[Opinion] Vice President of the United States

When he was in office, former U.S. President George Bush asked then-General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev of the Communist Party how he had found a talented mind like Eduard Shevardnadze. Gorbachev explained that he singled out Shevardnadze because he had correctly answered a riddle that the general secretary had given him. When asked, “Who is the son of your father who is not your brother?”, Shevardnadze had apparently immediately answered “Me.” Bush put the same riddle before Vice President Dan Quayle upon his return to the U.S. and Quayle asked for some time and sought out Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney. Hearing Cheney say, “The answer is me,” Quayle returned to Bush and replied “The answer is Cheney.” To that, President Bush presumably responded, “Idiot, the answer is Shevardnaze.” This is a joke that appears in the autobiography of former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

Quayle was ribbed for not being too smart during his time in office, but had greatly contributed in the presidential race as Bush’s running mate. There were opinions that Bush had made a mistake in choosing him as a running mate, but he nonetheless played a big role in outrunning the Democratic Party’s candidates. In the 1992 presidential elections, Bill Clinton succeeded in convincing voters of changes to come by selecting pragmatist Al Gore as his running mate. George W. Bush called on Cheney to run beside him as vice president to reinforce his camp’s grave image and statesmanship.

In this year’s upcoming elections, Bush has once again chosen Cheney, but John Kerry, the Democratic Party’s candidate is still agonizing over who to run with. Senator John Edwards would bring in a great amount of votes from the South. Richard Gephardt would win votes from the Midwest. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson would get votes from the Hispanic constituency. The running mate selection could be a decisive factor in a neck-and-neck race. Therefore, Kerry cannot help but exercise caution.

Though the presidential elections of the U.S. may not seem to be our concern, Vice President Cheney’s visit to Korea starting from yesterday is a matter of great interest to Koreans. There are many pending issues to discuss such as the North Korean nuclear issue and the troop dispatch to Iraq. Some Koreans are displaying sensitive reactions by demonstrating against the visit. Recently at a Congressional hearing, one U.S. Congressman made a significant remark, saying, “As we saw in the case of Spain, there are limits to a leader’s support, when he or she does not have the support of the people.” How will the U.S. view anti-U.S. strikes? The opinion of the Korean public could well be misinterpreted.

Editorial Writer Bhang Hyong-nam hnbhang@donga.com