A vice president only acquires the amount of influence a President allows him to acquire.   Franklin Roosevelt's last VP was kept so far out of the loop that he wasn't even aware the atomic bomb was being developed until he assumed the Presidency and had to use it.  When asked to list the accomplishments of his vice president, Richard Nixon, President Eisenhower could not list a single one.  The truth is that the only reason Dick Cheney acquired as much influence over presidential decision-making is because President Bush didn't have much of a grasp on world politics and was not thought of very highly by the Republican leadership when it assumed control.

Dick Cheney was considered an ideal Vice President by the Republican establishment. He was an insider.  He had all the connections and experience that the President lacked.  He also did not have aspirations for a future run at the Presidency so he was not risking a political career.  In the early days of the Bush Administration it was Dick Cheney who decided he would carve out a special niche for himself and make the U.S. military role in the world his domain.  Why in the world would G.W. Bush allow someone else to assume such influence when it was his name that would be tied to all the policies?  There are three reasons Bush allowed this to occur.

1.  The Republican leadership that took over the White House in 2001 were primarily Reagan/Bush holdovers and they saw G.W. Bush as the second coming of Ronald Reagan - the mouthpiece and salesman for their policies.  They believed that Ronald Reagan's best attribute was selling the policies they developed, not coming up with ideas on his own.  In this role Reagan did a very good job.  Following eight years out of power the Reagan Republicans believed they could resurrect this model with Bush.  Bush was to be the salesman while the people "with experience" would actually craft the policies.  Dick Cheney, who many Republicans thought should have run for President himself, was in an ideal position to establish the power base of their viewpoints.  

2. G.W. Bush never grasped that if he allowed his VP to take over the crafting of international policy that he'd give up a portion of this role.  He never seemed to understand that if policy people were attracted to the VP's office they wouldn't be in his until afterward.  Bush's National Security Adviser, Condoleezza Rice, may have had less influence in the national security community than any NSA in history. She was viewed far too much as a "yes man" (or yes woman) for the President among the national security establishment. This made Dick Cheney's primary adviser "Scooter" Libby far more influential.

George W. Bush didn't seem to mind allowing power to filter to another office. He seemed to enjoy the role of Presidency more than the responsibilities otherwise he never would have given up some of those responsibilities.  Just as the Republicans filtering into the Executive Branch wanted Bush to be Reagan II, it appears Bush desired this too.  Bush enjoyed playing the role of genial C.E.O. but he never seemed to garner the level of loyalty that Ronald Reagan achieved.

3.  Dick Cheney sought to advance his agenda like no other recent Vice President.  Cheney hated ceremony and wasn't much of "funeral attender."  Thus, if he was going to have any role he'd have to carve it out for himself.   This seemed to go over well with Bush's aides who seemed more loyal to the policies than the President.  Thus, anyone that could further the policy agenda would be encouraged to push forward.  It is unusual that this position was the Vice Presidency and no one seemed to care that raising the office of Vice President necessarily lowers the office of President.  Of course, it would not have mattered if everything was successful.  Bush would get the credit and they would get their policies.

Two factors served to undermine this strategy.  George Bush proved to be rather inept as a spokesperson.  He was not articulate and much less capable of winning over people outside the Republican base. He gradually became the lightening rod for any criticism.  This contrasts with Reagan who was able to deflect criticism of his policies to his subordinates while maintaining his own popularity.  The list of Reagan aides that went down in flames is long and extensive but Reagan himself remained apart from this and maintained his popularity.

The second factor for Republicans in the executive branch was much less enthusiasm for "taking a bullet for the President."  In Reagan's day subordinates were much more willing to bring any criticism toward themselves and to insulate the President.  This didn't happen with Bush.  No underlings took the blame for anything so eventually it all just piled up on the President himself.  It may be the fact that all these individuals were older and simply not willing to risk their reputation or it may have been that they didn't have the same respect for Bush that they did for Reagan.  Whatever the case, George W. Bush's legacy depends on policies that were spearheaded, in part, by someone other than himself.  He may have been the ultimate decision-maker but the options he was given for these policy decisions were developed outside the Oval Office.  This both elevated the role of the Vice Presidency and weakened the role of the President.  It is unlikely Joe Biden will be accorded the same level by President Barack Obama.