(CNN) – Sen. John McCain made a mistake in 2008 by picking then-Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, former Vice President Dick Cheney said in an interview that aired Sunday.
Cheney led the vice presidential search for Gerald Ford in 1976, and again for George W. Bush in 2000. That last search resulted in Cheney himself being selected, and he served as Bush's number two for eight years.
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On Sunday, Cheney said Palin failed to meet the number one requirement for a vice president: a readiness to step into the top job if needed.
"Based on her background, she was only governor for two years, I don't think she passed that test of being ready to take over. And I think that was a mistake," Cheney said in an interview with ABC News.
Cheney, who said he knows and likes Palin, argued that considerations about which demographic a potential candidate could help pull in clouded the 2008 decision to put Palin on the ticket.
"Those are important issues but they should never be allowed to override that first proposition and I think that's one of the problems that McCain had," Cheney said.
READ MORE: McCain, Liz Cheney push back on Palin 'mistake'
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Cheney is just catching up to what the public already knew......
Heaven help America .What have we done to have had Cheney for a VP or a once possible Palin for a VP candidate. It would be hard to even dream this up for a holloween gig. We are still in trouble because of Cheney and Palin would never again be considered. There may really be a God in Heaven who has mercy and would never wish this again on anybody.
Wow, that's an earth shattering headline. No kidding! I'd say along with Dan Quayle and Dick Cheney, Sarah Palin explifies what has gone wrong in the Republican party.
Cheney: Picking Palin in 2008 was a 'mistake'..... Yeah think???? While I won't vote for Romney, hopefully he will select a decent running mate that we could all live with should he 'happen/ to get elected.
Nothing like stating the obvious.
Nice analysis there Dick. If McCain hadn't picked her I wouldn't have researched him as much as I did. I wouldn't have found out he really isn't the "hero" he portrays himself to be. His pick of her was totally for the party... only. It wasn't for the people. It's the same GOP mantra... for the party only... never for the people. The heck with the people.
I'm so very glad this election made me see the GOP in truer light., and convinced me that I wanted NO part of the Republican Party of NO!
Cheney's a little late. I read about Ms. Palin's meager VP qualifications in the October, 2008 edition of DUH Magazine.™
Comment coming from one of the smartest VPs ever.
Anyone who doubts it is a moron.
The same people that called VP Cheney Darth Vader now see his words as gospel.
Boy what a shocking comment, good thing I was sitting down. The highest profile repub yet to acknowledge Pailn was not only a poor choice for Veep, she's a train wreck as a politician. Maybe Cheney should also look at his own approval ratings before he starts feeling qualified to provide advice to anyone else though.
vice president................. maybe waitress at a strip club na she probably couldnt make money at that even
And Cheney having Bush 43 run as president was a bad idea.
No kidding? In other news: the sky is blue and water is wet
It was a bad choice to pick Cheney as well.
Did Cheney just wake up from his anesthesia?
No fears, the GOP VP has already been selected in Salt Lake by the elders. Mitt will make the announcement when they allow him.
So Cheney has decided picking Palin was a mistake? That's pretty amazing insight.. I've decided cancer is a bad thing.
Well the first mistake was nominating Mcant. Palins qualifications was only 2 arguably successfull years as a governor. yet we select one of the most junior senate members who had NO executive experience in anything. I don't think we even got the lesser of 2 evils. O wasnt qualified then and he has proved his lack of qualification for a second term
Why is anyone still asking anything about that palin person?
Cheney has a FLAIR for the obvious! By the way, If Cheney was so great, GOPers, why wasn't there a groundswell to get him in office in 2008?
That's interesting - because many people consider that Bush's choice of Cheney was a poor one at best. We would likely NOT have gone into Iraq if it wasn't for Cheney and his Haliburton connections.
Bad choice? Sure. But, whodo you think Cheney voted for?
The American People knew the first time Palin opened her mouth she was a HUGE mistake and a complete embarrassment. McCain was done the second he named her. Too bad the American People can't see Romney has as little substance as Palin. It took the Brits less than 24 hours to figure out Romney had no substance, character and was a joke. They are still laughing about him in their press. Now he is in Israel promising war with Iran. Wake up America. Even the Brits called him "another Sarah Palin". We are 100 days from the election and know nothing he is FOR???
As a women, I strongly support women in our government but, they must be intelligent, educated, qualified, understand history and the current world situation and truly be ready and able to "play with the big boys." Ms. Palin was none of these. The first time she spoke I was shocked that anyone would consider her VP material, especially with the presidential candidate the age of John McCane. How could such a decision have been made? However, the right person won, Barack Obama, who is exactly what this country needed them and is exacatly what this county needs now. Amen.
Cheney...trying to blame Palin for Mccain's loss when everyone knows it was the terrible Bush/Cheney years and the "anybody but a Republican" attitude that Americans had that caused Mccain to get trounced ...but, you can't blame a guy for trying.