President Dick Cheney in pushing President Bush's decision to invade Iraq have left the administration.

Yet while Cheney himself is in the twilight days of his political career, he's still there, with little evidence that his influence with Bush has waned.

Bush's decision to boost troops in Iraq and to continue to challenge Iran and Syria runs counter to recommendations of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, the new Democratic majority in Congress and many Republicans _ yet reflects Cheney's long-held hawkish views.

The vice president, who generally has kept a low public profile since the midterm elections, is about to get some unwanted exposure in another area. He's expected to be a witness in the perjury and obstruction trial of his former top aide, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, in the CIA leak case.

Jury selection starts Tuesday. Cheney did not resist being called as a defense witness.

Once viewed as adding an air of gravitas to an inexperienced president, Cheney, 64, is now seen by many Americans as a driving force behind Bush's most divisive initiatives: the Iraq war, the National Security Agency's warrantless eavesdropping program, harsh detention and interrogation policies and an aggressive push for expanded executive authority.

Bad as Bush's poll numbers are, Cheney's are worse. And while he's still beloved by conservatives, it seems unlikely he will be a big draw on the 2008 campaign circuit.

None of that seems to matter to Bush.

"Cheney and Bush have a quite personal relationship. Cheney has been loyal from the beginning and is loyal to this day. And the Bush family, if they have any family trait, is to return loyalty," said GOP consultant Rich Galen.

Cheney is expected to be an active salesman for Bush's new Iraq policy, which includes sending 21,500 more troops to Iraq. The plan, which Bush announced this week in a speech to the nation, has drawn wide condemnation from Democrats and many Republicans. Polls show a majority of Americans oppose increasing U.S. troops in Iraq.

Cheney appears ready for the fight, his health holding up despite a long history of heart disease.

In the meantime, his fellow hard-liners in the administration are, for the most part, gone.