Dick Cheney dismisses Sarah Palin as 'a mistake': 4 takeaways

Cheney — who knows a thing or two about the VP selection process — says he isn't a fan of Sen. John McCain's 2008 pick. Does he have a hidden agenda?

Dick Cheney
(Image credit: YouTube)

Dick Cheney is seasoned when it comes to picking running mates — he helped Gerald Ford choose his No. 2 in 1976 and, 24 years later, headed the VP search committee that picked himself to run alongside George W. Bush. So naturally, in Cheney's first interview since getting a heart transplant, ABC News' Jonathan Karl asked about Mitt Romney's looming VP selection. Cheney's advice: Don't pick someone like Sarah Palin. (Watch a video below.) The test has to be, "Is this person capable of being president of the United States?" Cheney said. "I like Governor Palin. I've met her. I know her. [She's an] attractive candidate. But based on her background, she'd only been governor for, what, two years. I don't think she passed that test." Choosing her, Cheney added, was a "mistake." Among those who disagree: Cheney's daughter Liz and the man who picked Palin, Sen. John McCain, who shot back on Monday that he's "proud of the job [Palin] did." What was Cheney thinking? Here, four takeaways:

1. Cheney might be dropping a clue about Romney's VP pick

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