Former Vice President Dick Cheney joked on Sunday that the decision to hire him was one of the "best attributes" of both President George H.W. Bush and his son, President George W. Bush.

During an interview on Meet the Press, host Chuck Todd asked Cheney to detail the more desirable traits that George H.W. Bush had passed down to his son.

"What were the best attributes that you feel the father passed onto the son that most impressed you?" Todd wondered.

"Well, they hired me," Cheney said with a smile. "There's one thing."

The former vice president noted that he meant the statement in a "lighthearted" way.

"They were very different," Cheney added. "It was different times, different issues. I had a job in one as secretary of defense and the other as vice president. We learned a lot from those earlier years."

"And what I had done for his father had a lot to do with his desire to put me on the ticket," he opined.