>>>I agree that Cheney is a great asset to the new administration. Conventional wisdom says that he will have his hands full breaking ties in the Senate, but I expect that he'll spend lots more of his time building consensus behind the scenes, and giving valuable input in top-level Cabinet and strategy meetings in the White House.
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>>>I believe George W.'s management style will result in some very capable people being brought on board. He'll set agendas and turn people loose to accomplish them without so much micro-management. I think he'll spend lots of time talking one-on-one with members of Congress and other important national leaders (private sector included) and gradually build a coalition based on humility and bipartisan respect.
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>>>Whether the other side will join in that effort remains to be seen.
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>>I have a very healthy fear of a "laisez faire" management sytle, as evidenced by the Iran-Contra scandal. Presidents tend to get very isolated, and a hands-off management style puts too much power in the hands of people who were not elected to office.
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>>In other words, who is running the country?
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>Don't confuse his management style with "laisez faire" I seem to recall that Ronald "The President" Reagan had pretty good luck at it.

Sure, if you completely ignore Iran-Contra.