Cheney

The Washington Post has been dishing dirt on Dark Lord Cheney this week, with a series of articles by Jo Becker and Barton Gellman:

06/24/07: 'A Different Understanding With the President'
06/25/07: Pushing the Envelope on Presidential Power
06/26/07: A Strong Push From Backstage
06/27/07: Leaving No Tracks

This is why I normally refer to this administration as the "Cheney-Bush administration". Not that I want to give Bush a pass on his misdeeds. But Cheney has been the major force behind the worst of the foreign policy decisions and Constitutional outrages. Including, worst of all, the torture policy. Those who didn't rely on papers like Pravda (the Washington Post) for their news had a good idea long ago of what a bad actor Cheney is. See, for instance, Josh Marshall's Vice Grip Washington Monthly Jan/Feb 2003:

Yet somehow, in Washington's collective mind, Cheney's numerous stumbles and missteps have not displaced the reputation he enjoys as a sober, reliable, skilled inside player. ... If there were any justice or logic in this administration as to who should or shouldn't keep their job, there'd be another high-ranking official in line for one of those awkward conversations: Dick Cheney.

Amazing to think about now, isn't it? Even in early 2003, the conventional wisdom (and press corps script) was that Cheney was one of the proverbial experienced adults in this administration. In retrospect, the biggest thing I missed about the Bush team during the 2000 election and even in their first couple of years in office was just this: what a destructive character Dick Cheney was.

I don't put much stock in the rumblings that senior Republicans are trying to push Cheney to step down. They've let him walk all over them for nearly seven years, why start acting like responsible leaders now? Or even like self-respecting grown-ups?

Talk is cheap. When we see Cheney impeached and ousted, or otherwise removed from office at the instigation of Republicans, then I'll be willing to believe.

Tags: cheney