Cheney Offers False Excuse For His ‘So?’ Comment: I Meant, ‘What’s The Question, Martha?’
Cheney Offers False Excuse For His ‘So?’ Comment: I Meant, ‘What’s The Question, Martha?’
In an interview on the fifth anniversary of the Iraq invasion, Vice President Cheney told ABC’s Martha Raddatz that he doesn’t care about the American public’s views on the war:
RADDATZ: Two-third of Americans say it’s [the Iraq war’s] not worth fighting.
CHENEY: So?
RADDATZ So? You don’t care what the American people think?
CHENEY: No. I think you cannot be blown off course by the fluctuations in the public opinion polls.
Cheney was roundly criticized for his remarks. Even Fox News’s Bill O’Reilly said Cheney was being a “wise guy” and “dismissed the folks” with his comments. A poll released a couple of weeks later found that 81 percent of the American public believed that when making an “important decision,” government leaders “should pay attention to public opinion polls.”
During his speech at the National Press Club today, the moderator gave Cheney a chance to apologize. “Do you wish that you had answered that question differently?” she asked. “Does it matter if the public disagrees sharply with the wisdom of the war?” Cheney instead made up an excuse about his initial comments, claiming that Martha had never asked him a direct question:
MODERATOR: Do you wish you had answered that question differently? Does it matter if the public disagrees sharply with the wisdom of the war?
CHENEY: No, when I said, “So?” the point was, “What’s the question, Martha?” She made the statement; she didn’t ask question.
Watch it:
It’s doubtful that Cheney meant, “What’s the question, Martha?” As the original exchange highlights, when Raddatz did ask a direct question — “You don’t care what the American people think?” — Cheney flatly replied, “No.” He clearly doesn’t care what the American public thinks, no matter how it’s asked.
Transcript:
REPORTER: In an interview earlier this year about the troop surge, Martha Raddatz pointed out that recent polls show about two-thirds of Americans say the fight in Iraq is not worth it. Your answer was, “So?,” which you then amplified this way: “You cannot be blown off course by polls.” Do you wish you had answered that question differently? Does it matter if the public disagrees sharply with the wisdom of the war?
CHENEY: No, when I said “So?” the point was, “What’s the question, Martha?” She made the statement; she didn’t ask a question. I think the point is valid and it’s very important to remind people, and I try to reference that in my remarks today, that presidents have to make decisions that are oftentimes impossible. If they’re making the tough calls or if they’re addressing the difficult issues, they’re going to sooner or later be unpopular.
If your goal and objective is to be loved some 75 or 80 or 90 percent of the time, you’re in the wrong line of work. Presidents get paid to make those tough calls and tough decisions. I have worked for some like George Bush and Gerry Ford who did exactly that and the point made I made was talking with Martha is that you simply cannot be in position where you respond weekly or monthly or daily in the fluctuations in the polls in terms of what kind of policy you’re going to set.
You don’t want a president who’s going to govern that way. And you get to go vote every four years on who gets to be president. You have to got out to earn their right to be president and make those decisions. I suppose that’s one of the reasons why we have limited terms and go through that process every four years.
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Cheney offers false excuse for his ‘So?’ comment.
So?
June 2nd, 2008 at 2:32 pmThis is the way Republicans lie. I have heard the interview on several occasions. The meaning of his statement was very clear. The tone was both sarcastic and demeaning. You not only have to have these guys on the stand under oath but also have a video recording. Yeah, testify in private, not under oath and no transcript? Like Hell.
June 2nd, 2008 at 2:34 pmI would ’so’ like to see his lying ass in jail …
June 2nd, 2008 at 2:34 pmHmmmm. I wonder why the “Lying Sack of Crap” song is dancing through my head……..
June 2nd, 2008 at 2:35 pmSee ya at the Hague, you miserable prick.
June 2nd, 2008 at 2:36 pm.
Richard B. Cheney says:
And now he needs to clarify that he was never paying attention to her point because he’s concentrating too much about not being blown off course by the Polls… “but you have to watch out for them brown skinned Iraqis…”… Yes?
.
June 2nd, 2008 at 2:39 pmInstead of ‘I think you cannot be blown off course by the fluctuations in the public opinion polls’, he was really saying ‘in my opinion, the public can blow me’.
June 2nd, 2008 at 2:42 pmPrick.
At least he didn’t tell her to go fu(k herself. So she should feel glad about that.
June 2nd, 2008 at 2:42 pmWhen lying about a lie, it’s usually pragmatic to lie again.
June 2nd, 2008 at 2:44 pm-Bush Bible
So, is Cheney saying that he does care about public opinion?
That’s hard to believe. If Dick cared about public opinion, he would be too ashamed to ever show his face in public again.
June 2nd, 2008 at 2:49 pmThe general disdain he shows for the American people is appalling.
I wonder if he has ever said the words, “I’m sorry, I was wrong.” in his life. It’s dangerous thinking you’re always right - especially in a profession when you are so often wrong.
June 2nd, 2008 at 2:52 pmSooo… Why is Dick such a dick?
June 2nd, 2008 at 2:55 pmbobcat_grad Says:
It’s dangerous thinking you’re always right - especially in a profession when you are so often wrong.
In traitor dickie’s case, he’s ALWAYS wrong!!!
June 2nd, 2008 at 2:56 pmI respomd to his fluctuates with
June 2nd, 2008 at 2:57 pmHe is just so smug, sarcastic, and evil. How in the world did this guy get elected? For that matter, how on earth did W? Oh, yeah, Fflorida. I remember.
June 2nd, 2008 at 2:57 pmwell, folks… i gotta go with cheeeney on this…
i can read him, and his style… reminds me of my dad…
still shows a remarkable lack of empathy and consideration…
but, what he says, that’s how i took his words and attitude then.
his “no” was a correction of her question…
he’s still an azzhole…
June 2nd, 2008 at 3:00 pmhey! don’t be hating on Florida, now. There are idiots and corruption residing in every city throughout the world. I along with Florida residents cannot tell you why there were boxes of ballots left to be forgotten in some churches. All I can tell you is that money laundering eb Bush is the Idiot of Florida at the moment.
June 2nd, 2008 at 3:10 pmCheney has done for America what Genghis Khan did for Asia…
June 2nd, 2008 at 3:11 pmoops, I meant Jeb, the idiot
June 2nd, 2008 at 3:11 pmDick had done for America what the Demons of hell have done for earth.
June 2nd, 2008 at 3:14 pmWhen one says “So?” as in, “So, what’s the question?”, one does not normally sneer it, as Cheney did in his interview with Martha Raddatz. Cheney can spin his “So?” all he wants, but I doubt he is going to convince too many people (even people from his own party!) that he really gives a sh!t about the American people.
What I find even more interesting is that Cheney is still clinging tenaciously to the word “fluctuations” — as in what he’s trying to get us to think the polls are doing on the subject of the Iraq war. I could not find any poll later than early 2004 where I could find more people approving of the war, approving of Bush’s handling of the war, or believing that we did the right thing by invading. Since then, a solid majority of Americans believe we should not have invaded, believe we should get out (either immediately or set a timetable), and disapprove of the way Bush has handled the whole sorry affair. I would hardly call this “fluctuating”, and I doubt many others would either.
June 2nd, 2008 at 3:15 pmWhen our idiot troll VA Voter shows up in this thread spouting nonsense about the GOP being more ‘honest’ than progressives, ask him about Cheney’s mis-direction (lie). If Cheney was confident in his stance, he would not back away from it. So Cheney either does not care what his employers think (So?) or he is a liar. Which is it?
June 2nd, 2008 at 3:15 pmCheney has done for America what Genghis Khan did for Asia…
June 2nd, 2008 at 3:16 pmAt least the Chinese got a kick-ass wall out of that, all we got was a “Great Wait of Airports”
Side note- airport security lines are the only lines of human beings that can be seen from space!
Who cares what this creep has to say. No one listens to him anyway.
June 2nd, 2008 at 3:19 pmEven if “so” meant what he said, she DID follow up with the question: “You don’t care what the American people think?” again referring to the Iraq war. His answer was a clear “No.”
So…
June 2nd, 2008 at 3:20 pmWhy try to rewrite history now, Dick?
I think he would make a really good White House press secretary. It astounds me the way he can BS with such ease and he doesn’t even stammer and studder like what’s her name. you won’t even see a nervous twitch! ahhh, the fine art of Deception.
June 2nd, 2008 at 3:20 pm“Cheney Offers False Excuse For His ‘So?’ Comment: I Meant, ‘What’s The Question, Martha?’”
A very same-o and typical I don’t give a rat’s ass remark by Tricky Dick Cheney.
June 2nd, 2008 at 3:21 pmGo to Hell, Cheney.
June 2nd, 2008 at 3:24 pmbelac, I think it’s only gonna get worse at airports. With TSA, you’re really gonna have to pay to play:
about clear
Clear® is the fast pass for airport security. Clear members are pre-screened and provided with a high-tech card which allows them to access designated airport security fast lanes nationwide. Clear members pass through airport security faster, with more predictability and less hassle.
Clear’s first year price is $100 plus the TSA vetting fee of $28 for a total charge of $128.
June 2nd, 2008 at 3:26 pmso basically we don’t pay $128 plus tax and we get more harassment going through security. Don’t you just love Homeland Security?
June 2nd, 2008 at 3:28 pmCheney also claimed that the American public has the opportunity to give input “every four years.”
So according to Cheney, the American people only have the right to give input during Presidential election years. Other than that, our opinions can be disregarded. “The Government of the People, by the People and for the People.” is not a valid statement, per “Dick.”
Regarding Clear Pass, expect an offer to be made that if people will allow chips to be implanted “for security reasons,” they will also be allowed to be fast-tracked at airports. Also, hold a job, buy and sell if this kind of truly evil administration holds sway again.
June 2nd, 2008 at 3:34 pmClear members are pre-screened and provided with a high-tech card which allows them to access designated airport security fast lanes nationwide
Over under on number of hours before someone comes up with a crack on their ‘high-tech’ card?
I’ve worked in the IT industry my entire career. I laugh when I hear words like ‘high-tech security’ and ‘government database.’ People throw those words around like they’re magical items that are infallible and devoid of screwups by the people who designed and constructed them.
June 2nd, 2008 at 3:34 pmimpeachcheneythenbush Says:
Regarding Clear Pass, expect an offer to be made that if people will allow chips to be implanted “for security reasons,” they will also be allowed to be fast-tracked at airports. Also, hold a job, buy and sell if this kind of truly evil administration holds sway again.
yeah that’s part I was trying to avoid because it sounds Conspiracy theoryish. and yet I wonder…
June 2nd, 2008 at 3:36 pm“What’s the question, Martha?” -DICK Cheney
“What’s the frequency, Kenneth?” -Dan Rather
I know who I believe, & it’s not the DICK.
June 2nd, 2008 at 3:37 pmfor now, there just using a smart chip card that you get in the mail. I once read in article, (I wish I could remember it) where people in Europe were all gun ho, signing up for an implanted chip that consolidates are your Driver ID and Credit card data into one implanted chip on your hand. It kinda creeped me out.
June 2nd, 2008 at 3:40 pmI hate to defend cheney but that’s how i read it. but we know how cheney feels and it’s criminal.
June 2nd, 2008 at 3:50 pmCheney’s initial comment and attitude are hardly surprising. Cheney believes in a unitary executive branch where the president does whatever he pleases without regard to checks and balances or public opinion. The frightening thing is how many so called “patriotic” Americans have no problem with this.
http://progressiveworldreview.com
June 2nd, 2008 at 3:56 pmSnidely Whiplash has nothin on this creep for pure villainy.
June 2nd, 2008 at 3:58 pmCheney ~ Every four years, march your ass to the rigged ballot box, then shut the hell up while I rule from on high!
June 2nd, 2008 at 4:04 pmI’m king of a mule, I’m king of the sky!
Cheney will start caring what the American people think, when the peasants with pitchforks storm the Bastille… And that will happen after Starbucks no longer serves lattes and their magic sparkle boxes don’t work anymore. =P
June 2nd, 2008 at 4:11 pmCheck out what Steve Watson discovered in his article about implants:
June 2nd, 2008 at 4:14 pmit’s all down hill from here
Steve Watson says:
While neuro implants represent the second phase of implantable chips, the technology has been in existence for over a decade and discussions on simple ID chipping of humans is now in the news regularly.
Tommy Thompson, the former Health and Human Services Secretary in the Bush administration, promised to have a chip implanted and is subsequently toured the country lauding the virtues of ID chips. During the the confirmation hearings for John Roberts Jr., George W. Bush’s nominee for Supreme Court chief justice, Roberts was questioned by Senator Joseph R. Biden on whether he would rule against a mandatory implantable microchip to track American citizens.
Last year there was a congressional debate on whether airport workers could be mandated to have microchip implants.
Other workers have already been forced to take the chip.
June 2nd, 2008 at 4:16 pmI guess American democracy has a flaw if the only practical way to stop a crazy president and vice president is to wait four years. I thought the US Congress had the ability to stop funding the war?
June 2nd, 2008 at 4:20 pmLooks like Dirty Dick is again trying to rewrite history.
June 2nd, 2008 at 4:22 pmI hope the WAR CRIMINAL Dick Chenney ends up like his WWII counterpart, Mussolini. His fat ugly body hanging upside down and the Italian people cueing up to spit on it!
June 2nd, 2008 at 4:29 pmLet me guess, his ‘No’ will become ‘No, that’s not what I was saying’ rather than ‘No, I don’t care.’
June 2nd, 2008 at 4:29 pmThe WAR CRIMINAL Chenney trying to explain his “so” coment…
June 2nd, 2008 at 4:31 pmIt is called ‘back paddling’.
it’s called, he got his ass caught in the door as he was trying to run out
June 2nd, 2008 at 4:34 pmI wonder what Big Dick is up to next. He probably bullies his coworkers into giving him all their lunch money.
June 2nd, 2008 at 4:36 pmIn the immortal words of that guy in Spike Lee’s Katrina film:
Go F yourself Mr. Cheney.
June 2nd, 2008 at 5:17 pmninique - I see you continued your own research on this. The technology is definitely here; it would only take the will of a repressive government to impose it on the people.
June 2nd, 2008 at 6:35 pmIt’s ‘The Administration of the Living Dead’.
June 2nd, 2008 at 8:48 pmStarring . . Dick (glad-to-eat-yer-baby’s-guts-on-a-stick) Cheney.
REPORTER: Do you wish you had answered that question differently? Does it matter if the public disagrees sharply with the wisdom of the war?
CHENEY: No, when I said “So?” the point was, “What’s the question, Martha?”
**********************************************************
Hate to burst your bubble, Mr. Vice President…but for your information, this country is not called Oceania and your name is not O’Brien. The tapes and articles which record history do not conveniently get put into the Memory Hole (or at least not yet) every time they contradict whatever new spin you want us to believe. If you wanted the reporter to rephrase her statement as a question, then there’s really no reason why you couldn’t have simply asked her to do that in a mature and respectful manner — except that “mature” and “respectful” are not words which appear to be part of your vocabulary.
June 2nd, 2008 at 8:54 pmthe man is soo overdue for a good strong heart attack.
June 2nd, 2008 at 9:43 pmRight. So it’s not HIS fault for making such a careless, asinine statement about the will of the American people, it’s OUR fault for not understanding what he supposedly was trying to say by saying it. What a jackass. I like the ever-so-guiltless comment about the people having their input on governing “every four years;” as if in-between those periods, we should shut up and let the chickenhawks govern however the hell they want to. Eddie said that “the man is so overdue for a good strong heart attack;” the reason that he hasn’t had one, Eddie, is apparently because he lacks one.
June 2nd, 2008 at 10:01 pmOk, Presidents have to make some tough decisionsb that aren’t popular with the general populace but seems popular with a very wealthy elite few.. But the Vice President doesn’t make these decisions.
What curse fell upon this presidencey that every one of this President’s decisions are highly unpopular.
By unpopular I mean, irresponsible, reckless, failured, ideological, unrealistic, crony enriching orientated, and so on……..
June 3rd, 2008 at 3:01 amIf we actually had a government that cared about and respected its people, and did not insult us by lying SO much about SO many things, I suspect we would not have near so many difficulties.
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:58 pmBush has no brains, but he was easy to elect and manipulate by big businesses and the idle rich. His appointed staff reflects nothing of integrety, morality ,or the high ethics of public service. We citizens of the less than rich, have been sold out, and continuously lied to. The Bush family has been hooked up with the oil conglomerates for many years; Cheney has had his fortune made by promoting protracted war, and all of the unstable market opportunities that it presents. If congress, and the rest of the world nations had been given real information, instead of the concocted BS that we were all given, we would have never been placed in this immoral, illegal, and unethical situation. SO? none of these fat cats are ever going to serve proudly their country, and they sure as hell are going to grant each other immunity from prosecution. Vote every stinking one of these Republican war mongers out of office, and start the criminal trials, and the defamation of character that all of them deserve! Can’t live in the past, but we can fix the present reality. Where is congressional oversite, where is the ethics committee, where is the supreme court, and last of all, where are the true patriots- the AMERICAN VOTERS?
June 7th, 2008 at 1:53 pm