letter explaining why he would continue to campaign -- Cheney won decisively. He went on to win five more terms. In Congress, Cheney quickly rose within the GOP power chain. He was one of President Reagan's most ardent supporters, backing him up on defense issues like the ``Star Wars'' missile defense system. He also voted against Democrats on almost every social issue, including abortion rights, gun control and the Equal Rights Amendment. During the Iran-Contra scandal, as vice chairman of the congressional investigation commission, Cheney became of one Congress's most stalwart defenders of the Reagan administration. William Cohen, the current defense secretary and a former member of Congress, recalled Monday that he served with Cheney on the Iran-Contra commission and worked with him during Cheney's years at the Pentagon. Cheney was not President Bush's first choice to be defense secretary. His initial pick, Sen. John Tower, withdrew after it became clear he could not win Senate confirmation. Cheney quickly established himself in the Pentagon. When the Air Force chief of staff, Gen. Michael J. Dugan, talked to reporters in unusual detail about U.S. war plans in the Persian Gulf in September 1990, Cheney said he went too far and fired him. But Cheney, the former politician and Washington insider, also has a deft diplomatic style that was typified during the Gulf War, again, when he flew to Saudi Arabia to convince King Fahd that allowing U.S. forces into his kingdom would be wise. In 1995, Cheney became chairman and chief executive officer of Dallas-Based Halliburton Corp., one of the world's leading engineering and construction firms focused on oil companies. Under Cheney's guidance, the company's stock price and profits have soared, as has Cheney's personal portfolio. In 1998, he made $2.2 million in salary and controlled another $10 million in Halliburton stock. He is also a director of several large corporations, including Procter ...
