Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Cheney Is A Pinata
Is there anyone more opportunistic than a politician in Washington, D.C.?
Dick Cheney is taking arguably his biggest beating in all of his years in Washington. And for what? A hunting accident? I don't think so.
Sure, Cheney could have released the news of the accident sooner. A more savvy decision maker probably would have made that choice. But that doesn't justify the feeding frenzy taking place now. This cannot be the biggest news story available.
This mess is nothing more than a reflection of President Bush's relatively low approval ratings. It wasn't that long ago that Bush had high approval ratings, and all Republicans and many Democrats took their orders directly from the White House.
Now that the President has lost much of that public approval, more than a few Republicans and many Democrats are criticizing everything from the his domestic spying program to his recent budget proposal to the White House's actions during Katrina's aftermath. And of course, they are criticizing Cheney.
This reminds me of one of the few candid moments in Newt Gingrich's life. After acknowledging that an impeachment of President Clinton would almost certainly not yield a conviction, he was asked why he would pursue it anyway. His reply was simple - "Because we can."
I am no fan of the Veep. I think he has done a lot of regrettable things in Washington, but this hunting accident is not anywhere near the top of the list. It's sad that many of our elected leaders only grow balls when the White House is somewhat weakened, then squander their indignation on something as unimportant* as a hunting accident.
* unimportant in the big scheme of things, not to Whittington, of course
Dick Cheney is taking arguably his biggest beating in all of his years in Washington. And for what? A hunting accident? I don't think so.
Sure, Cheney could have released the news of the accident sooner. A more savvy decision maker probably would have made that choice. But that doesn't justify the feeding frenzy taking place now. This cannot be the biggest news story available.
This mess is nothing more than a reflection of President Bush's relatively low approval ratings. It wasn't that long ago that Bush had high approval ratings, and all Republicans and many Democrats took their orders directly from the White House.
Now that the President has lost much of that public approval, more than a few Republicans and many Democrats are criticizing everything from the his domestic spying program to his recent budget proposal to the White House's actions during Katrina's aftermath. And of course, they are criticizing Cheney.
This reminds me of one of the few candid moments in Newt Gingrich's life. After acknowledging that an impeachment of President Clinton would almost certainly not yield a conviction, he was asked why he would pursue it anyway. His reply was simple - "Because we can."
I am no fan of the Veep. I think he has done a lot of regrettable things in Washington, but this hunting accident is not anywhere near the top of the list. It's sad that many of our elected leaders only grow balls when the White House is somewhat weakened, then squander their indignation on something as unimportant* as a hunting accident.
* unimportant in the big scheme of things, not to Whittington, of course
