As towering Wyoming figures go, Dick Cheney was decidedly on the unassuming side when he appeared one day at my desk at the Rawlins Daily Times.
It was April of 1979, and Cheney was there seeking an interview with the local editor, and maybe a photo he could use in his campaign fliers.
Cheney looked like a pretty normal guy, approachable, nothing pretentious or arrogant about him, even though at 38 years old he'd already served in the White House as chief of staff for President Gerald Ford.
He had a subtle, crooked smile that told you he got the humor of the situation.
This year has been a tough one for towering Wyoming figures, as we lost Sen. Alan Simpson (no relation) on March 14, Gerry Spence on August 14, and Cheney last week. (While known as a gifted lawyer, Spence once ran for Congress, but only won one town: Bill, Wyoming, population 5.)
Simpson and Spence were two impressive guys, but the unpretentious Dick Cheney, seeking his second term in the U.S. House of Representatives, ultimately towered the highest, serving as 46th Vice President of the United States.
One of the wonderful things about Wyoming – known as a small town with a very long Main Street – is that as a newsman, you never knew who was going to walk through the door, looking for an interview.
As a cub reporter in Laramie, I interviewed Malcolm Wallop when he first ran for the U.S. Senate.
A few days later, incumbent Sen. Gale McGee stormed into the newsroom, angry that we had interviewed his opponent.
McGee said, “I certainly expected better from my HOMETOWN PAPER!” Then he walked into the publisher's office, and chewed on him for a while.
When he cooled off, I interviewed him, just like I interviewed Wallop.
In the election days later, Wyoming voters rejected McGee – who had a big reputation as an expert in foreign affairs and friend of presidents. I think he saw it coming.
A friend who was a reporter in Rawlins in 1980 said he interviewed Cheney, Wallop and Simpson, all in his first week or two on the job. “I had to be a quick study to be able to adequately interview them,” he said.
As an interviewer, you quickly learned to ask these guys, “So, how's the campaign going?” They always had plenty to say about that.
While Al Simpson was always the guy to give you a great quote – people compared him to Will Rogers – and to be at the center of controversial issues like the appointment of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court, Cheney seemed to fly under the radar.
Early in his career, the quiet, competent Cheney was almost never the lightning rod, rising in the leadership in the House of Representatives.
That would end later, when he served as Secretary of Defense and Vice President, becoming a constant target of the Left for his stint as chairman of Halliburton, his support of the war in Iraq, and his conservative stance on the issues.
The final blow to his popularity came in 2024 when he joined his daughter, former Rep. Liz Cheney, in opposing the re-election of Donald Trump, angering many Wyoming Republican voters.
One thing I remember about that early interview with Cheney in Rawlins was that he was there by himself, no staff or entourage accompanying him, driving himself across southern Wyoming in a van with his name in big red letters painted on the sides.
Unpretentious. Thrifty. A seemingly normal guy. (A normal guy who would ultimately donate millions to the University of Wyoming.)
A thrifty, unpretentious, normal guy, that is, who rose all the way to the second highest elected office in the land.
A letter on House of Representatives stationery, thanking me for the interview and a photo I took of him standing in front of the Daily Times office, is framed and has been hanging on the wall next to my desk for years.
Like I said, as a small-town Wyoming newsman, you never knew who was going to walk through the door.
Even a future Vice President of the United States.
Dave Simpson can be contacted at DaveSimpson145@hotmail.com
