Thank you Mr. Vice President.
Posted on 01/11/2009 8:40:19 AM PST by COUNTrecount
There was a time, not so long ago, when a third-level ideologue at an interagency meeting could stop White House policy deliberations dead with eight words:
"The vice president will not agree to this."
Such was the sway of Dick Cheney, America's 46th vice president and arguably the most powerful and influential occupant of the office.
As he completes a remarkable career as a Washington power player and transitions to an aggressively low-key retirement, the 67-year-old Cheney also departs as perhaps the most controversial veep ever.
Many of his most ardent defenders admit his distinguished pedigree as a White House chief of staff, six-term Wyoming congressman and secretary of defense has been tarnished by eight years as George W. Bush's muscular No. 2.
His approval rating is lower than his boss' dismal numbers. The McCain campaign considered Cheney so toxic with moderate and independent voters that he never campaigned with the Republican nominee last fall.
Even a close pal calls him "the most divisive public official in modern political history."
As Cheney might say: So?
In a blizzard of exit interviews, the normally reclusive vice president has defended waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques for suspected terrorists, Bush's domestic surveillance programs, the Iraq war and a hard line toward Iran, and budget-busting tax cuts Democrats claim hastened the economic meltdown.
While Bush has been given to some introspection and a few second thoughts in his farewell interviews, Cheney is unrepentant.
"This President and this administration will look very good in 20 or 30 years," he told The Washington Times recently.
Cheney has never much cared what others think, especially political opponents and the media. He's content to fade from public life and take a few months to sort out the rest of his life, telling friends he's delighted to get out of Washington and lay low for a while.
He's eagerly planning more hunting and fly-fishing expeditions and will spend more time with his six grandchildren, join some corporate boards, make the occasional speech and write a book defending his bareknuckled stewardship.
However history assesses Cheney, his forceful advocacy of expanding presidential authority has altered the balance of power between the White House and Congress.
For good or ill, there's no dispute he was correct when he recently called his post "a consequential office in this administration." In typical Cheney fashion, that's an understatement.
Thank you Mr. Vice President.
Notwithstanding Al Gore's global warming bullsh*t, of course.
Only controversial with Anti-Americans.
I’ll second that. Great American
I like the sound of that... it is a one-two punch to the face to all bleeding heart liberals that think they can evaluate a president's administration in the present tense.
That can't be good.
Only if you're standing in front of him.
But not 0. He's the Great Unifier.
What Would Dick Cheney Say?
I remember an old saying: “He who has no enemies - is doing nothing.”
Enjoy retirement, Mr. Cheney. You have served us well - and thank you.
He was another class act — just like his boss. Thank you, Mr. Vice President.
It must kill them that he goes out with a higher approval rating than San Fran Nan and Searchlight Harry.
I always get a chuckle out of the expressed idea that we need a “unifying” president. Only dictatorships/monarchies etc. are unified. Healthier governments are supposed to be divided.
I remember an old saying: “He who has no enemies - is doing nothing.”
I love that quote!
Cheney fulfilled the traditional role of the second-in-command: to be the CEO’s SOB so the CEO did not have to do it.
I have to wonder if we would have a Muslim Marxist president if Cheney had thrown his hat in the ring in 2008. Captain Queeg certainly wouldn’t have been our nominee. We would have had a real conservative with courage and convictions, and I think he would have mopped up the floor with Hussein Obama.
Re: “’This President and this administration will look very good in 20 or 30 years.’”
I’m thinking more like four years.
This country does not deserve a public servant like Mr. Cheney.
After 911, you might expect America would have learned.
It will come to appreciate V.P Cheney and Pres. Bush after the term of Obama and Biden....the hard way....
I stand corrected... you are wise beyond your years ;-)
Hear, hear.
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