Cheney: Sarah Palin Was Bad Choice for VP

Former Vice President Dick Cheney says he's offered some advice to Mitt Romney on VP picks and that Sarah Palin was the wrong choice in 2008.

In his first network interview since receiving a heart transplant in March, Cheney told ABC News that John McCain's decision to pick Palin as his running mate was "a mistake" — one that it is important for Romney not to repeat.

Cheney knows what he's talking about: He helped presidents Gerald Ford and George W. Bush lead their vice-presidential searches and, of course, served as vice president for eight years.

And he's privately offered some advice to both Romney and Beth Myers, who is leading Romney's search for a running mate, on the process.

Cheney would not comment on what he told Romney and Myers, but he was harsh in his assessment of McCain's decision to pick Palin.

"That one," Cheney said, "I don't think was well handled. The test to get on that small list has to be, 'Is this person capable of being president of the United States?'"

Cheney believes Sarah Palin failed that test.

"I like Governor Palin. I've met her. I know her. She [was an] attractive candidate," he said. "But based on her background, she'd only been governor for, what, two years. I don't think she passed that test . . . of being ready to take over. And I think that was a mistake."

More of the exclusive interview with Cheney, which was conducted in Jackson Hole, Wyo., will air Monday on "Good Morning America", World News with Diane Sawyer", and "Nightline".