Washington — Dick Cheney became a one-of-a-kind vice president for two reasons: he cared deeply about governance, and not a bit about his future political standing.

Those same factors, for better or worse, have turned him into a one-of-a-kind former vice president. In a sharp break with long-standing practice, Mr. Cheney has emerged as the highest-profile critic of the new administration.

Repeatedly during Mr. Obama’s transition and his first 100 days in office, Mr. Cheney has carried his anemic favorability rating into the ring to slug it out with a successor who enjoys considerable public support on issues from the role of the vice presidency to his trademark issue of national security. On the economy, he complained in a Fox News interview last week, “There doesn’t appear to be any limitation whatsoever in terms of the spending commitments that this administration wants to make.” But if Mr. Cheney seems intent on vindicating decisions he helped shape during the two terms of the Bush presidency, some Republicans prefer that he join Mr. Bush in shunning the public spotlight.

“Generally speaking Dick’s voice is probably not going to move the ball forward,” one prominent Republican, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, said. Nonetheless, members of both parties say Mr. Cheney, with his tenacity and his insider’s knowledge of government and politics, continues to influence the Washington debate.