Vice-President Dick Cheney recently returned to the UFO capitol of the world - Roswell, New Mexico. It was his first trip there since a visit there during the waning days of the 2000 Presidential campaign.

During his first Roswell visit in late October 2000, newspapers reported, "Cheney was greeted by a sign that depicted a little green man with a heart and the name ‘Cheney’—as in ‘Space Aliens Love Cheney.’" Because Cheney had been a former Secretary of Defense, many within the UFO community speculated that the visit might have been a hint at an upcoming UFO disclosure. Even the October 26, 2000 New York Times noted the extraterrestrial significance of the Cheney stopover with its headline "The Alien Factor: And Out in Roswell."

Another reason for the Ufological optimism was that the 2000 Roswell visit by Cheney occurred shortly after the now infamous meeting between presidential candidate George W. Bush and Arkansas native Charles Huffer. It was during that July 2000 campaign encounter that Huffer asked George Bush if he were elected President would he disclose "the truth about UFOs." Bush in reply stated "Sure. I will . . . It will be the first thing he (pointing to Cheney) will do. He’ll get right on it."

Therefore, when Cheney arrived in Roswell a few months later, many thought it was a sign of positive things to come. Cheney, to the disappointment of many UFO watchers, simply made his speech with no mention of E.T.s or anything remotely close, and flew on to Wyoming. Disclosure didn’t come, but the UFO hopefuls still remained optimistic.

The latest October 2002 visit by Cheney to Roswell also came with signs that this too could be a nod and a wink to the UFO community. Instead of speaking at the town hall as he had in 2000, Cheney chose to speak to the 3,000 faithful inside Hanger 32 at the Roswell Industrial Air Center. (Formally Roswell Army Air Field) This hanger, of course, is just a hop and a skip down the tarmac from Hanger 84 where the Roswell alien bodies were rumored to have been stored following the now famous 1947 Roswell weather balloon crash.

The most recent visit to the old Roswell Air Base also closely mimicked the visit a fellow Republican, and former president, Ronald Reagan made to the base for a campaign speech for then Senator Harrison Schmitt in 1982. Like Cheney, Reagan made a short stopover Roswell speech in late October, just prior to the mid-term election.

Like the Cheney visits, the Reagan visit to the Roswell Air Base also stirred up the UFO community, occurring only months after Steven Spielberg had visited the White House and had given a private screening of "E.T.: The Extraterrestrial" for Reagan and three dozen of his close friends and colleagues. While giving his Roswell speech, Reagan always prepared to play to the audience, even mentioned the popular "E.T." in his speech.

That’s the good news. Now for the bad news.

From the beginning of the Bush administration, the promise made to Charles Huffer for UFO disclosure appeared to quickly fade to a distant memory. Once in office the President Bush did not make UFOs the first thing "Cheney would do." In fact, all evidence pointed to the fact that the Bush White House did nothing on the UFO front. Worse in fact, in light of perceived threats from every direction, the Bush administration made new riveting cold-war style secrecy the order of the day. This new secrecy was not exactly amenable to UFO disclosure.

Moreover, Dick Cheney was asked during an April 2001 Washington D.C. open line show, "If he had ever been briefed on the subjects of UFOs, and if so what had he been told." His reply seemed to put out the final embers of the UFO disclosure fire. "If I had been briefed on UFOs," replied Cheney, "it probably would have been classified, and I wouldn’t be talking about it."

So it was that when Cheney arrived at the Roswell Air Base last month, where in 1947 pieces of the first recovered flying saucer were loaded on planes for Wright-Patterson AFB, his only objectives appeared to be the same as they were in when he visited in October 2000 -- votes and money.

The Cheney agenda while in Roswell turned out to be one that would make any extraterrestrial grimace. His 15-minute prepared speech centered on war and the latest international boogieman Saddam Hussein, issues that have elevated the Republicans high in the polls. (Likewise Saddam Hussein playing the same game - has a popularity rating in his own country in the high nineties) "Saddam Hussein must disarm," stated Cheney, "or, for the sake of peace, the United States will disarm him."

The second item on the Cheney Roswell itinerary was oil and money. In support of Steve Pearce, 2^nd Congressional District Candidate, Cheney was a featured guest at the home of Roswell oilman George Yates, chairman and chief executive officer of HEYCO Energy Group. About 250 guests each shelling out $250 attended. Cheney, who had spent many days in the past year hiding at an unknown location, was now freely visible and available for photo sessions with couples that were willing to put up $1,000. And so it was for the Cheney visit to Roswell.

And so it is for elections, and the campaign visits that precede them. They are in the end about votes, and how to get them. It is the person with the most votes who wins - not the candidate with the best plan to save the world.

Opinion polls that measure the "what can you do for me factor" in the electorate, are important despite the words of former Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker who reportedly said, "Dogs know what to do with polls."

Getting the most votes takes convincing the people that you best represent the opinions reflected in the latest pole. It then takes money to get that image to the voters with advertising, TV commercials, and the like. ($80.00 per voter is being spent in South Dakota) It also takes the proper strategy such as sending in your big guns into close races at exactly the right time to win the marginal vote, as both parties are doing at the closing bell.

A few years back former President of Penn State University, Dr. Eric Walker, hinted in interviews that he knew quite a bit about the UFO situation at the highest level. In addition, he hinted that he had been there in 1947, as policies were being developed to deal with the UFO situation.

Dr. Walker was asked who made up the group that controlled UFO policy. His reply spoke of "invited" rather than "elected." "They are a group of elite," he stated. "If you were invited into this group I would know."

In eight years of contact with various researchers Dr. Walker never indicated that politicians were involved. He stated that the group was international in nature, and that one would need the "mind of Einstein" to understand it. Perhaps as Walker hinted, politicians are not, and have never been a part of the UFO cover-up. They may simply be pawns like the rest of us.

Politicians, after all are people doing a job. That job involves following the polls to attract the greatest number of votes, because re-election, and thereby continued power and influence, is the name of the game. Find out what people want for Christmas, and then promise to buy it for them with their own money.

These are items that find no parallel in UFO research. Consequently, public support has never materialized for UFOs, because the public does not yet see any financial or security gain coming from disclosure. UFOs do not yet look like a Christmas present.

UFOs would not be in the top hundred concerns in opinion polls, as they do not yet represent an economic or security concern such as the items that now dominate the polls.

In addition, the UFO disclosure movement suffers from the fact that there are very few financial backers to finance a 21^st century UFO political campaign. This is because the money behind many present day politicians (oil industry, military, legal firms, business, and big stock holders) is tied into the "old economy" – the one the UFO technology will leave behind. People are motivated by self-interest –surprise, surprise!

Politicians are transitory figures who come and go. The president, for example, has a term of no more than eight years. The UFO phenomenon, by all indications, is a long-term problem faced by those who hold the reins. It is therefore not logically a problem that would ever been handed over to a bunch of short-term politicians who are here today and gone tomorrow. It is also hardly the type of problem that could be dealt with by referring to opinion polls for guidance.

Wilbert Smith, who directed the Canadian government’s classified UFO study from 1950-1954, described the politician’s UFO dilemma in a paper he wrote to describe why the government covered up the UFO phenomena.

"Politicians have two interests in life; first to win an election, and second, to do as good a job as possible of representing their constituency. Neither of these could be considered as embracing flying saucer investigations. True, a member of the house may ask questions about flying saucers, suggest that something might be done about their study, or even introduce a bill to take definite action, but without strong public support the result is only so much more wordage in the official record. Furthermore, because of the type of publicity from which the whole flying saucer subject has suffered, politicians who are naturally very sensitive to public reaction are reluctant to stick their necks out. In light of the foregoing reasoning I feel that we need not expect any significant statement with respect to flying saucers by any government agency."

This is the true signal that should be perceived from the recent Cheney visit to the holiest of all UFO shrines. Like Reagan before him, Cheney was a simply a politician doing his job. That job was to come to the aid of a congressional seat that was close and therefore winnable. Furthermore, being a prominent figure he used his prominence to help gather the millions in campaign funds needed to win elections and gain political power.

Once gas tops $20.00/gal., or once pollution creates major damage to the U.S. economy, UFOs might move onto the electors "Christmas wish list." The election of 2002 is, however, still dominated by the oil-generated economy and short-term public concerns.

The future is not all bleak, however. Disclosure is not dead yet. Today as President George Bush made a last minute swing through the American Midwest stumping for Republican candidates, he ran across the man who started it all – UFO researcher Charles Huffer. As Bush headed for Air Force One Huffer stuck out his hand and reminded him of the July 2000 promise to release "the truth on UFOs."

Huffer asked him if the promise still held. Bush’s answer was "Yes."

In an E-mail to this author Huffer recounted the event.