Personal About Politics: Hogwash

 
A day after the President’s less than lackluster State of the Union Address, during an interview with Wolf Blitzer of CNN, Vice President Dick Cheney responded to comments regarding “blunders and failures” in Iraq by saying,  “I just think it’s hogwash.”

Hogwash? Is he joking? This from the Vice President of the United States, an educated man who has served in the White House with four presidents? The man who was CEO of Halliburton Corporation, the world’s largest oilfield services and products company? Former Secretary of Defense and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom? That’s his brilliant response?

Granted, he has been having a rather bad month, which may explain his crankiness.  First the Democrats swept into Washington with great fanfare and took control of Congress. To add insult to injury, a woman (gasp) was elected Speaker of the House. Not only did Nancy Pelosi take charge of the House, she did it with panache.  Graceful and stylish, she exuded confidence as she took the oath of office and made history. Hold onto your pace maker, Dick, she’s just two ticks away from the Oval Office.

Nancy and Company came armed with a serious agenda. A laundry list of bills they intended to pass, and did, within the first 100 hours that the House was in session.  By passing bills that would raise the minimum wage, require Medicare to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices, cut interest rates on student loans, and repeal subsidies to big oil companies, they struck right at the heart of the power brokers who have had a strangle hold on our purse strings for the last six years.  They have systematically begun to dismantle the hierarchy of power given to the top 1% of Americans by Cheney and the GOP, who methodically tried to erase the Middle Class.

If that weren’t enough to make any ultra-conservative crabby, an African American and a women threw their hats into the ring along with several other Democratic hopefuls, while the slate of GOP candidates remained glaringly stark. At the same time the President’s approval rating continued it’s free fall.

When asked in the same interview if he thought Hillary Clinton would make a good President, Cheney, wearing his permanent scowl, sharply responded, “No, I don’t.”

“Why?” Blitzer asked.

“Because she’s a Democrat.” Cheney answered tartly.

That’s profound.

Blitzer then moved on to the subject of Cheney’s daughter Mary, a lesbian, who is pregnant, and how it ran contrary to the religious right. Cheney replied that he was delighted about having another grandchild,  “And I think, frankly, you’re out of line with that question.”

On Fox News Channel, Tony Snow, White House spokesman defended Cheney’s response. “People should not be trying to draw family members in. I think that family members ought to be off the limits.”

Oh, I get it now. It’s perfectly acceptable to authorize wholesale wiretapping without a court order for the rest of us in the country, but not to ask personal questions about his (Cheney’s) family.

Now his former aide, I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby is on trial for perjury and  obstructing the investigation into who leaked the name of former CIA operative, Valerie Plame, to the public. Three witnesses have taken the stand, and fingers are pointing toward Cheney. One wonders how long before Scooter decides he no longer wants to be the sacrificial lamb in this case.

And finally, to top off an already dismal month, the Administration is hard pressed to find support for the deployment of additional troops to Iraq, even within their own ranks. According to the L.A. Times the Vice President responded to the administration’s critics by saying they were “dead wrong” about the war.

Wait. Let me get this straight. We’re supposed to ignore the recommendations of an Iraq Study Group, authorized by the President, a likely resolution by the Foreign Relations Committee condemning the use of additional troops, the expulsion of war hawks from Congress by the voters and war protests from D.C. to L.A.? We’re supposed to believe you when in 2005 you told us  “that the insurgency was in its last throes”?

No, Mr. Vice President, I don’t think so. What’s wrong is a war we were deceived into starting based on half-truths and outright lies. A war that our allies, members of congress, and American citizens no longer support. A war that is costing thousands of lives and, according to a study done in 2001 by Nobel Prize winning economist and Columbia professor, Joseph Stiglitz, along with Harvard budget expert, Linda Bilmes, 1-2 trillion dollars. Yes, that’s trillions.  I’m pretty sure you will be standing all by yourself with your assertion that you are right and everyone else is “dead wrong”.

So, in the last 30 days, after running roughshod over the country for the last six years, Dick Cheney now is watching his political powerhouse begin to deteriorate. Given all that he’s had to deal with this last month, it’s no wonder he’s contentious. Perhaps we should show him a little empathy.

Hogwash.

Cheri Cabot, Politics Correspondent
Cheri’s column, “Personal About Politics”, published every Tuesday, will reflect on how the life of a 57 year-old, middle class woman is affected by politics, policy and the current state of the nation - a look at the personal aspects of politics. The articles will be posted to Politics.gather.com.

Cheri is a single teacher and writer, living in Southern California.  She has two grown children, one in Iowa and one at Columbia University, and is the proud grandmother of two. Cheri is also a purveyor of fine coffee, warm chatter and dry wit.

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