(The report appeared in a number of papers across the country -- among them the Tri-City Herald of Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland, Washington.) Muriel Dobbin of the Washington Bureau of this news service says win or lose, Dick Cheney will be remembered as the most powerful and controversial vice president in American political history. Professor of history and foreign policy, Mel Small, said, "No vice president has ever played a role so central to the administration, and Cheney anticipated it," he said. "He took the job because he understood its potential significance."