Axelrod Smacks Down Cheney: Not Acting Like A Statesman (VIDEO)

The president's senior adviser, David Axelrod, shot back at Dick Cheney on Sunday, suggesting that the former vice president had failed in the war on terror and was therefore engaging in "supreme" irony by accusing the Obama administration of making American less safe.

As an added bonus, Axelrod drew a sharp contrast between Cheney and his former boss, George W. Bush, who he said "behaved like a statesman" during the presidential transition.

From Axelrod's interview with CNN's State of the Union with John King":

"First of all, I find it supremely ironic on a day when we were meeting with NATO to talk about the continued threat from al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan where they are still plotting against us seven years later; I think the question for Mr. Cheney is how could that be? How could this have gone so long? Why are they still in business? That is the fundamental threat that we face and it's a little incredible to me that he would argue somehow that... forging an international alliance to finally pursue a strategy to defeat and dismantle al Qaeda and Afghanistan is going make us less safe. I think it was an unfortunate statement. Let me say in contrast how much we appreciate the way President Bush has behaved. He was incredibly cooperative during the transition and when he left, he said, 'I wish you guys the best. I'm rooting for you.' I believe that to be the case. And he has behaved like a statesman and, as I've said before, here and elsewhere, I just don't think the memo got passed down to the vice president."

Watch:

Comments

[CalSailor]

05:34 PM on 04/06/2009

Cheney, like many military "hawks" had a chance to serve, but like Newt Gingrich, and arguably GW himself, he chickened out ("chicken hawks") because of cowardice; so he makes up for it in aggressive language. He needs a gun (or fishing lure) to feel important and he couldn't begin to survive any of the treatment he eagerly signed off on during his Vice Presidency. Aside from the lies, the theft of trillions of dollars of American wealth "stolen" to finance the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, to say nothing about the thousands of war dead that he had to make sure no one knew about, and the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi dead, he makes himself out to be some super patriot. He claims he "kept us safe" for eight years, but he cannot point to a single valid threat that was stopped. The only ones cited are more typical of the plot of a Keystone Kops movie than a credible threat. It is impossible to prove a negative, so he doesn't even try. He just asserts the lie as if it is truth. He's been doing that for so many years that people now accept the lies. I surely hope that some other country arrests him for war crimes and puts him on trial. That seems to be the only way that the truth will come out. I'd be willing to help with funds to buy him a (coach) ticket to Spain, if I thought it would help.

[Schmice]

05:25 PM on 04/06/2009

Enemy of the States, man.

[4httr]

05:15 PM on 04/06/2009

Cheney has never been a statesman. He was and is an operative. To be blunt, he's residue left from the Nixon administration where respect for the mechanisms of governing took a back seat to political manipulation, backstabbing and "Take no prisoners," attitudes when dealing with the opposition, both domestic and international.

[IDIKO]

05:05 PM on 04/06/2009

But Dick Cheney is never a stateman and has never been and will not be. He is a Common criminal who hijack power and used it for the detriment of the American people. This common thief belongs in jail., and history as you will soon see will not judge him graciously.

[amessenger]

04:19 PM on 04/06/2009

Cheney does not perpetrate a facade in his own mind; he is convinced he speaks the truth. He is a paranoid man who hides as he travels, jumping quickly to persecution conclusions. He is perfect for the job as scapegoat, because he is actually delusional. The country is wrong and he is right, "thank god he has been willing to sacrifice for our common good" making the tough decisions,....he will never change or admit error, but he will eventually fade into obscurity as we face problems that do not allow us the pleasure of vindicating our own stupidity on a man who thinks with a mind that operates on a heart that has been stinted and by-passed far beyond its evolution.

[AceInTheHole]

04:12 PM on 04/06/2009

The ice is getting thinner and thinner under this guy, and whether or not he seems to be oblivious to that fact, will make no difference to the consequence of it. The bottom line is that no man is impervious to the laws, either man's law and G_D'S law. Take your pick, but inevitably, either one or the other, but more likely both will mete out your just dues, in your lifetime or after it ends. In other words, everyone can rest assured, that there will be no escaping a destiny that includes the results and consequences of eventual justice for all. I suggest that we all try to end up at the party that's on the right side of justice, because those who end up on the wrong side of justice, will anguish at a very sad party , that they will eternally regret coming to.

[dianhow]

05:10 PM on 04/06/2009

Obama MUST encourge his D.O J to investigate Cheney / Rove / & Co right away.
The evidence is out there already. Nixon & Clinton were impeached for much much less. ..

[Vernondelray]

04:08 PM on 04/06/2009

"I just don't think the memo got passed down to the vice president."

Oh, he got the memo, he just thought it was "just a goddam piece of paper".

[RedEric]

04:03 PM on 04/06/2009

Putting us at greater risk is not acting like a stateman.
http://allanerickson.wordpress.com/2009/04/06/we-are-weaker-vulnerable/

[BlueBoomer]

03:37 PM on 04/06/2009

MOST PIGS ARE naturally capable of being statesmen, afterall.NOT

[middleoftheroad]

03:34 PM on 04/06/2009

I voted for Obama, but Dems through out the tradition of not making a comment on those in the White House long ago.

[Richard22]

03:05 PM on 04/06/2009

Cheney is not, never was, a "statesman."

[DontJustFollow]

12:34 PM on 04/06/2009

LMAO !!!

Axelrod is just stiring the pot to help advance sales of his book - "It's All About the Benjamins"

I love the line about forging alliances, has nothing to do with reality - which is a emerging as the one constant in this new administration, but then what sincere Obamabots are interested in reality -really ?

President Obama takes his first Euro Vacation and the EU smiles, lots of hugs, and promptly smacks him down when he asks for troops for his new war... Great new alliance Barry - - -

But his wife looked fabulous - and really isn't that what matters most?

[orglib]

01:10 PM on 04/06/2009

...forging alliances has nothing to do with reality???? I think it's you that has a problem with reality. The world is breathing a big sign of relief that we are finally turning the corner and taking a new direction. You know what? Smiles and hugs matter...and if the war was handled properly in the first place, we wouldn't be in a position to even ask for new troops. Cheny was wrong then, and is wrong now. Remember, don'tjustfollow (RUSH, HANNITY, BECK, LIMBAUGH) - they were wrong too.

[digdeeper]

01:48 PM on 04/06/2009

Everyone knew that Bin Laden was somewhere on the Afghanistan/Pakistan borders but Cheney & Co went into Iraq - LOL! Real good strategic thinking yeh?
But of course they always had another agenda.

[destruct1]

02:11 PM on 04/06/2009

all bobo is doing is weakening our nation. too bad it will take another devastating attack to once again bring you robots out of your trance.

[maumeeone]

02:05 PM on 04/06/2009

Want to know what's ridiculous??? Your comment. The lack of dealing with the reality that we do not rule the world is the reason we are in the enormous messes, both at home and abroad, that we are in. Thanks a lot conservatives for the "we run the world and you must obey" theory of world dominance. It's really done us a whole heckuva lot of good, hasn't it? It's time to grow up now and stop acting like the petulant child-country that we have in recent years. We don't own the world!

[lightningbolt]

12:03 PM on 04/06/2009

Cheney is certainly a failure. His policies have done more to destroy our country than any other enemy we have ever had in all of history. He did more damage to our country than Al Qaeda, the Nazis, Japan and the British Empire combined. He has brought us to the verge of collapse. He needs to be put on trial NOW! But of course Congress won't do anything because they are very corrupt. They haven't even repealed the patriot act or the military commissions act yet. It does not appear that they care much for the Constitution.

[Forester]

12:01 PM on 04/06/2009

Cheney is the archetypal villain. Yet men like him appear throughout our history and act as a kind of whetstone for the blade of our democracy. We cannot be complacent about his role in our history, because exposure of his seditious behavior will ultimately make our country stronger. Like Aaron Burr and Joe McCarthy, he will serve his purpose in helping perfect our union.

[nootrope]

12:08 PM on 04/06/2009

As long as he remains unprosecuted for his crimes against humanity and the Constitution he has ultimately made our democracy weaker. Failure to prosecute and hold him accountable is a tacit approval of his crimes.

[obamanomics]

12:26 PM on 04/06/2009

What crimes specifically?

[sueno]

11:35 AM on 04/06/2009

Cheney needs to be investigated-
This "guy" has done some pretty insidious secret things
without anyone knowing that has resulted in numerous deaths,
many of which we still aren't aware of.
This guy reminds me of "himmler",
a "weak-kneed" guy who was too scared to go into the military,
but when given power, believes that he has some moral right to kill.
In my neighborhood, these "guys" are called "punks"-

[littlepeople]

12:39 PM on 04/06/2009

You're right.....four military deferments for this bum during the Vietnam era and he goes around ordering his minions to waterboard captured prisoners....directly imperiling our own troops! He should be arrested and charged for torture.

[dianhow]

05:30 PM on 04/06/2009

You' re so right, so why is it so many are fooled into believing crooks like Cheney & Rove etc ? We all must learn a new skill- critical thinking . Ask yourself- Is what I'm hearing true and unbiased or is just an agenda / or just someones ' opinion '
Ask Is it factual ? .