Former Vice President Dick Cheney remains so unpopular with the American people that photographers at a Thursday night fundraiser for presumptive Republican nominee Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA) were ordered not to photograph the two men together, according to Think Progress. Romney supporters and handlers fear that photos of the candidate with Cheney or former President George W. Bush could damage the former governor’s chances against President Barack Obama in November.

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The LA Times said, “The legacy of Bush’s administration — the Iraq war, the increase in the federal debt burden and the nation’s spiral into recession at the end of 2008 — cast a long shadow over the last presidential contest and was a major factor in John McCain’s loss to Barack Obama.”

The two-part fundraiser was held a country club near Jackson Hole, Wyoming and at Cheney’s home. Guests offered up $1,000 each to attend, $10,000 for a photo with Romney and $30,000 to go on to Cheney’s house from the club and eat dinner with Cheney and Romney.

The Times reported that a pool of reporters were allowed to attend the country club reception, but the dinner was off-limits to press. It was at the club that reporters were informed of the embargo on photos of Romney with Vice President Cheney.

The event was expected to raise more than $4 million for the Romney coffers.

(image via Gage Skidmore, Flickr Commons)