Fox Tv and Sprite: Cheney's Hotel Wishlist

It is a staple ingredient of the superstar lifestyle: the contract clause, detailing which luxuries the artist requires. The Rolling Stones, Jennifer Lopez, Prince, all have made headlines with their outlandish desires.

Now the White House’s own rock star can be added to the list of demanding divas. Dick Cheney, the vice-president, demands that all lights be turned on prior to his arrival in a hotel room. He also insists that all televisions be tuned to Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News channel. While watching the White House being praised on Fox, Mr. Cheney would like to guzzle four cans of Diet caffeine-free Sprite.

He also requires a pot of caffeine-free coffee to be ready on his arrival, a microwave in the room and a container for ice - "and the location of where ice maker is located". He also demands a supply of newspapers, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, USA Today and the Wall Street Journal.

Should Mrs. Cheney accompany the veep, the demands extend to two bottles of sparkling mineral water, "Calistoga or Perrier". The latter, policy analysts will note, is produced by the cheese-eating surrender monkeys across the Channel.

The clause is detailed on the website thesmokinggun.com which said the single-page document, titled Vice Presidential Downtime Requirements, was obtained from a hotel employee who was given it by Mr. Cheney’s advance staff.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Cheney said the clause was merely to provide guidelines for a busy government official. "This is just routine," she said.