In My Time - Dick Cheney [280]
At the National Archives, our work was aided tremendously by Nancy Smith and Stephannie Oriabure, who answered questions, procured photos, and tracked down information from presidential libraries. Christian C. Goos at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and historian Donald A. Ritchie of the U.S. Senate Historical Office Staff also provided important research assistance. I want to thank them, and also Bill Leary of the National Security Council, who was instrumental in reviewing and expediting clearances for this book.
Mary Matalin has lived this project since its inception and her contributions are too numerous to list. We all treasure her wise counsel and her friendship. I am also grateful that Kara Ahern, who helped manage my vice presidential campaign in 2004, came back to help oversee events and travel for me. She has once again become a key member of the Cheney team.
A number of people reviewed early versions of parts of this book and made many useful suggestions. Even when I did not heed their advice, I was often prompted to rethink and rewrite, and I’m grateful for the inspiration provided by David Addington, Eric Edelman, John Hannah, Scooter Libby, Terry O’Donnell, Neil Patel, Samantha Ravich, Pete Williams, and Paul Wolfowitz. Many of the photos in the book were taken by David Bohrer, vice presidential photographer for eight years, and I am grateful not only for his amazing work but for his help in overseeing the photo selection process for In My Time. I appreciate as well Pete Williams’s assistance in helping us choose photos. David Kennerly, who has taken incredible shots at key moments of our lives over many years, is also well represented in this book, and I am grateful for his talent and friendship.
I’d like to thank the American Enterprise Institute, with which I’ve been long associated, and its outstanding and visionary president Arthur Brooks for the many forums the organization has provided over the years for debate about the most important policy issues of our times. Both Lynne and I are grateful for Cristina Allegretti’s skillful attention to detail in managing our AEI office. Debbie Heiden, who worked for me at the White House, continues to help keep my life in order. Gus Anies also played an important role in keeping me organized through the process of writing this book.
Bob Barnett was a skillful representative as we launched this project, and we have benefited from his sage counsel every step of the way. I would also like to thank the terrific team at Simon & Schuster, starting with CEO Carolyn Reidy, whose interest in this project was evident from day one. Our outstanding editor, Mitchell Ivers, made a number of trips to Washington to read the manuscript and make important edits. Louise Burke, Anthony Ziccardi, Jennifer Robinson, and Jean Anne Rose have all made it a pleasure to work with Simon & Schuster. I am also appreciative of the efforts of Sally Franklin, Al Madocs, Tom Pitoniak, Lisa Litwack, Michael Nagin, and Natasha Simons.
While I was campaigning for the vice presidency and serving in office, I was lucky to have a number of talented and dedicated personal aides. My daughter Mary was the first of these during the 2000 campaign. Brian McCormack, Jen Field, Charlie Durkin, and Lucy Tutwiler all served in this post during my vice presidency. I want to thank them for their tireless work handling any and all tasks thrown their way. I also want to acknowledge my longtime friend Ron Walker, who got on the plane with us in 2000 and helped us get our campaign legs back.
It is somewhat unusual, I realize, to thank medical teams for their help, but in my case, it would be a serious oversight if I failed to do so. I am grateful to the doctors at George Washington University Hospital for their tremendous care over the years, and I particularly want to thank Dr. Jonathan Reiner and Dr. Jehan El-Bayoumi. Dr. Lew Hofmann traveled with me around the world several times when I was vice president and I would like to thank him, as well