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Politics_CheneyBios.sPubDate = "10/5/2004 11:26:22 PM GMT";
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Politics_CheneyBios.appHeader = "Biographies|Vice presidential candidates";
Politics_CheneyBios.appFooter = "Source: The Associated Press";
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Politics_CheneyBios[i-1].body = "DICK CHENEY
Richard Bruce Cheney was born Jan. 30, 1941 in Lincoln, Nebraska.
He is 63 years old.
Cheney is 12 years older than John Edwards, five years older than President Bush and three years older than John Kerry.
Cheney did his undergraduate, graduate and doctoral work at the University of Wyoming,
He received his bachelor’s degree in 1965 and a master’s degree in 1966.The early years
Cheney was raised in Casper, Wyoming, where he met his future wife, Lynne Vincent.
Lynne Vincent was the star baton twirler and he was co-captain of the high school football team.
Cheney went east to Yale but flunked out.
He then returned to Wyoming, where he finished college and married.
Cheney received five student and marriage deferments during the Vietnam War.
Years later he explained: \"I had other priorities in the ’60s than military service.\"Family
Lynne and Dick Cheney were high school sweethearts and married in 1964.
They have two daughters: Elizabeth and Mary, three granddaughters and one grandson.
Both Liz and Mary work for the campaign.
Mary is a lesbian and Cheney has differed somewhat from the current President Bush on the need for a constitutional ban on gay marriage. Bush favors the ban, Cheney has endorsed each state’s right to handle the issue on their own.Career path
In 1969, Cheney joined the Nixon Administration. He was 28.
He worked at the Cost of Living Council, Office of Economic Opportunity and White House.
In 1974, Cheney served on the transition team for incoming President Ford.
In November 1975, he was named White House Chief of Staff. He was 34 years old.
He was said to be enormously influential inside the Ford administration.
In 1977, Cheney returned to Wyoming and was elected to Congress.
Cheney suffered a heart attack mid-campaign, but still easily won the race.
Cheney spent 11 years in Congress, from 1978-1989.
He was known for his conservative voting record and was well-liked in Republican ranks.
In 1988, Cheney was elected as House minority whip, the No. 2 spot for the GOP in the House.
In 1989, Cheney became then-President Bush’s second choice as defense secretary.
Cheney was unanimously confirmed and went on to lead the Gulf War against Iraq.
In 1995, Cheney became the president and CEO of oil and gas company Halliburton.
He stayed in the private sector until President George W. Bush asked him to be his running mate four years ago.Cheney as Vice President
Cheney is considered one of the most powerful vice presidents in history.
Unlike his predecessors, he has his own national security and legislative affairs staff.
Cheney has weighed in on issues ranging from war to tax cuts to smallpox inoculations.
He vigorously made the case for war in Iraq, arguing that Saddam Hussein posed a significant threat to U.S. security.
Cheney led an administration energy task force. The group recommended opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Its proposals are stalled in Congress.Health
Cheney has suffered four heart attacks. the first was during his campaign for Congress in 1977.
He had two heart-attack related incidents in the first six months of campaigning in 2000.
Cheney has not had any heart attacks as vice president.
He has a pacemaker.Free time
Cheney likes to walk his two Labradors, fish on Wyoming’s Snake River and hunt pheasant and quail.
He travels with a satchel full of books on history.
Cheney has written one book: “Kings of the Hill: Power and Personality in the House of Representatives.” It was co-authored by his wife Lynne and published in 1983.
On most weekends, his three granddaughters can be found in sleeping bags on his bedroom floor. He also has an infant grandson. ";
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Politics_CheneyBios[i-1].body = "JOHN EDWARDS
John Edwards was born June 10, 1953.
He is 51 years old.
Edwards is 12 years younger than Dick Cheney, nine years younger than John Kerry and seven years younger than President Bush.
Edwards was born in the mill town of Seneca, South Carolina -- the oldest child in his family.
His family moved and Edwards grew up in the town of Robbins, North Carolina.
Both of Edwards’ parents worked in a textile mill.
His mother also ran a shop and worked at the Post Office.
John Edwards is a Methodist.Family
Edwards is married to Elizabeth Anania Edwards. Born July 3, 1949, she is 55 years old.
The two met when both were in law school at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
They married on July 30, 1977, a day after taking the bar exam.
The couple has three living children: Cate, 22, Emma Claire, 6, and Jack, 4.
The Edwards’ son Wade was killed in an April 1996 traffic accident while in his mid-teens.
John and Elizabeth started an educational foundation and decided to have more children as part of the healing process after Wade’s death.Education
Edwards was the first in his family to go to college.
Edwards received a bachelor’s degree in textiles from North Carolina State University in 1974. He graduated with high honors.
He earned his law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1977. He graduated with honors.Legal career
Edwards worked as a trial lawyer for 20 years -- in Raleigh, North Carolina and Nashville.
According to North Carolina Lawyers Weekly, Edwards won $150 million in settlements during the 1990s. That came from some 60 cases he tried.
In one case, he turned down a $17.5 million dollar settlement and instead a jury awarded his client $25 million.
That was the largest personal injury award in North Carolina history at the time.
That case revolved around a girl who depends on feeding tubes because her intestines were sucked into the drain of a wading pool.Political career
Edwards was elected to the U-S Senate in 1998; he is finishing his first term.
He beat incumbent Republican Lauch Faircloth by four percentage points in that race.
Edwards spent $6 million of his own money on his Senate campaign.
Almost instantly, Edwards was a rising Democratic star. Time Magazine dubbed him the Democrats’ \"Golden Boy.\" People Magazine called him \"America’s Sexiest Politician.\"
His profile increased when he was one of the finalists to be Al Gore’s running mate in 2000.
In the 2004 presidential race, Edwards won a single Democratic primary: South Carolina.
John Kerry announced that Edwards would be his running mate on July 6, 2004.";
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