Dick Cheney just couldn’t seem to bring himself to offer unambiguous praise of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) during an interview on Fox Business Channel Monday.
Christie’s a “promising figure,” the former vice president said, before quickly knocking the recently re-elected governor’s conservative credentials.
“I don’t agree with him on a lot of things. I’m more conservative than he is,” Cheney said.
But Cheney saved the ultimate mixed message when asked about Christie’s response to Hurricane Sandy, a source of consternation for many conservatives who believe the governor was a little too supportive of President Obama in the aftermath of the crisis.
“I wasn’t a fan of the way he welcomed Barack Obama to New Jersey when the hurricane hit,” Cheney said.
But Christie said he “had to at the time,” host Neil Cavuto noted.
“Well, he was the governor of New Jersey and he was doing what he thought was necessary,” Cheney said.
“Do you think he overdid it?” Cavuto wondered.
“I would have preferred — I don’t know that he had any other choice, frankly, in terms of doing what he was supposed to be doing and what he needed to do for the people of New Jersey,” Cheney conceded. “But just like all of us, we carry what we’ve done in the past around with us because that’s part of our legacy and you’ve got to be able to explain it, support it and get people to understand if you want people to support you in the future. And he’s got that same task.”
