home

Explaining Dick Cheney's Absence

By Jeralyn, Section Huricanes Katrina and Rita
Posted on Sun Sep 11, 2005 at 11:48:05 PM EST
Tags: (all tags)
Share This: Digg! StumbleUpon del.icio.us reddit reddit

Like many of us, Nora Ephron at Huffington Post has been puzzled by Dick Cheney's absence during Katrina and doesn't buy that it's because he was on vacation. She wonders whether the President and Cheney have had a falling out.

Could Cheney – and not just his aides -- possibly be involved in the Valerie Plame episode? Is Cheney not speaking to Karl Rove? Does the airplane/bicycle incident figure into this in any way? And how is it possible that the President is off on vacation and the Vice President is too? Not that it matters particularly if the President is on vacation; on some level, the President is always on vacation. But where was Cheney?

A few months ago, I heard of a lunch conversation that Cheney had with a political type in Wyoming. I have no idea if it's true or not, but it makes some sense. Here's the tale:

Cheney has been getting tired of being called upon to fix Bush's mistakes. Cheney said Bush is almost incapable of making any decision. He waffles and waffles. Then, once he makes a decision, he refuses to change it. Because of his born-again faith, he says "It's in the hands of G-d now" and washes his hands of it. Then Cheney is called in to repair the damage.

If this story is even remotely true, this may have been the final straw for Cheney, and he decided to let Bush try to wiggle his way out of his Katrina inaction on his own. Cheney's re-emergence this week may be the result of his fellow Republicans begging him to return to save Bush for the sake of the party.

But I also don't discount that Cheney may be in deep doo-doo of his own over RoveGate. Now, that would be something.

< New Orleans Today: Wreckage and Bloated Bodies | Poverty, Race and a National Shame >

  • The Online Magazine with Liberal coverage of crime-related political and injustice news

  • Contribute To TalkLeft


    • Display: Sort:
    Explaining Dick Cheney's Absence | 16 comments (16 topical)
    Re: Explaining Dick Cheney's Absence (none / 0) (#1)
    by scarshapedstar on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:41 PM EST
    "Cheney said Bush is almost incapable of making any decision. He waffles and waffles. Then, once he makes a decision, he refuses to change it." But... I thought that was the hallmark of a good leader! Nay, a great one!

    Re: Explaining Dick Cheney's Absence (none / 0) (#2)
    by squeaky on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:41 PM EST
    I think that he is mean enough to make Bush suffer. I also think he is in deep doodoo with Fitzgerald. Tenet knew that he and the CIA were being set up, so he left a paper trail showing that all disinformation leads to the WH. Cheney went over there regularly, which was unheard of, not to get info but to set the stage for them to take the blame for the WH fixing evidence. As someone recently said, 'you don't mess with spooks.' Can't wait for the next episode.

    Re: Explaining Dick Cheney's Absence (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:41 PM EST
    Also by Nora Ephron, a series of pretty forgettable movies.... Just saying. # Bewitched (2005) (written by) # Hanging Up (2000) (screenplay) ... aka Aufgelegt! (Germany) # You've Got Mail (1998) (screenplay) # Michael (1996) (screenplay) # Mixed Nuts (1994) (screenplay) ... aka Lifesavers # Sleepless in Seattle (1993) (screenplay) # This Is My Life (1992) (screenplay) # My Blue Heaven (1990) (written by) # Cookie (1989) (written by) # When Harry Met Sally... (1989) (written by) # Heartburn (1986) (also novel) # Silkwood (1983) # Perfect Gentlemen (1978) (TV) # "Adam's Rib" (1973

    Re: Explaining Dick Cheney's Absence (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:41 PM EST
    The actress Ephron refers to must have been Diane Keaton. Snap! Of course the resulting movie was about as successful as the Curveball admin:
    This movie should be required viewing in all film schools so future film makers will know what a truly bad movie is. It is excruciatingly bad from beginning to end... You can blame the director and the writer and everyone else involved...
    Oops, we weren't going to play the blame game, eh.

    Re: Explaining Dick Cheney's Absence (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:41 PM EST
    it's speculation at this point, though it may well be due to his frustration with fixing the boy emperor's screw ups. wouldn't doubt it. but frankly I put cheney's absence down to extreme callousness; as with every other member of the administration. it's just a matter of degree with them. I would rank Cheney and Rove as among the most callous and vicious men/people to have ever worked in the white house, and saying a lot! perhaps cheney and rove have had a falling out, another possibility that could have serious implications for the Reptiles I mean the republicans.... I certainly like a good story as well as anyone and I do think Nora Ephron is on to something.

    Re: Explaining Dick Cheney's Absence (none / 0) (#6)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:41 PM EST
    I chalk it up to the admin not wanting to trot someone out there who seems absolutely incapable of human emotion. I don't doubt that he's sick of dealing with the boy king (all the Wyoming people I know, who in turn know him say that he is an ornery b**tard), but he's not the type to just quit out of frustation. His agenda is too important to him. I also don't think it has anything to with RoveGate (though I do think that he's in trouble). These are the kind of people who will pontificate right up until the moment they are convicted of perjury, obstruction, etc. Then they will wait a few years, come on CNN and start pontificating again. Liddy, anyone?

    Re: Explaining Dick Cheney's Absence (none / 0) (#7)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:41 PM EST
    Hit post before giving it the once over. Obviously, "frustation" is bad-typing for frustration, and there should be a "do" between "to" and "with RoveGate."

    Re: Explaining Dick Cheney's Absence (none / 0) (#8)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:41 PM EST
    Rescuers collect dead, Cheney sounds upbeat - REUTERS UK Sat Sep 10, 2005
    Vice President Dick Cheney visited an emergency management center in Austin, Texas, and said the government was finally gaining control of the situation. "There are a lot of lessons we want to learn out of this process in terms of what works," Cheney said.* "I think we are in fact on our way to getting on top of the whole [b]Katrina exercise[/b]. We've got a lot of work