The Opening Shots

Over the weekend out going Vice President Dick Cheney and incoming Vice President-elect Joe Biden traded words that were less than endearing.  Biden described Cheney as one of the worst Vice Presidents in history, and Cheney, after defending his record, sarcastically hinted that President Obama had in mind a lesser role for Biden. 

There should be little doubt that if intentions or motives were all that were necessary, Vice President Cheney probably should have been President in name, not just in behind the scenes’ fact.  Cheney wrote the book on “ends justify the means”, and added an extra chapter that says the means are still justified even though you don’t achieve your desired ends.  For Cheney, it is not “might makes right”, it is “I make right”.

If you are a “benevolent dictator” fan, then Dick Cheney might be your man.  There are two other reasons, however, to reconsider. 

·        The US is a country of laws and an over arching Constitution.  No official is above the law or allowed to operate outside the Constitution.

·        Beyond Cheney’s methods is the inescapable fact that none of his policies worked or brought positive or lasting benefits. 

There is little value in simply bashing Cheney, even if it feels good.  There is value in appointing a proper commission and investigating the abuse of power of the Bush/Cheney Administration on subjects such as the Iraq invasion and occupation, the enhanced interrogation methods, the denial of due process and the Geneva Convention, the NSA unauthorized domestic spying, and the politicalization of the Justice Department.  Let’s hope that Biden’s words signal the coming of this type of investigation followed by appropriate criminal charges, if justified.

Explore posts in the same categories: Barack Obama, Democratic Party, Dick Cheney, George Bush, Iraq War, Politics, Republican Party

Tags: abuse of power, Joe Biden, national shame, presidential commission

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