Think what you want about former Vice President Dick Cheney, but when it comes down to it, he’s just a concerned father and grandfather, who wants to make sure his country is a safe place for his grandchildren to grow up.

That’s the message daughter Liz Cheney has been sending in recent weeks, as she’s taken to the airwaves defending her dad and the Bush administration’s anti-terror policies. And she certainly has been one tough cookie! There are even rumors she may soon run for office. But on FOX News’ "On the Record" last night with Greta Van Susteren, Ms. Cheney showed a little bit of her softer side, talking about how wonderful it is to be working with her father on his memoirs — a compilation of everything from Watergate to Iran-contra to the 9/11 attacks. She also talked about what it’s like to listen to and see her dad being battered in the media for speaking out in defense of Bush, and in opposition to President Obama’s policies he thinks make the country less safe.

Ms. Cheney said:

I think you never like to see somebody you love being criticized. And certainly, some of the portrait and the picture out there have been as, you know, not the dad that I know and love. I just really feel very proud of him and very proud of the fact that he is, you know, standing up now. That’s sort of what he’s done his whole career, to sort of stand up and stand for what’s right and to say, wait a minute, you know, it’s not right to mischaracterize the policies of the last eight years. It’s not right to reveal only half the picture to the American people. It’s certainly not right to really libel the brave men and women who conducted this [CIA interrogation] program and the lawyers who provided the legal framework for the program.

Dick and Liz Cheney also talked about how interrogation techniques worked on high-level terror detainees, what they think of President Obama and how Liz hopes to see America stand up for equal rights for women around the globe with the president’s upcoming trip to Cairo, and gay marriage, among other topics. Watch Part 1 of the video below. Part 2 will air on "On the Record" tonight.