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BY CHRISTINA HARTMAN


It’s the kind of behind-closed-doors political revelation you only hear after politicians leave office. In an interview with NBC’s Matt Lauer - former President George W. Bush says his relationship with his Vice President Dick Cheney became strained over Mr. Bush’s decision not to pardon Scooter Libby -- who leaked CIA operative Valerie Plame’s identity to the press.

BUSH: “I let the jury verdict stand after some serious deliberation and the vice president was angry.”
LAUER: “When you went to him and you told him, you said he was furious and he said I can't believe you're going to leave a soldier on the battlefield.”

Libby was Cheney’s former chief of staff -- convicted of two counts of perjury in the case of Valerie Plame. The former president caught heat for commuting Libby’s two and a half year prison term -- but Cheney had wanted a full pardon.

And as Phoenix Fox-affiliate KSAZ reports -- that isn’t all Mr. Bush had to say about his former vice president.

“The former president considered dropping Dick Cheney from the 2004 ticket because, quote, ‘While Cheney helped with important parts of our base, he was a lightning rod for criticism from the media and from the left. He was seen as a dark and heartless man, the Darth Vader of our administration.’ The president briefly thought of asking then Senate majority leader Bill Frist to take the V.P. spot before deciding to stick with Cheney.”

The tidbits come as Mr. Bush kicks off a media tour in promotion of his new book, “Decision Points.” On MSNBC former Bush advisor Mark McKinnon says there’s more where that came from -- but it isn’t all bad blood.

MCKINNON: “It’s very candid and that's why it's fascinating. You get real insights into the Cheney relationship and the Mccain relationship. But you need to read the whole book, because he says really great things about both those men and admires and respects both of them. You get the human elements of these relationships and it's a fascinating read.”

And in case you’re wondering -- LA’s KTLA reports it’s all water under the bridge now.

“Mr. Bush said he worried the incident would ruin his relationship with Cheney, but they remain friends today.”

“Decision Points” hits shelves Tuesday. And so far - reviews are mixed.

The New York Times calls it: “A dogged work of reminiscence by an author not naturally given to introspection... Mr. Bush’s default mode is regular-guy-politico, and his moods vacillate mainly among the defensive and the diligent...”

And The Telegraph suggests, “...it is his insights into and asides about the political and military battles of his presidency - and the friends and enemies he made along the way - that are likely to make the book a bestseller.”


 

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