Rove: Joe Biden Is Trying To Acquire More Power Than Dick Cheney
Rove: Joe Biden Is Trying To Acquire More Power Than Dick Cheney
In a recent interview, Joe Biden recalled how he told President-elect Obama that as vice president, he would like to be involved “in every important decision you’ll make, every critical decision, economic and political as well as foreign policy.”
Yesterday, on Fox News, Karl Rove attacked Biden for asking to be involved in executive decisions, insinuating that Biden was requesting a far greater executive role than even Vice President Cheney. “That’s a pretty expansive view…and a pretty large demand,” he said. “I know for a fact” that “Dick Cheney never asked that of George W. Bush,” Rove added.
ROVE: You know what’s amazing to me? I would never believe that Vice President Cheney, I know for fact certain he never asked President Bush, Governor Bush at the time in 2000 for the kind of commitment that Senator Biden apparently asked of Senator Obama, that you know, I, the vice president, have to be in the room at every major decision you make and you have to consult with me.
“And I’m confident that it’s pretty extraordinary if Biden asked that of Obama,” Rove said. Watch it:
Once again, Rove has his “facts” wrong. The truth is that Cheney did discuss with Bush early on his ideas for expanding the VP’s role — and dabbling in any area of his choosing. As Cheney biographer Barton Gellman noted in his book (p. 51):
Word came back that Cheney would engage in “whatever area the vide president feels he wants to be active in,” [Josh] Bolten said. And Bush backed him up. “The president made it clear from the outset that the vice president is welcome at every table and at every meeting,” said Bolten, speaking in 2006. … But it’s been true as a practical matter and as a real matter of atmosphere here in the White House.”
Former vice president Dan Quayle also recalled a deal between Cheney and Bush (p.58). Cheney “had the understanding with President Bush that he would be — I’m just going to use the word ’surrogate chief of staff.’ … He wanted to be there all the time. And this was the deal he had.”
Rove later said it was a just a “myth” that Cheney amassed “enormous power” as Vice President. But as Gellman noted last night, Cheney’s view of executive power is “more radical” than Richard Nixon’s. Biden has is already breaking with the Cheney model, stating this month that he will limit his involvement in congressional affairs.
Transcript:
ROVE: Yes. Look, Biden sort of disappeared after the election. He has now sort of reappeared. You know what’s amazing to me? I would never believe that Vice President Cheney, I know for fact certain he never asked President Bush, Governor Bush at the time in 2000 for the kind of commitment that Senator Biden apparently asked of Senator Obama, that you know, I, the vice president, have to be in the room at every major decision you make and you have to consult with me.
That’s a pretty expansive view. And Dick Cheney never asked that of George W. Bush.And I’m confident that it’s pretty extraordinary if Biden asked that of Obama. You’re not certain that he really did, incidentally. But if he really did, it’s a pretty expansive request and a pretty large demand.
KASICH: Well, I just think he should kind of slough this off. I would bet that Obama would have kind of chuckled about all these questions and wouldn’t have paid attention.
ROVE: Yes.
KASICH: All right.
ROVE: Yes.
KASICH: What was the relationship, Karl, between President Bush and Dick Cheney? I mean, obviously they were very close. It seemed to me that in the beginning, Cheney had great influence as time went on last influence. Describe the relationship for us.
ROVE: You know, I’m not certain that’s accurate. I think Cheney had durable influence throughout because Cheney understood having been a former White House chief of staff and having watched the presidency up close. Remember, this is a man who served seven — under seven presidents. And so he had a pretty clear idea of what the office was about. And he knew that as vice president, he really served at the president’s sufferance. He would take on the assignments the president gave him. He would give his opinion when the president asked for it. And it was his job to, once a decision was made, smartly salute and move on and to make certain that his people worked in concert with the rest of the White House in support of the president’s policies.
KASICH: You know, Karl, some people, think that Cheney at times was a defacto president, that he had enormous power. That he told the president at times what to do. Comment on that.
ROVE: Well, look, that’s part of the myth. If you don’t like George W. Bush and you don’t think that he was legally elected in the first place or you don’t think he’s up to the job, what you do is you diminish him by saying well, it was all Cheney.
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STFU, you f ucking traitor.
December 23rd, 2008 at 6:22 pmSure, no doubt. whatever. Talk to the hand…
December 23rd, 2008 at 6:23 pmYeah, Biden will hold secret energy meetings and carve up, say Africa for its oil.
December 23rd, 2008 at 6:24 pmI suppose Rove is suggesting that David Addington is staying on as the power behind the throne, as he has been for the Rove/Bush/Cheney administration. Addington wrote nearly every signing statement, every memo having to do with expansive powers in violation of the Constitution, and pretty much the architect of the most egregious of imperial policies ever in a US administration. Given Rove’s familiarity with David, he must be assuming Joe will use him as well.
December 23rd, 2008 at 6:29 pmKarl Rove can write all about it from his jail cell. He can give the proceeds from his book to the taxpayers and Iraqi families.
December 23rd, 2008 at 6:30 pmThis piece of crap expect’s the public to believe this..cheney is the pupett master and bull shit bush is the pupett..He dictated what bush was suposto do….Blessings
December 23rd, 2008 at 6:33 pmIf it talks like shit looks like shit acts like shit then u can be sure rove is in the shit
December 23rd, 2008 at 6:34 pmHa, Ha, Te, He, Ho, Ho. I’ll bet the idea of Biden with Cheney’s power makes Rove s*#t a brick. Does he wonder if it’s true…what goes around, comes around.
December 23rd, 2008 at 6:35 pmWho really gives a shitte about KKKarl any more. Put the rotten Turdblossom where he belongs and just let him clean the toilets on his cell block. Actually, he could work in the kitchen while Chicken George WTF and Dick, and not because his name is Richard clean the toilets and play hide the wienie with each other.
December 23rd, 2008 at 6:36 pmThere’s a rather glaring distinction to be made between wanting to be involved in every critical decision and making every critical decision.
December 23rd, 2008 at 6:39 pmAnything that shines a disparaging light on the bush admin is myth to rove. He could start a whole new mythology with what he has to work with now.
Creative lying, like creative financing will fail at some point.
December 23rd, 2008 at 6:40 pmRove has gone a long way down the nutter path. I wonder if he is actually starting to believe the shit he spews? Get your meds checked Rove.
December 23rd, 2008 at 6:44 pmWhy isn’t his fat slimy ass in jail where it can be of some use?
December 23rd, 2008 at 6:47 pmROVE: You know what’s amazing to me? I would never believe that Vice President Cheney, I know for fact certain he never asked President Bush, Governor Bush at the time in 2000 for the kind of commitment that Senator Biden apparently asked of Senator Obama, that you know, I, the vice president, have to be in the room at every major decision you make and you have to consult with me.
Of course Cheney never “asked” Bush. He told him.
December 23rd, 2008 at 6:48 pm666lattes Says:
There’s a rather glaring distinction to be made between wanting to be involved in every critical decision and making every critical decision.
Which also was covered in the Gellman bio, I believe. Of course Cheney wouldn’t wish to be in on every decision, because he let it be known early on that some “touchy-feely” humanitarian issues weren’t for him. Trust Rove to try and spin Dick’s hubris as a positive. He really thinks voters are that stupid.
December 23rd, 2008 at 6:51 pmA democratic administration looking to break a horrendous record? HA! The only way from here is up, piggy.
December 23rd, 2008 at 6:55 pmYou know what amazes me? That Rove brought up that some people don’t think Bush was legally elected in the first place. That one hasn’t made the laundry list of rewrites, except as this sort of dismissive “some people” comment.
December 23rd, 2008 at 7:00 pmWhat a big, closet liar.
turd should admit that chimpy is warmongering cheney’s b.
turd is admitting that warmongering cheney wasn’t around or asleep at the wheel. chimpy and buckshot cheney are the typical pass the buck/throw under the bus repugs.
December 23rd, 2008 at 7:04 pmLushInterior Says:
Joe “Mopar” Biden rides the train………….COME ON PEOPLE! John Deere dozers are the best.
December 23rd, 2008 at 6:56 pm
How do you maintain that sinister sense of humor in the worst of times, Lushy?
December 23rd, 2008 at 7:04 pmKarl Rove cannot speak with out spinning lies.
December 23rd, 2008 at 7:04 pmLushInterior Says:
Something irrational, again!
December 23rd, 2008 at 7:05 pmRove knows full well that Cheney was the brains behind the BushitCo cabal, and W was the slavering mouthpiece. No politician in American History has had as much power as Dick Cheney, nor abused it so badly.
December 23rd, 2008 at 7:08 pmROVE: Well, look, that’s part of the myth. If you don’t like George W. Bush and you don’t think that he was legally elected in the first place or you don’t think he’s up to the job, what you do is you diminish him by saying well, it was all Cheney.
Come on now, Karl, humility isn’t your strong suit; you made a lot of decisions for the big guy, too. Someone had to, whenever Cheney had to “duck out.”
Old hunting buddies aren’t just going to shoot themselves in the face, you know.
December 23rd, 2008 at 7:09 pmIs the llama about? I have some questions regarding the Lush…
December 23rd, 2008 at 7:18 pmCriminal Rove lying and pull crap out his butt….
…do tell, I have never heard of such as thing…
…FY Rove, go back to your gay dressing closet and put on some of those ‘womens’ things you like to dance around in.
December 23rd, 2008 at 7:19 pmYour know the problem is that the 23 percenters that watch Fox believe every little thing this shithead says. You would thing they would believe in fairy tales …. oh wait they do.
December 23rd, 2008 at 7:35 pmRove is SCUM
December 23rd, 2008 at 7:35 pmThe absurd lengths to which wingnuts are driven these days to project their sins and flaws onto Democrats are really getting to be comic.
December 23rd, 2008 at 7:40 pmWhy is Rove not behind bars with the rest of the RepubliCon crooks? All free to continue their crimes, in a criminal nation they have created!
December 23rd, 2008 at 7:47 pmRove reminds me of the old saw “How can you tell when he’s lying?”
Whenever he’s moving his lips.
Why not just keep rerunning the same post over and over? “Karl Rove was lying through his teeth on Fox News.” Since he’s on the propaganda channel he can get away with the lies that are so absurd he would be laughed out of the room anywhere else. No big surprise here and no big surprise that the only people who don’t realize he’s lying are the mouth breathers who get their “news” from Fox.
December 23rd, 2008 at 7:51 pmAwww, how cute. Karl Rove is also trying to rewrite the last 8 years of the Bush Regime.
December 23rd, 2008 at 8:16 pmMore rove BS.
December 23rd, 2008 at 8:17 pmI wish God, I mean, the Devil, would hurry up and take Rove already. He’s annoying me here on earth.
December 23rd, 2008 at 8:37 pmReally
December 23rd, 2008 at 8:41 pmObnoxious
Vile
Enterprises
It’s the other-dude-did-it syndrome.
December 23rd, 2008 at 8:48 pmRove, you absolute liar, criminal, and doofus, you have NO RIGHT to accuse anyone else of anything. You campaigned to give the Bush clods more power than even God. You had 8 years to disprove your dishonesty, your hatred, your bigotry. But you didn’t– you just added to your portfolio of hate, lies, & bigotry. And we all figured it out! You are a lying, anti-Congress, anti-subpeona loser. You should be arrested. No one can disbelieve that now.
December 23rd, 2008 at 8:56 pmCheney didn’t HAVE to ask, tubby traitor.
December 23rd, 2008 at 9:07 pmI bet he’s got a Mr. Hat that tells him what to say.
DUMB they name is GOP.
December 23rd, 2008 at 9:08 pmDid Rove really pay attention to anything that occurred during the Cheney years? Biden may be a centrist hawk who is no friend to progressives, but he is no Dick Cheney…
http://www.sunstateactivist.org/ssablog/
December 23rd, 2008 at 9:12 pmAnd KKKarl Turdblossom Rove has been trustworthy with what to make us believe anything he says? The guy is a criminal, a traitor, and a lying thug.
December 23rd, 2008 at 9:23 pmWhat’s more dangerous – a VP who is in the room when important decisions are made, or a VP with unlimited authority to act independently? Which one would you call more “powerful?”
Rove is a hack.
December 23rd, 2008 at 9:36 pmThat’s why it is important to make fun of anybody who repeats this insane drivel and point out to them that you can tell they watch Fox News because of all the lies and stupidity they are repeating. Maybe eventually people will stop believing everything they hear at Fox.
December 23rd, 2008 at 9:52 pmTurd Blossom and the rest of his Fixed Noise folk are trying everything they can to stop their slide into NON-RELEVANCY….
They’re done and they know it…..AMF !!
December 23rd, 2008 at 10:14 pm00mpp00 Says:
Did Rove really pay attention to anything that occurred during the Cheney years? Biden may be a centrist hawk who is no friend to progressives, but he is no Dick Cheney…
Why do consider Sen. Biden a centrist.
The word “centrist” is very offensive IMO. It’s like he’s in the middle of the dem and the repugs. As if it’s a code, “he ain’t an African-America/Black and he’s ain’t White.” hummmm
Sen. Biden is a Liberal/Progressive. Get use to it. Ain’t no way he’s close to being a rotten, nasty ass repug.
If you compare dickie to Sen. Obama you are so WRONG! It like comparing
December 23rd, 2008 at 10:15 pmBesides, wait until Jan. 2010 before you start guessing.
I have this recurring fantasy that President Obama and Vice President Biden use their super executive war powers to put the whole of the Bush – Cheney administration into a torture chamber in one of those black sitesthat we’ve heard so much about and let them enjoy all those enhanced interrogation techniques.
Yeah I know its a fantasy, but it would make a hell of a Christmas present in 2009.
December 23rd, 2008 at 10:19 pmenough Says:
Ha, Ha, Te, He, Ho, Ho. I’ll bet the idea of Biden with Cheney’s power makes Rove s*#t a brick. Does he wonder if it’s true…what goes around, comes around.
May I join you?
Ha, Ha, Te, He, Ho, Ho.
December 23rd, 2008 at 10:19 pmHint:
Take as truth the exact opposite of everything Rove says.
I wouldn’t believe him if he told me the sky was blue.
December 23rd, 2008 at 10:20 pmDon’t get so exercised about Turd Blossum’s spreading of bovine defecation products. His legacy has always been to blame the faults, foibles and crimes of the members of the Bush administration on members of the opposition to deflect, obfuscate attention away for the failing and crimes of Bush’s boys.
December 23rd, 2008 at 10:24 pmAs per the usual horse-hockey, Rove is full of “it”. I used to think he was clever, but now I think he is just an opportunistic, devious political mouth, which knows not when to be quiet. Biden might actually attempt to do a professional job of being the VP, as opposed to the mongrel/bastard/sleazy behavior of Darth Vader. Despite the recent election results, Rove does not seem to realize that his time has ended. Someone should make him go away and leave us alone.
December 23rd, 2008 at 10:24 pmRove… do us a Christmans favor… jump from the Empire States! Please!
December 23rd, 2008 at 10:26 pmLied about a clean election.
Lied about his wars.
Lying about his past.
oh yeah…lied all his life, especially 2000-2009.
December 23rd, 2008 at 10:28 pmMan up fatboy.
Answer your subpoenas.
December 23rd, 2008 at 10:31 pmeven tim vakavukalik
won’t defend him.
^
December 23rd, 2008 at 11:06 pm“Rove: Joe Biden Is Trying To Acquire More Power Than Dick Cheney”
File Tubby’s comments under crapola. That is certainly the joke of the day. A criminal who by the way refuses to abide by the law by appearing in front of the House Judiciary Committee to testify is giving useless airtime to tell the American people that Biden is trying to get more power than Dick. Tubby McTreason Rove has just admitted that Dead eye Dick has much power than any other past Veeps.
Memo to Tubby: You should be worry about your own butt in crimes especially the questionable death of GOP IT guru Mike Connell instead of worrying about Biden’s position as the Veep.
December 23rd, 2008 at 11:34 pmRove is not only rewriting history, he is denying that Cheney was actually the one who told Bush what he would do as VP.
Bush was clueless; Cheney had that false search for a VP and then selected himself. Surprise!
The entire cabal consists of lying criminals, and here we have their spokesman outrageously telling people that Biden is going to claim more powers than Cheney.
If there were a god, he would have sent plagues to destroy these vermin or at least he would have turned them into pillars of salt.
BTW – OT, but of some interest.
December 23rd, 2008 at 11:39 pmHoward Wolfson, Hillary Clinton’s former communications director, will be a top strategist for New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s re-election effort.
Bloomberg, who was first elected as a Republican, is now a registered Independent.
#55 SP Biloxi,
Memo to Tubby: You should be worry about your own butt in crimes especially the questionable death of GOP IT guru Mike Connell instead of worrying about Biden’s position as the Veep.
I find it very frustrating that the msm is not covering that story – they would rather beat up Obama for Blagojevich – when they could be investigating something really suspicious.
December 23rd, 2008 at 11:44 pmWhy is anybody listening to Karl Rove. He is a serial liar, that had Patrick Fitzgerald shown any balls, would be rotting in jail — well be out on a Bush pardon. Frankly, I wish Thinkprogress would stop giving him a forum to spread his bullshit.
December 24th, 2008 at 12:11 amFact: Cheney TOLD Bush he was going to take the VP slot.
December 24th, 2008 at 12:20 amSLam dunk, Cheney is the Alpha in their relationship. Ergo, Cheney never had to “ask” Bush for A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G. He T-O-L-D the UNDERLING bush, what to do, and how HE wanted things to go. Especially 9/11 since Cheney self-appointed himself as the commander of ALL THE WAR GAMES/scenarios happening on that day. Yeah, I know Arabs with box cutters had all of NORAD all screwed up with war games. Or They just happened to know how that will all play out, and that is why they chose that advantageous day. Oh, many who are they kidding????
LushInterior Says:
You are nothing but an ignorant troll. A worthless unbelievably stupid piece of garbage. Dont you get tired of embarassing yourself with your ignorance? Dont you have any self respect at all? Go away. You NEVER add anything to the discussion all you do is TRY to annoy us but you are far too stupid to even pull that off. You are just sad and pathetic.
December 24th, 2008 at 12:42 amCertainly lying is pretty much all Rove does. The larger picture is how depraved and without journalistic integrity Fox is for pretending he is a commentator instead of a lying, talentless, shameless propagandist. No respectable journalistic enterprise would have anything to do with a Karl Rove
December 24th, 2008 at 12:45 amOMG! I think that “bloody” Rove IS the Flying Spaghetti Monster. He can’t be touched. He can’t be thrown in jail. No one believes in him. And he won’t appear before Congress.
December 24th, 2008 at 1:13 amMarie Says:
And I concur. It is amazing that the media will not talk about,discuss, or cover Connell’s murder on the news. And it is suspicious as there were other suspicious deaths of individuals connected in the Ohio election and Diabold machines to Rove. See Op-Ed News website for the list. But, the circumstances surrounding Connell’s death smells funny. Thank goodness, Larisa, investigator on Raw Story, is continuing to follow the story.
December 24th, 2008 at 1:46 amOT: I noticed that pissant George Will had another article in the Sunday paper where he slammed FDR’s new deal, whining that it was socialist.
Why is it that these right wing idiots always attack FDR’s new deal when it gave many Americans needed jobs and building key US infrastructure and yet these same right wing idiots never, never utter a peep about President Eisenhower authorizing a bill that would cost millions of dollars building our interstate highway system?
December 24th, 2008 at 2:04 amabsured.
December 24th, 2008 at 6:33 amNice spin Karl. However, like your politics as of late, you are wrong again and again and again.
Dick Cheney was operating a shadow government under the nose of an “intellectually lazy” George W. Bush. George W. could care less as long as he, George W.) got the credit. Unfortunately for the world, Cheney got it WRONG and would lead our great country down a destructive path of invading ad occupying Iraq; the biggest strategic blunder in America history – needlessly costing the lives of our finest military and treasure.
Rove, Cheney and the rest of their ilk can spew-off at the 11th hour and try to rewrite history…..the ink is dry and history, (present and future) will not be kind to this bunch.
December 24th, 2008 at 7:51 amMirror mirror on the wall. Who’s the greatest psychopath of them all? Not me, my pretty Lord. Tis Karl Rove.
But, I say, Rove, Bush, Cheney et al. have given us an ability never before known to common man in this great land. Tis the knowledge that all is wrong and must now be righted by I and my friends.
December 24th, 2008 at 8:09 amLibertyLover Says:
OMG! I think that “bloody” Rove IS the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
December 24th, 2008 at 1:13 am
_________
I know many Pastafarians who would be quite offended by this blasphemous remark.
December 24th, 2008 at 9:00 amSP Biloxi Says:
And I concur. It is amazing that the media will not talk about,discuss, or cover Connell’s murder on the news. And it is suspicious as there were other suspicious deaths of individuals connected in the Ohio election and Diabold machines to Rove.
December 24th, 2008 at 1:46 am
_________
They’re just afraid to touch Christianist terrorism, that’s all. And that’s exactly what Connell’s assassination was.
December 24th, 2008 at 9:01 amNo one is listening to you anymore, Karl.
December 24th, 2008 at 9:23 amRove is terrorist agent provacateur.
December 24th, 2008 at 9:47 amI wonder what Turdblossom sees when he looks in the mirror.
What a truly evil little creature he is; he reminds me of Gollum.
…And I abjectly and sincerely apologize to Gollum.
December 24th, 2008 at 10:23 amRove reminds me of the larvae of a dung beetle. These fat white grubs live and feast in piles of shit. Isn’t it time to split your skin and crawl away you fat maggot?
December 24th, 2008 at 10:24 amSounds like Rush shares his drugs.
December 24th, 2008 at 10:41 amIt’s a serious problem with America that criminals like Karl Rove are acceptable public faces on TV. Honestly, those who flout laws and regulations seem to get rewarded for it, while whistleblowers get openly punished.
December 24th, 2008 at 10:43 amWell, of course not. Dick Cheney didn’t have to.
December 24th, 2008 at 11:03 amWhy isn’t this fat, treasonous, tub of shit in prison?
December 24th, 2008 at 12:11 pmI am hopeful that someday soon, the GOP will be so insignificant we can flush those sorry turds down the toilet. They are waste.
December 24th, 2008 at 2:25 pmthe rove model idiot-repeat machine is working overdrive lately. excuse me lumpy but didn’t cheney pick himself as vice-president? to me that’s a bit of influence. you can argue that picking the vice president is not the same as defining a theory on executive power but it looks like a pattern to me, just like all rove’s latest revisionist plodding.
December 25th, 2008 at 4:09 pmthe only thing i want to know about this miserable excuse for a man, is the day a judge sentences him to serve actual time in prison. perhaps i’ll anonymously send him some KY, but i doubt it.
December 26th, 2008 at 7:17 pmPut the rotten Turdblossom where he bedava mp3 indirbelongs and just let him cetclean the toilets on his cell block.Rove, Bush, Cheney et al. sohbethave given us an ability never before known to common man in this great land.
March 1st, 2009 at 11:22 am