Dick Cheney drops into Toms River

TOMS RIVER There was a time when the arrival of Dick Cheney anywhere would force authorities to close major highways and local airspace, a time when he would provoke fans and protesters alike to gather along the route of his motorcade.

There was a time when Cheney, once one of the most powerful people in the world, could go almost nowhere without the world knowing about it.

These days the 46th vice president of the United States can quietly drop into a town such as Toms River undetected and with no fanfare, as he did Tuesday night.

Ocean County Republican Chairman George R. Gilmore confirmed this week that Cheney attended a fundraiser at the Toms River Hotel on Route 37 for GOPAC, an organization that trains Republicans to run for elective office.

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Gilmore said about 150 people attended the event, where Cheney addressed his views on national security and spoke about his new book, "Exceptional: Why the World Needs a Powerful America," which he co-authored with his daughter, Liz Cheney.

"There was a discussion about foreign policy — dealing with Iran, dealing with China," Gilmore said.

The 324-page book published by Simon & Schuster earlier this month slams President Barack Obama. Dick and Liz Cheney liken the recent Iran nuclear deal to the infamous Munich agreement of 1938 that sought to appease Adolf Hitler as the world headed toward World War II, according to a Sept. 6 article in USA Today in which Washington bureau chief Susan Page interviewed both father and daughter.

Gilmore declined to disclose how much money was raised at the closed-door event.

Erik Larsen: 732-682-9359 or elarsen@gannettnj.com