Maureen Dowd On Bush And Cheney—To A Point
I love Maureen Dowd. I know Conservatives hate her (I hate Rush Limbaugh. I know Conservatives love him), but you have to admit she is good in what she does to Conservatives—as Limbaugh is good at infuriating Democrats.
I thought Dowd’s column in the New York Times this morning was particularly good. In “An Extremist Makeover?”, she addresses what many have been copiously discussing during the last few months: The attempts by Bush & Co. to—during the waning days of their disastrous administration—fabricate (i.e. concoct) a semi-passable legacy.
Out of deference to Conservatives I will not mention some of the more juicy parts of Dowd’s column, such as where she mentions that she would have liked to kick Cheney in the shins; or where she calls him “the lawless Vice presiding over lawmakers swearing to support and defend the Constitution that he soiled and defiled,” and “the vamoosing Vice” who “has no apologies about turning America into a country that tortured.”
Nor will I mention what Dowd has to say about Cheney’s so-called boss, “a president who was over his head and under Cheney’s spell,” except for the following brief comment:
From Gaza to the unemployment figures to the $10.6 trillion debt, things keep spiraling while W. keeps fiddling. Just as when he was in the National Guard and didn’t bother to show up, now, as the scabrous consequences of his missteps shake the economy and the world, he doesn’t bother to show up. He’s checked out — spending his time on more than a dozen exit interviews that do nothing to change his image as a president…
Again, I love Maureen Dowd and her columns, and I highly recommend that my Democratic friends read the entire article. Out of courtesy to my Conservative readers—if any—who probably will not be clicking on the link to Dowd’s article, let me just provide a “sanitized” version of her column:
In the past week, I’ve twice been close enough to Dick Cheney…
The first time was Tuesday, when Cheney left the ceremony where he gave the oath of office to senators. The senators seemed thrilled…
The second time I crossed paths was Thursday night, at a glitzy party at Cafe Milano for Brit Hume…
Asked by People magazine what moments from the last eight years he revisited most often, W. talked passionately about the pitch he threw out at the World Series in 2001…
Asked by Fred Barnes and Bill Kristol of The Weekly Standard if he had made progress in some areas for which he hasn’t gotten credit, the president put trying to privatize Social Security at the top of his list…
After he leaves office, W. wants to go on more bike rides…He wants to write a memoir… And he wants to encourage debate at his presidential library on “big ideas.”
[Cheney's] going back to Casper, Wyo., and said he’s giving “serious thought” to writing a book…
Cheney replied [to a question by Mark Knoller of CBS Radio] with a laugh, “That I’m actually a warm, lovable sort.”
“I think we made good decisions,” he told Knoller…“I think we knew what we were doing.”
Even on his way out, Vice is still on top.
I hope Ms. Dowd doesn’t mind me making her column agreeable to readers of every political persuasion.
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7 Responses to “Maureen Dowd On Bush And Cheney—To A Point”
I postulate that anyone who is still reluctant (at this late juncture) to admit that W and his minions (and/or puppeteers) were not (for the most part) a rabble of clueless, sociopatic bumblers, is doomed to forever remain in the dark on this particular score. As has been suggested before, these past eight years have likely involved a great deal of discomfort to the founding fathers who were forced to spend most of that time rolling around in their graves.
I'm going to rant for a little bit…. Rush and company support an administration that supports torture, does not uphold the Constitution, laughs at the values of the Founding Fathers, uses loyalty as the highest job qualification (at the expense of the American people), lies to the American people (and the world), rewards political benefactors while squelching any hint of dissent (even in the face of facts), and believes that soldiers are better off sent to a war to die in the name of enriching the administration rather than send soldiers to war to defend against an enemy. Bush claims that the world is better off without Iraq and I agree with him- though that's not a reason to invade Iraq who posed no threat to America. There are worse regimes who do pose real threats to America (let's begin with North Korea which has a nuclear weapon and practically enslaves its men in the military).
You don't have to agree with Dowd or the Democrats to understand that Bush is a blight on this world and has almost ruined our country. He inherited a budget surplus and has left the company near bankruptcy- just as he did the companies he ran. The Dow has lost around a fifth of its value since he took office and the economy under him as only created a couple million new jobs. Under Clinton the Dow tripled and there was a net increase of some 20-25 million jobs. I'd rather have a Philodendron as president than a Bush.
Good “postulation,” JS, and it's OK to “rant” SB
Dorian
I still believe that Bush and Cheney are both corporate shills- bought and sold by special interests whom they represented to the best of their ability. The ordinary American had to sit by helplessly while the treasury was looted and our international image ruined– all so these boobs could make good on campaign promises to Big Oil, Big Tobacco, Wall St execs,etc etc. Ken Lay was a big supporter and so was Abramoff before they became too hot to handle.
Agencies that exist to protect the common good like OSHA and EPA were stymied by political appointees who had a specific agenda- to protect big industrial donors. Massive deregulation and Cheney's decision to allow the oil CEO's to write our energy policy with no input from environmentalists is another example of this.
kritt, I agree. As far as I can see Bush and Cheney believe that the big corporations (especially oil, tabacco and financial services) should be protected from the average American citizen. They do not believe that the weaker should be protected form the stronger. They believe the stronger should become even stronger.
To all my fellow “Liebrals, don't give the Demonocrats any leeway in regards to being Corporotten shills. The New York crowd ignored the Wall Street mess and enabled the process. Joe Biden sold his soul to CC interests in Delaware, a state with dubious credit card banks.
Rudi- You may be right, but that is not ALL the Democrats are about. Biden's stated agenda is to revive the middle class, and the party has pushed many bills that benefit the regular Joe that were blocked by the Repugs. And Bush went as far as to block a huge settlement that was already in the works in a federal lawsuit against Big Tobacco- stymieing the federal prosecutor. The final result was a slap on the wrist.
I went to a training given by Obama's Inauguration committee and was told that they turned down Coke's offer of hats and scarves for Inauguration volunteers because of Obama's pledge against using corporate money for the festivities.