Former Vice President Dick Cheney is warning presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney to choose his vice presidental nominee wisely because Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) made a "mistake" by picking former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R).

During an interview clip that aired on Sunday, ABC's Jonathan Karl asked Cheney, who reportedly selected himself to be on the Republican ticket with George W. Bush, how important it was for Romney to handle his VP pick differently from McCain.

"Pretty important," Cheney insisted. "That one, I don't think was well handled. ... And the test to get on that small list has to be, is this person capable of being president of the United States?"

"What about the other considerations?" Karl wondered. "Can you bring states, you know, reach out to a specific demographic -- woman, Hispanic?"

"Those are important issues, but they should never be allowed to override that first proposition," Cheney explained. "And I think that was one of the problems McCain had. I like Gov. Palin, I've met her, I know her, she's an attractive candidate, but based on her background -- she had only been governor for two years -- I don't think she passed that test."

"I think that was a mistake."

(h/t: ABC News)