From: "Rich Gauszka" 


http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0322061cheney1.html

MARCH 23--After posting the performance contracts of artists like Bruce
Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, and U2, The Smoking Gun has finally
obtained the backstage demands of a real rock star. That's right, below
you'll find a copy of Vice President Dick Cheney's standard
"tour" rider. The document is provided to hotels where Cheney
will be bunking and lists how the Republican pol's "Downtime
Suite" needs to be outfitted. While the vice president's requests are
pretty modest (no extract-the-brown-M&M demands here), Cheney does like
his suite at a comfy 68 degrees. And, of course, all the televisions need
to be preset to the Fox News Channel (what, you thought he was a Lifetime
devotee?). Decaf coffee should be ready upon his arrival along with four
cans of caffeine-free Diet Sprite. And when Cheney is traveling with his
wife Lynne, the second family's suite needs an additional two bottles of
sparkling water. Mrs. Cheney's H2O should be either Calistoga or,
curiously, Perrier, a favored beverage of French terrorism appeasers. The
document, prepared by the vice president's advance team, was obtained by
TSG after it was provided to a hotel employee prior to a Cheney visit. When
we asked Cheney spokesperson Jenny Mayfield about the document's reference
to gifts that hotels might leave in the suite for the vice president, she
told us she was unable to address that question since she had not seen the
"downtime requirements" rider (she asked for a copy, which we
declined to provide in advance of its publication here). At our source's
request, we've blacked out the handwritten name and Washington, D.C. phone
number of a Cheney staffer. As for the notations regarding extra lamps,
specific newspapers, and a carafe, it is unclear whether they were added by
an advance team staffer or a hotel official.

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