Dick Cheney - The Republican Gift that Keeps Giving
During the early part of this decade, Dick Cheney redefined the role of vice-president as he took on unprecedentedly large amounts of responsibility, particularly with regard to foreign policy. Today, Cheney seems to be redefining life after the vice-presidency. In the past vice-presidents, in some cases after unsuccessfully seeking the presidency, either took on a position as an elder statesperson in their respective party, like Al Gore or Walter Mondale, or relatively quietly retired and joined corporate boards like Dan Quayle. The Cheney model for the post-vice presidency seems to be to become the party's lead attack dog. It is difficult to fathom why Cheney has chosen to do this, but supporters of President Obama should not be ungrateful.
One of the major concerns many supporters of President Obama had at the beginning of his term was that Obama would almost certainly not be able to solve the myriad problems he inherited from the Bush administration; and over time people would begin to blame Obama for what had been the failings of the Bush administration. In other words, people would begin to hold Obama responsible for not solving Bush's mess quickly enough while forgetting just how the big that mess was when Obama came became president. As the early, heady days of the Obama administration, become memories, and the weeks turn into months, it would be only natural for voters to begin to see the problems as increasingly belonging to Obama.
One can easily imagine Obama's top political aides wrestling with the problem of how to remind voters of how bad things were, and how nasty, incompetent and divisive the previous administration was, without the White House being seen as passing the buck and laying the blame on its predecessor. In a best case scenario, a prominent Bush era official, perhaps somebody trying to salvage their own political future, would position him or herself as the chief critic of the Obama administration, thus inadvertently serving as a constant reminder to voters of the previous administration.
Obama didn't get lucky and have this best case scenario. He got even luckier and got Dick Cheney. It is unlikely that even in David Axelrod or Rahm Emanuel's most hopeful moments during the transition, they thought that well past the first hundred days of his presidency Barack Obama would still be able to use Dick Cheney as a foil.
Cheney is not just any former Bush official. He is, of course the former vice-president, but more importantly he is even less popular than President Bush was and viewed as closely associated with all of the negatives of the Bush administration and with none of the positives, whatever those might have been, of President Bush. Cheney is nastier, more vituperative, more vengeful and possesses more of a tin ear for politics than almost anybody in public life today. He is a walking and, almost constantly, talking reminder of why, by the time they left office, almost three quarters of Americans disapproved of the Bush administration
Cheney is also continues to be wedded to the worst of the Bush years. The excesses of the War on Terror from Abu Ghraib to Guantanamo, the haze of corruption and malfeasance surrounding Halliburton and other security contractors and the hostility around any regulation or government intervention in the finance sector are all closely connected to Dick Cheney. Cheney does little to change this perception with his unapologetic defense, which continues to this day, of Bush era policy on most of these issues. He stubbornly refuses not only to recognize the mistakes his administration made, but continues to cling to the most offensive elements of the Bush presidency.
Now that Rush Limbaugh has offered to move aside as the titular leader of the Republican Party, Dick Cheney appears to be stepping into a vacuum in the Republican leadership that sends the precise backward looking message that is most destructive to that party.
Cheney's presence on the current political scene seamlessly blends unpopular and unsuccessful policy approaches with an unpleasant demeanor in a way that amounts to an enormous political gift to an already extremely popular president. Every smirk and hostile aside from the former Vice-President makes President Obama's job just a little bit easier. As long as Cheney continues to loudly, and bellicosely defend the previous administration, the American people will not forget just how bad things were when Bush was in office. The belligerence, accusations that any disagreement over any aspect of the Global War on Terror was at best undermining our safety and at worst close to treason, unwillingness to question the efficacy of any of Bush policy and overall hostility towards questioning and debate which continue to characterize Cheney's public statements serve as almost daily reminders to the American people of why they were so ready for a change last November.
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It's quite obvious what Cheney's motive are- Covering his arse- just in case-and revising his ' legacy '
It has also become clear that Cheney had unheard of power in the vice presidency- behind the scenes. He gave orders directly to the CIA- bypassing Bush. at times. He and Bush lied so many times to get us into a pre-emptive war in Iraq - ' war will be short ' ' mushroom cloud' ' smoking gun ' Iraq oil will pay ' we'll be greeted as liberators. They did NOT keep us safe - they ignored a CIA warning in Aug 2001 - that said: Bin laden determined to HIT INSIDE THE US '
Words etched in my mind. If we fall for the same old tricks of the last 25 + years -
using FEAR mongering and smearing anyone who dares disagree - God help us.
20 of the last 28 years have been under GOP reign- many with a GOP congress-
as Bush had for 6 long years. VS Obama - who has 4 months !! Think about it.
- - millions dead- brain damaged soldiers - kids lost dads. This man has no shame or honor..His mission is to undrine & crush this new President, as he is struggling with massive problems- many of which Bush / Cheney created.
His new book is coming out- it's in the fiction section.
Finally, a patriot. If you stand for everything, you stand for nothing.
I'd rather have a case of the clap then listen to his claptrap anymore.
How come I can't get a laptop battery that lasts as long as the one in his pacemaker?
I'm not sure. One thing Cheney is good at it instilling fear in people's minds. He's also a good at lying and getting the media to pay attention. Watching what some of the pundits had to say after his speach, I found myself worried that he may have found the foothold the Reps have been looking for. Obama may have a weakness when it comes to foreign policy, in other words. And if he does, this could be something that will help him adress it. I'm sure that's not what Cheney is hoping will happen, but I think Obama is a fast learn. I just don't think we should underestimate the Reps. They're not going to give up easily.
Cheney and the far right GOP knows how to use FEAR to control us. Same as the last 8 years.
.I have come come to believe that Cheney has evil motives.
1. Ruin / undermine this new President
2 . cover his butt' - just in case
3 . Help GOP regain power / control in 2010 - 2012. as they have had for most years since Reagan
4. Push his new book sales.
5. Protect the interests of the GOP base - the powerful elite who own and control this country.
Wall St - news media is corp owned by massive Co's
6. If we fall for their tricks - Again - GOD help us
Just look at what 20 + years of GOP power and control have led us to.
Don't believe me ? read- check facts- not the forwards on the web your friends send-
those are the MOST UNRELIABLE SOURCES.
go to www.factcheck.org or www.politifact.com check on a regular basis
don't discount that fear was the corner stone of the last campagin ran against the president and the American people did not fall for it.
There should only be one discussion relating to D.C. When will the investigation start and when will he be indicted?
I'm ready to jump to the sentencing phase.
Not me, I want to see ALL the evidence lest we forget exactly what this man advocated and did in our name. America needs to know just how lawless that regime was to prevent the possibility of ever happening again!
No, Cheney would love to become a republican martyr.
The investigation must be long and thorough. By the end he must be alone, with even his staunchest supporters demanding his head. And then his legacy destroyed and every idea he supported discredited, we will be ready to move on. The president can help us then by pardoning the pathetic little man.
WE can only hope. The whole messy dirty truth must come out- before we can move forward.
Its not revenge- but making our laws mean something.
Are you powerful above the law ? If so - we are still in deep trouble.
go to www.whitehouse.gov
e-mail Holder @ doj.gov.gov
I agree with you Mr. Mitchell. That is why I've been wondering why people want Cheney to go back to his undisclosed location where we can't see him and don't know what he's up to. He is a constant reminder of the last 8 years, so people will think twice before the start laying the pile of rubble at Obama's feet and get upset with him. The old v. new contrast is one of the reason's why Obama won the election.
McCain picked Palin the day after Obama layed the hammer down at the DNC in a fit of panic. The same will happen to Cheney. Every day, he grows more desperate. In his desperation, like McCain, he will do and say something stupid, something he wish he had kept under wraps.
As for Limbaugh, someone higher up than he is (who's paying his salary) told him to pipe down, especially after Wanda Syke's (truthful) comment. That person saw the numbers of people leaving the GOP and connected the dots to Obama's strategy of keeping Limbaugh as the head of the party. Limbaugh didn't renounce his de facto leadership out of the goodness of his heart.
Good points But I fear how many folks will still buy Cheney's smears & lies.
If GOP gets in power again- watch out. Same old polices/ deregulation & greed- unethical behavior- that brought us to this meltdown. There are millions who are not well informed - that worries me. They VOTE. I do however take pride in the last election - voters who took a leap of faith to elect Obama. I say to them- Do not lose faith-give it about 2-3 years - then we can judge the totality of
his work- thats only fair. Yet - I do NOT expect to agree or like all Obama does- not by a long shot- but I still think he is a breath of fresh air and someone is working hard to ' stop the bleeding '
yes- it will hurt at times . but ' reversing ' ( if possible ) 20 + years of bad policy - lack of caring is a huge under taking.
Lest we forget - how bad it was - thanks for reminding us Dick!
"As long as Cheney continues to loudly, and bellicosely defend the previous administration", the cowardly extremists in Congress won't be able to hold show trials for lesser Bush officials. They would have to go straight at Cheney and they don't have cojones for that. Thus Cheney ably protects those who carried out the legitimate policies of the previous administration from ruthless political persecution. Cheney is a mensch.
Cheney serves up the tastiest lemming-aide.
Friends don't let friends Twitter. Ever.
Cheney reminds me of the question I often asked during the Bush Administration's fight on terror, "Are we making the world safe for democracy or from democracy?
If he is so bad why are his poll numbers going up? It is a bit ficticious to say he is a gift to the dem party. That kind of thought only belies a fear that Obama's ideas will be challenged. But of course the dem leadership don't want ideas challenged they want to paint others in a negative light so that those ideas of theirs will go unchallenged.
You might want to check your 'facts'.
http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2009/05/cheney_unpopular_after_all_the.html
Yeah, but gone up by how much? From what I understand, he's gone from a very bad number to a slightly less bad, but still very bad, number. I guess that's important to follow in case there's a trend, but it kind of makes me think of the small alterations here and there in the Palin numbers once (most) people had figured out what she really was.
His poll numbers are going up because there are a lot of Americans who wonder if Cheney is lying about stopping a terrorist attack from information received after harsh interrogation why wont Obama release those documents that would prove or disprove it.We know Obama isnt shy about releasing many of our other classified documents and pictures that fired up hatred towards us so why not the document that could verify Cheneys story?
Wow! Follow a lot of conspiracies? There are treatments for paranoia
They won't release the documents because, currently, those documents are part of a court action - a long-standing policy across many administrations.
Perhaps you won't need the tin-foil hat any more!
All those Americans can stop wondering....
Adm Dennis Blair who oversees ALL 16 US Intelligence Agencies.
"The bottom line is that these techniques hurt our image around the world, the damage they have done to our interests far outweighed whatever benefit they gave us and they are not essential to our national security."
----------------------------------------
"They are not essential to our national security" Adm. Dennis Blair who oversees all 16 US Intelligence Agencies.
------------------------------------------
A top-secret 2004 CIA inspector general's investigation found no conclusive proof that information gained from aggressive interrogations helped thwart any "specific imminent attacks," according to one of four top-secret Bush-era memos that the Justice Department released last month.
--------------------------------------------------------- http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20090521/pl_mcclatchy/3237981
That lie is over.
ALittleClarity. We've had no open discussion & debate about Obama's policies & views. The Liberal Media are too in love to do any honest reporting. The President showed his hand when he awarded the Chrysler Union 55% of the company as a reward for destroying the company, while throwing the priority secured creditors under the bus. Obama has sent a strong message to the private sector.... "DO NOT INVEST IN ANY BUSINESSES THAT HAVE A UNION OR MAY HAVE A UNION ANY TIME IN THE FUTURE". & with Obama's plans to allow everyone to unionize the only job creator will be the government who are already broke, broken & broker! These ludicrous financial policies will ultimately self destruct. & oh yes, the Chrysler creditors that were screwed in the settlement will be suing all the way to the Supreme Court to have their rights re-instated further muddying the waters for Chrysler. We hear you Mr. President loud & clear. "Do not invest in any enterprises whatsoever or you will be crushed by an unreasonable extortionate union that will have a monopoly on your work force, a gun to your head & dagger to your heart every few years to extort unreasonable wage demands from the employer". We're going to invest elsewhere. We get the message.
The Liberal Media are too in love to do any honest reporting.
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Bullshit. The liberal media lie is over.
What does Chrysler or Obama have to do with War Crimes that Dick Cheney committed?
You seem to have a pathological hatred of unions for some reason. Do some research on the UAW contracts with the Big Three. There were large give-backs and concessions to management. The UAW took over the legacy health costs for the companies. The UAW wages and benefits are now on par with or lower than non-union foreign automakers based in the southeastern states. What happened to Chrysler and the other auto makers is due to management's policies and strategies and the nose-dive of the economy in general. The unions didn't drive them out of business. Do you seriously think that the union membership would eliminate their own jobs? Really? How stupid and shortsighted do you really believe they are?
The Bankruptcy Court decides what happens to Chrysler, not the UAW or the President.
Do you even think through the stuff you write? It makes no sense whatever.
AlotofBullshit....still....
"As long as Cheney continues to loudly, and bellicosely defend the previous administration, the American people will not forget just how bad things were when Obama was in office."
Aside from the fact that an editor missed the Obama/Bush mix-up, I agree with you.
An especially interesting aspect of all of this is the massive platform Cheney is being given. Perhaps it has more to do with the oodles of outlets now available and the need for someone to fill them. But probably more stunning is that Cheney seems to be a man absent the gift of introspection; even those of us who live infinitely more routine lives can spend time ruing our own misstatements, poorly drawn arguments, hideous decisions, etc. That this man is unwilling/unable to recognize the driving, almost-pathological paranoia and relentless hate and fear-mongering that motivate his positions is frightening. Cheney's clear commitment to some of the most ugly of human impulses, and his refusal to evolve in the face of substantial and rational argument will, it can be hoped, better-define the weaknesses and failures that are this man, that were the Bush administration, and that will serve to further distinguish the Obama years. Or ... he could choose to step away from being the poster boy for those who refuse to "just stop digging."
The GOP continues their seppuku with a rusty butter-knife.
Ouch! Although these walking-wounded are hardly Samurai warriors, are they, having neither a sufficiency of honor to lose, nor the necessary humility to admit when they've messed up?
"the American people will not forget just how bad things were when Obama was in office." I think you meant "Bush."
You forgot to mention the great gift Cheney has given to comedians everywhere. Now Bill, Jon, and all the rest can continue to make their Darth Vader jokes. I can only hope that SNL will find the inspiration to create yet more satire around this guy.
I agree....but. The Vice-President is clearly hoping to recast those days of yore as when the Administration "kept America safe." All he needs is one teensy attack in this country in the next four years and at least half of the nation will release their inner-torturers and call Obama weak.
Which is pretty sick. It's like saying Cheney HOPES we get attacked again just so he can say "I told you so." He needs to be put in a home.
domicile, he needs to be put out of his misery and I hope that bad ticker of his gives out right on television while he is telling lies to the American people.
He//, just let him crawl back into his secret bunker.
My thoughts exactly This man is capable of very bad things.
Do not trust him at all.
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