Posted on 05/21/2009 12:29:11 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
Obama plays the fear card and the blame game. Cheney stands up as the statesman who succeeded in keeping America safe.Which do you want to believe?
President Obama delivered a hastily scheduled speech on national security this morning at the exact time that former Vice President Cheney had long planned a similar address. Obama wrapped himself in the aura of the National Archives standing in front of the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence and delivered yet another tiresome blame America, blame Bush justification for his own weakness.
For now, I’ll cite just these few paragraphs from Obama’s speech:
OBAMA: After 9/11, we knew that we had entered a new era - that enemies who did not abide by any law of war would present new challenges to our application of the law; that our government would need new tools to protect the American people, and that these tools would have to allow us to prevent attacks instead of simply prosecuting those who try to carry them out.
Unfortunately, faced with an uncertain threat, our government made a series of hasty decisions. And I believe that those decisions were motivated by a sincere desire to protect the American people. But I also believe that - too often - our government made decisions based upon fear rather than foresight, and all too often trimmed facts and evidence to fit ideological predispositions. Instead of strategically applying our power and our principles, we too often set those principles aside as luxuries that we could no longer afford. And in this season of fear, too many of us - Democrats and Republicans; politicians, journalists and citizens - fell silent.
In other words, we went off course. And this is not my assessment alone. It was an assessment that was shared by the American people, who nominated candidates for President from both major parties who, despite our many differences, called for a new approach - one that rejected torture, and recognized the imperative of closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay.
What absolute rubbish! Did the American people vote to release terrorists into the United States? Did we vote to close Guantanamo? Did we vote so that our elected officials, who were too busy to read the bills they were voting on, could instead spend thousands of hours wailing about the waterboarding of JUST THREE TERRORISTS?
I could go on and on, but instead I’ll let former Vice President Cheney respond by posting his remarks in their entirety. Emphasis on particular sections added by me:
As prepared for delivery
Vice President Cheney
Remarks at the American Enterprise Institute
Thursday, May 21, 2009
******************************EXCERPT**************************
Well over seven years into the effort, one thing we know is that the enemy has spent most of this time on the defensive – and every attempt to strike inside the United States has failed.
So we’re left to draw one of two conclusions – and here is the great dividing line in our current debate over national security. You can look at the facts and conclude that the comprehensive strategy has worked, and therefore needs to be continued as vigilantly as ever. Or you can look at the same set of facts and conclude that 9/11 was a one-off event – coordinated, devastating, but also unique and not sufficient to justify a sustained wartime effort. Whichever conclusion you arrive at, it will shape your entire view of the last seven years, and of the policies necessary to protect America for years to come.
The key to any strategy is accurate intelligence, and skilled professionals to get that information in time to use it. In seeking to guard this nation against the threat of catastrophic violence, our Administration gave intelligence officers the tools and lawful authority they needed to gain vital information. We didn’t invent that authority. It is drawn from Article Two of the Constitution. And it was given specificity by the Congress after 9/11, in a Joint Resolution authorizing “all necessary and appropriate force” to protect the American people.
Excellent point, I agree totally. If no one else was speaking up it might be different but Cheney is speaking up.
Former presidents criticizing sitting presidents is an exclusive feature of Jimmah and that's the way it should remain.
I was watching Sheppard Smith earlier—and he’s getting on my nerves. Besides claiming that Cheney’s attacks on Obama are unprecedented (former VP confronting current President), he noted getting several emails from so-called Republicans who are changing their political affiliations because of it.
Of course, Shep failed to mention that one of the reasons for Cheney’s response is because of the unprecendented attacks by a sitting President against a former administation. This is a President who claimed to want to end the partisan bickering and move foward, yet he has become the most-partisan, backward-blaming politician I have ever encountered.
Every speech he delivers is an attack on the previous administation. The media ignores that it is Obama who started this war-of-words by releasing classified documents and then threatening previous administration officials with prosecution. If there is anything that is unprecedented, it is the idea that one administration would even consider prosecuting members of a former administration over policy differences. None of this would be occuring if not for Obama’s own insecurities.
Richard Cheney's Remarks at the AEI Institute (Video of May 21st speech)
MSNBC...don't expect it to be there very long.
Shep is a dumb...he is clearly attending the cocktail parties of the NYC Liberals..
You’re dead on the money about Obama criticizing GW and his administration, it’s almost a daily occurrence with him. It’s a juvenile response by Obama to deflect criticism of himself, IMO.
As far as Sheppie goes I can’t stand to listen to him any longer, he’s nothing more than a drama queen and decidedly a liberal. His fantasies about Repubs changing affiliations because of Dick Cheney are just that, fantasies or they weren’t Repubs in the first place. I usually have FNC tuned in all day but mute it when his show comes on, just can’t stand him interrupting guests to inject his point of view any longer.
That is a great shot. I would love to know what Cheney is thinking.
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