NTY OpEd: Mr. Cheney's Imperial Presidency

[BlueEyedSon]

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/23/opinion/23fri1.html

George W. Bush has quipped several times during his political career that it would be so much easier to govern in a dictatorship. Apparently he never told his vice president that this was a joke.

Virtually from the time he chose himself to be Mr. Bush's running mate in 2000, Dick Cheney has spearheaded an extraordinary expansion of the powers of the presidency - from writing energy policy behind closed doors with oil executives to abrogating longstanding treaties and using the 9/11 attacks as a pretext to invade Iraq, scrap the Geneva Conventions and spy on American citizens.

It was a chance Mr. Cheney seems to have been dreaming about for decades. Most Americans looked at wrenching events like the Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal and the Iran-contra debacle and worried that the presidency had become too powerful, secretive and dismissive. Mr. Cheney looked at the same events and fretted that the presidency was not powerful enough, and too vulnerable to inspection and calls for accountability.

The president "needs to have his constitutional powers unimpaired, if you will, in terms of the conduct of national security policy," Mr. Cheney said this week as he tried to stifle the outcry over a domestic spying program that Mr. Bush authorized after the 9/11 attacks.

more at link

[LeftNYC]

1. Wow The Times used the word "imperial"

in describing this administration. Don't they understand that they were lock step with BushCo and the moment when the US needed them the most.

[TimeToGo]

2. What country does he think this is??

The president "needs to have his constitutional powers unimpaired, if you will, in terms of the conduct of national security policy," Mr. Cheney said this week as he tried to stifle the outcry over a domestic spying program that Mr. Bush authorized after the 9/11 attacks.

[cliss]

3. A comment:

Cheney knew he could never get elected on his own. He needed to hide behind somebody else to conduct his evil, clandestine deeds.

Also, the vice-presidency was perfect for him because it's a non-job. Typically, the VP just sits in the background, acts busy but they really don't do anything except be ready to take the job of president in case the latter dies. The VP has no role to play (other than some roles in the Senate), so there have never been any limits to the things he can do. It's a special and unusual role.

Cheney changed all that. He knew that in fact, he could have MORE power than Bush. Cheney moved in like a virus, and is taking our country apart.