Cheney: Obama Will "Appreciate" Our Expansion Of Power

In an interview with Rush Limbaugh (via Politico), Vice President Dick Cheney predicted that the next president will appreciate the way he and George Bush expanded executive power.

"Once they get here and they're faced with the same problems we deal with every day, then they will appreciate some of the things we've put in place," Cheney said.

"We did not exceed our constitutional authority, as some have suggested," Cheney added. "The President believes, I believe very deeply, in a strong executive, and I think that's essential in this day and age. And I think the Obama administration is not likely to cede that authority back to the Congress. I think they'll find that given a challenge they face, they'll need all the authority they can muster."

Cheney went on to express doubt that President Obama would, as he has promised, close Guantanamo Bay.

"Guantanamo has been very, very valuable. And I think they'll discover that trying to close it is a very hard proposition," he said. "They're unlawful combatants. And you if you're not going to have a place to locate them like Guantanamo, then you either have to bring them here to the continental United States and I don't know any member of Congress who's volunteering to have al Qaeda terrorists deposited in his district."

Cheney also expressed grave concerns about the automobile industry.

"We're on the downside of a recession that may be the worst since World War II," he said. "And if the automobile industry goes belly up now, there's a deep concern that that would be a major shock to the system."

Comments

[Figerre]

in your dreams, Cheney. Revisionistic history never seems to last the test of time.

[Allablaze]

Cheney has orchestrated the most secretive executive branch in our history.
I am sure the Obama administration will not follow this trend, and will in fact be open and more transparent.

[DoTheMath]

Mr. Cheney also said Guantanamo shouldn't be closed until "the end of the war on terror." "The end of the war on terror" - think about that phrase for a minute if you haven't already. How could we possibly know when "the war on terror" has ended? When you initiate actions that you know will result in death and destruction, the least you can do is define a clear objective. What is our objective in "the war on terror?" Defeating terror? Does Mr. Cheney need a dictionary to know that terror is a human emotion, not a country, a group of people, or even an ideology? It seems to me that Mr. Cheney has CAUSED a considerable amount of terror. He clearly has no desire to end terror, so why would he want to declare a war on it? Profit?

[saturnine maniac]

Yeah, profit. Halliburton sure appreciates his expansion of power.

[SurrealPumpkin]

This article missed the part where Cheney said we couldn't close Guantanamo because if we did we'd have to bring all those terrorists onto US soil where they'd have constitutional rights.

Guantanamo is a US Naval Base and as such the Constitution applies.

[blood1]

For all Cheny's ballyho about how his "extension of power", he created it in such a vacuum ( or very dark closet), he doesn't to recognize is that the failure to operate in the bright light of transparency is why he so loathed. This extension of power which took away the rights of Americans could only be seen by Cheney as a positive. He will not be missed!

[fireW]

Sure, when he loses his mind he will appreciate what the mindless have done to the office, and to the country in general.

[slj316]

I hope Obama doesn't close Guantamano until Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rove, Rice, et al are all permanent residents. I hope Richard (even though his other name is more appropriate for him) doesn't think that Obama will appreciate the fact that him and Bush used the Constitution as if it were toilet paper and operated as if the office of POTUS and VPOTUS were dictatorships for the last eight years.

[bigmadd]

just shut up and go far far away

[teepeeyoyo]

I think what we'll appreciate is seeing what not to elect to high office. Fortunately we get to right our wrongs, unfortunately it sometimes takes 8 years. Keep it moving buddy, go hunting or something and take your boss with you....I mean your puppet.

[POTUS2008]

of course Obama will appreciate it, all presidents will appreciate having a more powerful office.

[SurrealPumpkin]

Fortunately, Obama appreciates the Constitution even more.

[LauraD]

The only appreciation Obama and his supporters have for that move is that it made it so easy to reclaim the office of President and the dignity of America.

A fall that far turns any incremental improvment into a bloody miracle.

[profounddogs]

Buh bye. Don't let the door hit you on the way out!

[Paisano]

He already does... We appreciate the profound incompetence with which this administration has operated... It gave us the election! This...we appreciate!

[Kevin30215]

Nice.

How is it that he only grants interviews to "friendlies?" He won't give anyone like Rachel Maddow an interview, but LImbaugh gets one for cupping his b a l l s for the last eight years?

He's a pathetic chickenhawk shut-in troglodyte draft-dodger who used the good people of Wyoming's legendary ignorance to catapult himself to fame and fortune. If he was from anyplace BUT Wyoming, he would have a hard time running for dogcatcher.

I miss the Bill of Rights, and it would interest me to know what O will do regarding signing statements and illegal wiretapping.

Sic semper tyrannis.

[SurrealPumpkin]

Bill of Rights Day was yesterday, Dec 15. Did HuffPo do anything to celebrate? NO! Huffpo also missed Constitution day in October. Come On Guys, we need to start celebrating these days.

[pir anha]

wrong, and wrong. obama and biden don't appreciate the expansion of power, and biden has already said explicitly that he'll roll it back.

and obama will close guantanamo. yes, he'll find it difficult, but he'll do it because it is the right thing to do.

i still want to see cheney in jail. please. some day. maybe 5 years down the road, but i hope sincerely it happens. because otherwise who can believe in the rule of law, when the highest office holders in the land just laugh at it?

[TovSquirrel]

The rule of US law will continue in it's unvarnished march towards the American version of Ingsoc at a fast and furious pace.

The US has the best legal system money can buy.

[kwoodberryesq]

Poor guy does not realize that America can't stand him or George. He doesn't realize that the expansion of power encroaches civil liberties. The expansion of power almost got poor George caught upside the head with a size 13 Bostonian in Baghdad... LOLOLOL