Strategists stymied by Cheney's stature

WASHINGTON, May 14 (UPI) -- Former Vice President Dick Cheney's criticisms of the Obama administration help to remind Americans about the unpopular previous presidency, observers said.

Cheney's appearances on talk shows and in newspaper pages ensconced him as the most visible and controversial critic of Obama's national security policies, and by extension the Republican Party's most forceful defender of former President George W. Bush's decisions, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

Since leaving the White House in January, Cheney said Obama's policies made the country less safe, disagreed with the decision to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, defended the Bush administration's harsh interrogation techniques and called for release of classified information he said highlights the controversial program's success. On Sunday, Cheney said he would pick conservative talk-show personality Rush Limbaugh over the more moderate former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell as a model for the Republican Party.

Cheney's commentary has made some Republican strategists nervous because he is a reminder of a presidency and party repudiated by the voters in November that no one seemingly can silence, the Post said.

"Cheney continues to be a force among many members of our base, and while he is entirely unhelpful, no one has the standing to show him the door," one GOP strategist told the Post.

Mary Matalin, a spokeswoman for Cheney early in the Bush presidency, said she thinks the former vice president is motivated by his principles and to explain some of the Bush administration's decisions.

"He's got a good life," Matalin said. "He's not settling any scores. He just wants people to understand."