Lynne Cheney part of Bush-Cheney ticket

Pat Neal/CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Dick and Lynne Cheney made a smash on the political scene. Supporters say they will return as a Washington power couple.

"Lynne is an incredibly important member of this team," Texas Gov. George W. Bush said Tuesday.

Gov. George W. Bush: "Lynne is an incredibly important member of this team."

Lynne Cheney is an outspoken conservative -- whether addressing the Republican National Convention, as an author or co-host of CNN's Sunday Crossfire for three years.

But Cheney made her biggest mark when she was chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities from 1986 to 1993. She was appointed by both Presidents Reagan and Bush.

Cheney felt liberals had taken political correctness too far. With her keen interest in history, Cheney argued for changes in standards. She supported teaching a more Western centrist view, believing it allowed Americans to have a more common culture.

"Fifth and sixth graders will learn about the devastation of Hiroshima on children of their age, without ever recommending books that would tell them about why it might have well been a rational decision to use atomic weapons to end the war," she said during one appropriations committee hearing.

Lynne Cheney was appointed chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities by Presidents Reagan and Bush.

"Positions like hers in Washington always have their critics and you have a pretty powerful educational establishment, and I'm sure she ruffled some feathers," said Karyln Bowman, a colleague of Cheney's at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think-tank.

While at the NEH, Cheney supported grants for Ken Burn's epic on the Civil War, but vetoed money for a Christopher Columbus film that examined attacks on Native Americans.

For years she has advocated a back to basics curriculum for schools. And she supports Gov. George W Bush's education platform supporting vouchers.

"The schools will have some choice for parents so that the schools will have a reason to get better," Cheney maintains.

"Lynne Cheney has been a strong proponent of vouchers, that would mean only a few kids would get access to education, a good education in this country," counters Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington state.

As for their personal lives, the Cheneys went to school together in Casper, Wyoming. He was co-captain of the football team, she was the prom queen. As for their personal lives, they have two daughters.

Lynne and Dick Cheney went to school together in Casper, Wyoming.

Together, Cheney and her husband penned one book on congressional leaders. She also has written novels -- one about a vice president who dies in office, but his aides pretend he is still alive.

With her resume, supporters say she'll bring excitement to the campaign: "This is more like three for the price of one, because she is double good," says Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Mississippi.

But Democrats say her positions may also provide ammunition against a Republican ticket.