Cheney does a poor imitation of a tough guy
I held off addressing the speech this week by former Vice President Dick Cheney until I had time to sit and watch it. (It’s included in its entirety on a video below.)
Having watched it, I must say the man hasn’t lost his ability to stun.
In places, Cheney is unintentionally hilarious. “We cannot protect this country by … turning the guns on our own guys,” says the man who shot his pal Harry Whittington in the face.
And eight years after President Bush assured the world that he had looked Vladimir Putin in the eye and “found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy … I was able to get a sense of his soul,” Cheney tells us that “ anybody who has spent much time in that part of the world knows what Vladimir Putin is up to. And those who try placating him, by conceding ground and accommodating his wishes, will get nothing in return but more trouble.”
That Dick. What a joker.
Most of the attention has focused on Cheney’s suggestion that President Obama is “dithering while America’s armed forces are in danger” and “waffling while our troops on the ground face an emboldened enemy.” It is a startling line of attack. For seven long years, the Bush/Cheney administration left the Afghanistan theater so starved for manpower, resources and leadership that U.S. forces were teetering on the edge of defeat by the time Obama took office. In the 10 months since then, Obama has more than doubled the number of troops deployed in Afghanistan.
And what’s Cheney’s defense? Well, as he says in the speech, the Bush administration did leave Obama a plan. After seven years, finally, a plan.
The implication that Obama is endangering the lives of U.S. troops is particularly outrageous. If the Bush administration had focused sufficient attention and resources on Afghanistan in its two terms in office, it is highly unlikely that American troops would still be dying there today, with no end in sight to the sacrifice.
Cheney acknowledges none of that. He shows not the slightest bit of humility over his role in the invasion of Iraq, the single biggest foreign policy blunder in the nation’s history and a decision that led directly to the deaths of thousands of American military personnel, with no strategic U.S. gain. He makes no mention of the fact that the Baghdad adventure he championed left our forces in Afghanistan so undermanned. And he wishes his listeners to forget that by Bush’s second term, the president had learned to turn a deaf ear to his vice president’s rantings, freezing him out of the decision-making process.
Given that documented history of incompetence, it’s downright laughable to see Cheney now lauded as a hero of sorts by advocates of a tough-guy foreign policy. Cheney is not tough, he’s a poser. Many a weak soul has been eager to send other people off to die and kill.
I have always had deep misgivings about the “chickenhawk” label. It transforms what ought to be a debate about policy into something more personal, which clouds the argument. But in this particular case, Cheney himself casts every foreign policy decision as a test of will and masculinity, rather than logic and experience. The chasm between the persona he tries to project and the actual life he has lived is simply too great to go unmentioned.
Back when Cheney was a young man and this nation was at war, he begged five times to be excused from the draft, and five times that request was granted. The last of those five deferments was particularly illuminating. In October 1965, the Selective Service rules were changed for the first time to make married men eligible for the draft. Fathers, however, would still be exempt.
Exactly nine months and two days after that rule change, Cheney’s first child was born.
In closing, I should acknowledge that there is one important point on which I agree with our former vice president. As he said in his speech this week, “There are policy differences, and then there are affronts that have to be answered every time without equivocation, and this is one of them.”
Yes sir, that’s exactly right.
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© 2009 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
234 comments Add your comment
Normal
October 23rd, 2009
3:16 pm
Did Cheney get a bobbit worm for his birthday? yes, and his new name is Stumpy. Stumpy Cheney…has a certain ring to it, don’t cha think?
Hatin' on the Stupid
October 23rd, 2009
3:21 pm
Tell it like it is Jay. Amen!
DoggoneGA
October 23rd, 2009
3:21 pm
Looks like the link to the video is messed up. (Why is it “messed up” and not “messed down”?)
Jay
October 23rd, 2009
3:25 pm
Thanks Dog, fixed now.
Stan
October 23rd, 2009
3:25 pm
Good job Jay, I think this is your first post in a week or so of bashing the FORMER administration.
Taxpayer
October 23rd, 2009
3:25 pm
All right, Jay, you know I have to ask, Is there such a thing as a Dick eating worm. There should be.
Shananeeeeee Fananeeeeeee
October 23rd, 2009
3:25 pm
So does Obama. He has not accomplished anything but has surely managed to spend so much money our economy with never pay the debt down. This man is corrupt and has surrounded himself with a bunch of crazies who admire Mao Tse Tung and Fidel Castro. The IOC saw right through him and a lot of Americans are catching on now and the democrats are in trouble in the next few years. Change in 2010 and 2012, Change we are looking forward to.
LeeH1
October 23rd, 2009
3:27 pm
Cheney is a destroyer. Basically, he goes into any situation, and begins to destroy it. Many people mistake this fro progress, which is how he was able to rise so high. but ultimately, Cheneyeven destroys what he loves.
Turd Ferguson
October 23rd, 2009
3:29 pm
“Exactly nine months and two days after that rule change, Cheney’s first child was born.”
Well isnt that about the time it takes from conception to birth? Most confusing point their J.
Regarding Iraq/afghanistan…its tough to build a nation when its full of cut throat, sell-outs and a nation that doesnt want to be built. Kinda like the frustration braveheart faced with Scotland whilst contending with LongShanks. Yet Braveheart was able to have relations with the future queen of England. An achievement of which Cheney has yet to accomplish.
Midori
October 23rd, 2009
3:29 pm
Cheney does a poor imitation of a human being.
Doggone/GA
October 23rd, 2009
3:29 pm
“So does Obama”
TAG YOU’RE IT!
josef nix
October 23rd, 2009
3:30 pm
Give it a rest and give us some travellin’ music…this tin drum is out of tune!
Bosch
October 23rd, 2009
3:31 pm
Dick Cheney is evil.
Midori
October 23rd, 2009
3:32 pm
LOL, Doggone!!
was that arrow intended for me?
DoggoneGA
October 23rd, 2009
3:32 pm
“Well isnt that about the time it takes from conception to birth? Most confusing point their J.”
It didn’t confuse me at all. *I* got it.
Turd Ferguson
October 23rd, 2009
3:33 pm
Travelin Music?
Climax Blues Band
Brothers Johnson
Roy Woods Wizard
The Plasmatics
Normal
October 23rd, 2009
3:34 pm
Show Dick that worm!
Bosch
October 23rd, 2009
3:35 pm
Normal,
Dick was attacked by that worm a long time ago. The name is just a front.
Mrs. Godzilla
October 23rd, 2009
3:35 pm
Dick.
One of the most appropriately named creatures I have ever seen.
Normal
October 23rd, 2009
3:36 pm
Lets go Acid Rock, like Jefferson Airplane’s “Plactic Fantastic Lover”. No Turd, not a blow up doll.
Turd Ferguson
October 23rd, 2009
3:36 pm
P-Funk
“Tear the roof off the sucka”
Normal
October 23rd, 2009
3:37 pm
Mrs. Godzilla
October 23rd, 2009
3:35 pm
Dick.
One of the most appropriately named creatures I have ever seen.
I agree, but I wish his middle name was Head.
DoggoneGA
October 23rd, 2009
3:37 pm
“was that arrow intended for me?”
Arrow?
stands for decibels
October 23rd, 2009
3:37 pm
The implication that Obama is endangering the lives of U.S. troops is particularly outrageous.
It’d be outrageous if anyone who wasn’t a lunatic actually cared what this man has to say at this point.
Mrs. Godzilla
October 23rd, 2009
3:38 pm
He’d make a great LOLcat….what a pu$$y….
Bosch
October 23rd, 2009
3:38 pm
Normal,
Oh, it is.
DoggoneGA
October 23rd, 2009
3:38 pm
“It’d be outrageous if anyone who wasn’t a lunatic actually cared what this man has to say at this point.”
The problem is, it’s the lunatics who DO care. And he knows just what to say to push all their buttons.
Mrs. Godzilla
October 23rd, 2009
3:39 pm
Turd
I’m pretty sure you have the whole collection.
So easy to mount while you eat your cheese sandwhich.
josef nix
October 23rd, 2009
3:39 pm
NORMAL–
“White Rabbit.”
Bosch
October 23rd, 2009
3:39 pm
MRS. G.!!!!!!!!!
Mrs. Godzilla
October 23rd, 2009
3:40 pm
I apologize…..he’s not good enough to be a LOLcat.
Turd …well that’s cat box filler.
Bosch
October 23rd, 2009
3:40 pm
MRS. G. AGAIN!!!!!!!!
AmVet
October 23rd, 2009
3:41 pm
The darling of Republidupes and unread morons.
The poster boy for poor losers.
The brain of George W. Bush.
Only the Manteats in Black has a bigger mouth.
But his lasting legacy will always be that of a deadly chickenhawk buffoon.
Not even a Has Been…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdBlZzuadLQ
Bosch
October 23rd, 2009
3:41 pm
Mrs. G.,
I’m glad you checked back in. We have a “new’ poster downstairs who really needs a hug.
Turd Ferguson
October 23rd, 2009
3:42 pm
LMAO! You still got it Godzee
Nice weekend all!!
TW
October 23rd, 2009
3:43 pm
This is what they turn into when they don’t come out of the closet. After all, nobody thinks his daughter got ‘the gene’ from Mama
Mrs. Godzilla
October 23rd, 2009
3:44 pm
New poster or new name?
DoggoneGA
October 23rd, 2009
3:45 pm
“New poster or new name?”
Seems to be a new poster
Bosch
October 23rd, 2009
3:45 pm
Mrs. G.,
Sounds like a new name – too comfortable to be a new poster. I think it’s one of the more wingnuttier of our friends who felt like going on a “yeah, I really do hate black people” rant today.
Mrs. Godzilla
October 23rd, 2009
3:46 pm
oh….basic pond scum….
Bosch
October 23rd, 2009
3:46 pm
Oh, Doggone and I disagree!!! Wanna arm wrestle?
Normal
October 23rd, 2009
3:47 pm
Josef, White Rabbit, Indeed! BTW, if some people here say I was naughty today, don’t believe ‘em. Leaving for home now, see y’all on the music channel…
Jack
October 23rd, 2009
3:48 pm
Cheney IS a tough guy. I’d be a lot more comfortable if he was in the driver’s seat instead of the present community organizer.
Bosch
October 23rd, 2009
3:48 pm
Mrs. G.,
Quit insulting pond scum so!!!
DoggoneGA
October 23rd, 2009
3:49 pm
“Wanna arm wrestle?”
I’ve seen a lot of really neat virtual sites…is there really one for arm wrestling?
josef nix
October 23rd, 2009
3:50 pm
TW–what gene?
DoggoneGA
October 23rd, 2009
3:50 pm
“Cheney IS a tough guy.”
snort!
Mrs. Godzilla
October 23rd, 2009
3:51 pm
I hear Cheney drives like he shoots…..
josef nix
October 23rd, 2009
3:51 pm
Bosch, Mrs. G
Some of my best friends are pond scum,
GayBlackCripple
October 23rd, 2009
3:51 pm
Dick is flailing about trying to stop his inevitable fall into being irrelevant. His only real hope is that Lynne includes him in her next porno and he becomes some sort of fetish star… I’m thinking the kind of fetish where I get to kick him in the nads over and over.
DoggoneGA
October 23rd, 2009
3:53 pm
“what gene?”
Josef…I’m not sure I follow the logic, but I think it goes like this: being gay is a choice, except when a gay child comes out of a rabidly anti-gay family…then it’s genetic, but “the gene” did NOT come from the most rabid of the parents.
I don’t say it’s good logic…but it passes for such in some circles.
Mrs. Godzilla
October 23rd, 2009
3:54 pm
Would public mens room slime be better?
jconservative
October 23rd, 2009
3:56 pm
Cheney is the last guy who should complain about troop levels in Afghanistan. Fact: The Pentagon asked for more troops for Afghanistan in the early fall of 2008. Obama sent the troops in March of 2009.
Bush and Cheney sat on the request for 5 months. I do not know why, they have never said & have never answered questions about their decision not to send the troops.
DoggoneGA
October 23rd, 2009
3:58 pm
“Bush and Cheney sat on the request for 5 months”
Are you accusing Cheny of DITHERING? How DARE you?!
josef nix
October 23rd, 2009
3:58 pm
New poster? Are we talking about Six Degrees of Segregation JIR?
Doggone–Gotcha! Thought maybe we were birth defects and I was wondering where to get in line for my March of Dimes money…
Mrs. G
Would public mens room slime be better?
Now, now,,,that’s bordering on stereotypic bogotry…
Bosch
October 23rd, 2009
3:59 pm
Mrs. G.,
Yes. Much.
Bosch
October 23rd, 2009
4:00 pm
“Thought maybe we were birth defects and I was wondering where to get in line for my March of Dimes money… ”
JOSEF!!!! That was funny.
Jackie
October 23rd, 2009
4:00 pm
The man has a huge case of the the “Napoleon complex” with no compunction of using others to prove his specious points. He is delusional and his self-aggrandizement is stunning.
He continues to pontificate, “…do as I say, not what I do.” His ability to use others for human fodder in a war that does not have further meaning is a testament to his lack of skill, experience and insight.
If one were to be objective in reviewing his decisions as VP, it appears everything he has done was based on the profit motive.
The famous retort of one of Joe McCarthy’s witnesses was “…sir, do you have no shame?” is so appropriate for this morbid human being.
Mrs. Godzilla
October 23rd, 2009
4:00 pm
josef
how about septic tank sludge?
neo-Carlinist
October 23rd, 2009
4:01 pm
I know why neo-con loyalists attend/cover these things, but why do you even give this guy your time? It’s not like we don’t know the score. And it’s not like thr truth or facts will change his take on Afghanistan, Putin or the current administration. It’s not like the light bulb will illuminate and he’ll say; “…hey maybe we f**ked up in Afghanistan when we dithered over to Iraq in 2003…”?
joe matarotz
October 23rd, 2009
4:01 pm
Obama announced a strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan back in March. It’s still on the White House blog. More than six months have passed and Obama has done nothing. So what do you call that? Sounds like dithering to me.
Bosch
October 23rd, 2009
4:03 pm
joe matarotz,
So what? Things have changed in Afghanistan like a bogus election.
Mrs. Godzilla
October 23rd, 2009
4:03 pm
How about some Cheney cartoons….
http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/dickcheney/ig/Dick-Cheney-Cartoons/Cheney-the-Torturer.05XP.htm
DoggoneGA
October 23rd, 2009
4:05 pm
“More than six months have passed and Obama has done nothing. So what do you call that? Sounds like dithering to me.”
Nope, not dithering. His magic wand wore out and he has to wait for the new one to be delivered.
josef nix
October 23rd, 2009
4:05 pm
Ms G–
“how about septic tank sludge?”
I’ll go for that!
BOSCH–
Wish I could take credit. Rita Mae Brown…should have quoted her!
Jackie
October 23rd, 2009
4:05 pm
@Jack
How do you make the determination that Cheyney “…IS a tough guy?”
Bosch
October 23rd, 2009
4:06 pm
Mrs. G.,
Ewwww.Ewwww.Ewww.Ewwww.Ewwww.
josef nix
October 23rd, 2009
4:06 pm
joe matarotz
What you mean Ima Gonna’s done nothing? He’s won a Nobel Prize!
Bosch
October 23rd, 2009
4:07 pm
Yeah Cheney is so tough – one little knee injury and he gets five free passes from fighting in Vietnam – or was that Saxby? I get those two confused.
thomas
October 23rd, 2009
4:07 pm
How long is a fair amount of time for the troops to wait after not 1 but 2 generals (high ranking ones at that) have asked for troops?
Not saying the troops should be sent but an answer would be nice if you are one of the soldiers fighting everyday. It must feel like to them they are being ignored by theri commander in chief. I know if i told my boss i needed something to win and he didn’t give me an answer for over 2 months then I would feel as if I was being ignored and my boss felt like other things were more important.
I hope our president does not think there are 2 months worth of things more important than soldiers lives.
josef nix
October 23rd, 2009
4:08 pm
Doggone…
“His magic wand wore out and he has to wait for the new one to be delivered.”
I been tellin’ y’all his momma was scared by the good fairy when she was carryin’ him!
Jay
October 23rd, 2009
4:09 pm
Well, neo-Carlinist, do a Google news search on “Cheney” and “speech” and you get more than 1,000 hits. The speech got an awful lot of press attention, including worshipful coverage of Fox. He is becoming the leading spokesman for conservative revisionism, and I thought it was important to address it.
As for Racket, he is a relatively new poster with no evidence of having come here under other guises.
josef nix
October 23rd, 2009
4:09 pm
Bosch–
gettin’ ‘em mixed up…I’ve found it easier to keep track of the ones who DID go to Vietnam…
DoggoneGA
October 23rd, 2009
4:10 pm
“How long is a fair amount of time for the troops to wait after not 1 but 2 generals (high ranking ones at that) have asked for troops?”
Haven’t been paying close attention, have you?
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/17/obama.troops/index.html
Bosch
October 23rd, 2009
4:10 pm
“As for Racket, he is a relatively new poster with no evidence of having come here under other guises.”
Doggone! You win!!
thomas
October 23rd, 2009
4:11 pm
Bosch,
A knee injury can keep you out of the army, even if you want to stay.
Got me an early exit from the reserves. Didn’t even get hurt doing reserve stuff, but I was still considered unfit to serve in the capacity I was assigned. Not exactly the main stream armed forces but I’m sure the regulations are similar.
Now I know that does not matter to you as Dick Cheney is EVIL.
Bosch
October 23rd, 2009
4:11 pm
josef,
“I’ve found it easier to keep track of the ones who DID go to Vietnam…”
Awwww. Yes. Good plan.
DoggoneGA
October 23rd, 2009
4:11 pm
“I been tellin’ y’all his momma was scared by the good fairy when she was carryin’ him!”
Yeah, and turned him into the neocons “Messiah” to boot!
Jay
October 23rd, 2009
4:12 pm
All of Dick’s deferments were non-medical. Three were student-related, one was for being married and the final for being a father.
Bosch
October 23rd, 2009
4:13 pm
thomas,
“Now I know that does not matter to you as Dick Cheney is EVIL.”
You’re right, it doesn’t and yes he is.
josef nix
October 23rd, 2009
4:13 pm
“As for Racket, he is a relatively new poster with no evidence of having come here under other guises.”
Oh, boy! Fresh meat! Okay, folks, less be nice now and make him feel at home among inferiors.
DoggoneGA
October 23rd, 2009
4:14 pm
“Doggone! You win!!”
takes a bow! I was going by the posts…they just didn’t have the familiar ring of our usual bigots.
thomas
October 23rd, 2009
4:15 pm
Great link Doggone, you blithering idiot!
I believe there has been another request since Feb.
Maybe say around August.
But it never has been below you to post a link hoping like hell that noone will look at it. Just so you can feel smart and important.
Did I miss him giving the troops McChrystal requested this past August or has he still not given a definitive answer on that yet.
Quick go get another link that proves and shows nothing that is relative. Quick, google, that G-O-O-G-L-E then dot (.) com.
Ready go!
josef nix
October 23rd, 2009
4:15 pm
Doggone–
but was she a virgin?
Mrs. Godzilla
October 23rd, 2009
4:15 pm
again…..the generals can only say how….
the President decides if
but if you want a nation run by the military….get your passport and head for Myanmar….
GayBlackCripple
October 23rd, 2009
4:15 pm
It was Rush that got the medical deferment.
He had/has a tail.
http://www.snopes.com/military/limbaugh.asp
Bosch
October 23rd, 2009
4:15 pm
So all the people who fought in Vietnam were single guys with no kids?
DoggoneGA
October 23rd, 2009
4:16 pm
“one was for being married ”
Hmmm…I wonder is there was a limit on the number of student deferments he could get?
Bosch
October 23rd, 2009
4:16 pm
“Great link Doggone, you blithering idiot!”
And there goes thomas, keeping it classy.
thomas
October 23rd, 2009
4:17 pm
Oh I would agree he is slightly evil. He even looks like a movie vilan type. I would swear he was evil, regardless of what past actions he has or has not done.
But then again I think a whole lotta politician types are evil, just to differing degrees.
Mrs. Godzilla
October 23rd, 2009
4:17 pm
Lot of us want the President to just say no to McChrystal…..
DoggoneGA
October 23rd, 2009
4:18 pm
“I believe there has been another request since Feb.”
And maybe, just maybe, you should specify WHICH request you are talking about before you say Obama waited after they were requested. And I already SAID his magic wand is worn out. Gotta give him time to get his new one.
Bosch
October 23rd, 2009
4:18 pm
Everytime I hear McChrystal’s name I automatically think of hot sauce.
Mrs. Godzilla
October 23rd, 2009
4:20 pm
Enough Cheney…..I have a good dinner planned….
Here’s a much happier picture
http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/4035513827/
GayBlackCripple
October 23rd, 2009
4:20 pm
I believe his three ed. deferals were:
1. Yale undergrad
2. Wyoming undergrad
3. Grad school – not sure where…
thomas
October 23rd, 2009
4:20 pm
It has nothing to do with class when it is honesty.
BTW never have I ever claimed to be a classy one.
But seriously the guy gave me a link to an article from FEB.
In regards to a post about the past 2 months.
Now what would be a better word to describe someone who thinks February is 2 months ago?
Would slow have been a kiner more gentle term?
I would think calling one an idiot is better than calling one evil.
DoggoneGA
October 23rd, 2009
4:21 pm
“but was she a virgin?”
Not all Messiah’s are born to virgins you know. As a matter of fact, when I look up “messiah” at http://www.dictionary.com Jesus comes in 2nd in the definitions. The first is “the promised and expected deliverer of the Jewish people.”
And since I’m not Jewish and don’t know the answer to this: is the Jewish Messiah expected to be of virgin birth?
josef nix
October 23rd, 2009
4:21 pm
BOSCH
Everytime I hear McChrystal’s name I automatically think of hot sauce.
I get a visual of Ronald ordering up a bag of them little bitty square grease patties..
jt
October 23rd, 2009
4:21 pm
“He is becoming the leading spokesman for conservative revisionism,”
I call BS Jay.
He is a POS republican. Nothing more, nothing less.
thomas
October 23rd, 2009
4:23 pm
Mrs. Godzilla,
I am not in the camp of thinking and knowing that sending more troops to McChrystal is the right thing to do. But a decision, any decision is the right thing to do. It is dangerous to leave that many men and women in limbo, and possibly thinking their Commander in Chief is too busy to worry about them.