Dana Milbank On Cheney

[Inland]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/21/AR2005112101375.html

Opening the Door to Debate, and Then Shutting It

By Dana Milbank

Tuesday, November 22, 2005; Page A04

Vice President Cheney protested yesterday that he had been misunderstood when he said last week that critics of the White House over Iraq were "dishonest and reprehensible."

What he meant to say, he explained to his former colleagues at the American Enterprise Institute, was that those who question the White House's use of prewar intelligence were not only "dishonest and reprehensible" but also "corrupt and shameless."

It was about as close as the vice president gets to a retraction.
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Cheney tried to follow his boss's edict. "I do not believe it is wrong to criticize the war on terror or any aspect thereof," he said.

But exactly three minutes later, the vice president added this caveat: "What is not legitimate, and what I will again say is dishonest and reprehensible, is the suggestion by some U.S. senators that the president . . . misled the American people on prewar intelligence." This, he said, "is revisionism of the most corrupt and shameless variety."

He floated the notion that "one might also argue that untruthful charges against the commander in chief have an insidious effect on the war effort itself" -- before adding: "I'm unwilling to say that."

It was a delicate act: Celebrating debate and criticism while declaring that a key element of that debate -- whether the administration exaggerated prewar intelligence about Iraq -- is off-limits. But Cheney achieved it with matter-of-fact indignation.

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[waiting for hope]

1. What an asshole....

I sure hope when all of this is said and done he is left with nothing...absolutely nothing.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

2. Find out what motivates the man and you'll find out why the country

is so f**ked ritht now. Bastids all.

[rodeodance]

3. the talking point is getting real old and tiring!

Cheney tried to follow his boss's edict. "I do not believe it is wrong to criticize the war on terror or any aspect thereof," he said.

[cliss]

4. That's the funniest thing I've read all week:

"It was a delicate act"....But Cheney etc etc.

Asking Cheney to be DELICATE is like asking a bull in a china shop to be careful.

[LittleClarkie]

5. It's enough to make your eyes glaze over, innit

When you can, without trying very hard, replay his words for him to prove that the Bush admin did just that. And still he would lie like a rug.

Damn. How do you deal with that many kinds of crazy?

[unhappycamper]

6. Inland:

Please be aware that DU copyright rules require that excerpts of copyrighted material be limited to four paragraphs and must include a link to the original source.

In the future, please adhere to DU copyright rules.

TIA,

unhappycamper
DU Moderator

[Uncle Joe]

7. Well, Old Man Potter, if it quacks like a duck,

walks like a duck and looks like a duck, don't call it a rose.

[katty]

8. Nuthin' 'delicate' about cheney..his displays are hatefull&cruel