Saturday, November 11, 2006

What About Cheney?

Well, first, Bush cannot fire him. The Vice President is an elected office, not an appointed one. Cheney could resign. He could be removed from office for Treason, Bribery or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors. He could die. There is all manner of conjecture floating around about who will be the designated scapegoat for the massive failure of the Bush administration now that the Democrats have gained control of the Senate and House of Representatives. When Bush said on November 1 that he wanted “Donald Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney to remain in his administration until the end of his presidency,” everyone knew Bush meant he had no intention to support either man. It was easy enough to fire Rumsfeld. But setting up Cheney as a designated scapegoat is another proposition altogether. It’s not a matter of getting rid of Cheney. He’s sick. Seeing to his imminent demise would be simple. Cheney has to be discredited and forced to resign or removed from office in order to make him wear the scapegoat mantle. I don’t see enough support for Bush to make that happen. Finding Cheney guilty of crimes and misdemeanors that don’t also taint George W. Bush is tricky. Yes, this might be accomplished through the Patrick J. Fitzgerald investigation. But the GOP is not in love with George Bush. The GOP is in love with the GOP. Question One: in the Machiavellian Bush administration, will the evil geniuses be more likely to pick George Bush or Dick Cheney as the fall guy for all the problems of the last six years? Question Two: In the GOP and in the wider world of supporters of the GOP (Carlyle Group, arms manufacturers, White House Iraq Group, Wall Street, William Kristol’s Project for the New American Century fiefdom) is there solid support for Dick Cheney or for George Bush? The reputation of the 43rd United States presidency cannot be salvaged. Therefore, who is the likely candidate for taking the fall? An intelligent, loyal, tireless behind-the-scenes workhorse or a bumbling, narcissistic, fratboy pretender?

4 comments:

Barry Schwartz said...

The people taking charge of the situation seem to be Legitimate President Bush and friends, so their goal will be to protect Squatter Bush--not for his sake but for the sake of the name 'Bush'.

As for the squatter, I think the situation has changed in the following way (among others): If Bush issued a pre-emptive pardon to Libby, then Libby could, I imagine, be compelled to testify to Congress, and Congress would be Democratic. Libby would have no 5th amendment excuse. So now it is better for Bush, in my opinion, to let Libby and Cheney fend for themselves, and to try to avoid impeachment.

Anonymous said...

Yes, but are there any resident evil geniuses or George W. Bush friends left in the White House? The only one left IS Dick Cheney, right? Because at this point you can't count Rove or the neo-cons or Rummy or any of the women: Condi, Hughes or Miers because each has left Bush or been discredited. Have I missed anyone?

Joseph Cannon said...

There's wisdom in much of what you say, Joy. But Cheney knows where the bodies are buried. For precisely that reason, he will go nowhere unless Dubya goes with him.

Anonymous said...

I had the great good fortune to refuse shaking
Cheney's mitt back in '76 as he and his entourage
swept through Rock Springs late that summer.
Surrounded by all the usual suspects: Union
Pacific R/R, wire-line energy company bigshots
most especially Haliburton, and the largest throng
of thugs I'd ever seen since JFK arrived in Miami to
meet Nixon at Key Biscayne (1960).
Point is that even back then the VP was deep in the sack with PP&G, Interior/BLM, R/R, not to mention the outfit that run's the inter-mountain
wests' semi-legitimate interests outside of Vegas
but including most local government in Wyoming.
Cheney's pal Mayor Paul Watawa indited the next year (tax evasion, complicity in murder regarding
undercover State's Attorney General Office) & later
FBI, were covered up, although portrayed on 60
minutes at the time as a Butch Cassidy shoot em up.
Want to get the goods on the man from Casper?
Half of Wyoming is eager to help. From Vegas to
Rock Springs, 700 miles give or take, one in the brain and a shallow grave is the prefered dispatch.
Official help? NOT A FUCKING CHANCE.