Cheney: It’s Just An ‘Urban Legend’ That I ‘Exceeded My Authority’ As Vice President
Cheney: It’s Just An ‘Urban Legend’ That I ‘Exceeded My Authority’ As Vice President
In an interview with CBS Radio today, Vice President Cheney claimed that he never “exceeded” his role as Vice President over the past eight years. It’s an “urban legend,” he insisted:
Nearing the end of eight years as Vice President, Dick Cheney bluntly dismissed the frequent suggestion that he was the one calling the shots in the White House. “It’s an urban legend,” he said. “It never happened.” […]
“This whole notion that somehow I exceeded my authority here, was usurping his authority, was simply not true.” Cheney said “there was never any question about who was in charge: it was George Bush and that’s how we operated.”
Cheney is, simply put, the most powerful vice president in history. Early in the Bush presidency, Cheney worked out a deal with Bush so he could be active in “whatever area the vice president feels he wants to be active in,” according to Chief of Staff Josh Bolten. “He has been pretty damn good at accumulating power,” remarked former secretary of state James Baker.
Here are just some examples of Cheney abusing his vice presidential powers:
– Argued he was not part of the executive branch but instead a “barnacle” hanging between the legislative and executive branch.
– Cheney’s office failed to provide data on its classification and declassification activities as required by Executive Order 12958. “Cheney’s office provided the information in 2001 and 2002, then stopped.”
– Top Cheney aide David Addington “typed a substitute signature line” for Alberto Gonzales on a memo re-authorizing Bush’s illegal wiretapping program.
– “The Cheney team had…technological supremacy over the National Security Council staff. That is to say, they could read their e-mails,” said former Colin Powell aide Lawrence Wilkerson.
– Documents prepared for the then-National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice were “routed outside the formal process” to Cheney.
– A Cheney lawyer told the Secret Service in September 2006 “to eliminate data on who visited Cheney at his official residence.”
In addition to his well-documented disregard for the rule of law, Cheney admitted last year that he doesn’t care what the public thinks. It is no wonder he leaves office with 23 percent of Americans saying he is the worst VP ever.
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Was he authorized to be a “WAR CRIMINAL”?
Because he certainly is one.
January 7th, 2009 at 6:27 pmAnybody that dresses like that to go fishing can’t really fish…
January 7th, 2009 at 6:28 pmJust saw this over at firedoglake.com also in regards to Cheney:
“James Madison laid out clearly in Federalist 47:
The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.”
January 7th, 2009 at 6:32 pmEverything out of his mouth is a lie. Please go away and have your 5th.
January 7th, 2009 at 6:32 pmIt was almost certainly Cheney that told Libby and Rove that Valerie Plame was a covert agent.
January 7th, 2009 at 6:33 pmPersonally, I don’t care to be loved by everyone. That said, if I was elected (well, not really elected in 2000) I would certainly show some respect for the citizens of this country. Cheney cannot even generate the common courtesy humans express to one another.
Is we learning yet?
January 7th, 2009 at 6:33 pmI’m certain Cheney has systematically and thoroughly shredded, deleted, and eliminated the evidence that could verify his actual manipulation of George W. Bush.
January 7th, 2009 at 6:34 pmHe will now continue to lay at Bush’s feet all culpability for the last 8 years.
So where is the RupturedRectum to inveigh about ‘LIARS!!!!!’, eh?
January 7th, 2009 at 6:37 pmOne good thing. We will never have to suffer Cheney again. He is to old to run for office and won’t be welcomed anywhere anyway.
January 7th, 2009 at 6:38 pmThat’s because the Bush Justice Department and Solicitor General never took a case to the Supremes.
Open up your man safe, if you have nothing to hide, Mr. Cheney.
January 7th, 2009 at 6:39 pmThere are oh-so-many, but another worth mentioning would be his creation of a new classification system to effectively pick and choose to classify any documents that would have otherwise been unclassified.
I’m sure that power has never been used by a Vice President before and goes well beyond being a tie-breaker for the Senate…
Also: got energy task force?
January 7th, 2009 at 6:41 pmAn urban legend?
“Did you hear the one of the Veep who exceeded his authority? It’s a true story, it happened to my friend’s brother-in-law… and he’s calling from the upstairs line!“
January 7th, 2009 at 6:42 pmThat evil old monster should return to Hell – where he belongs.
January 7th, 2009 at 6:46 pmWhy is it every time I read or hear what Cheney has to say I feel I need a shower? I almost wish I was religious so I could believe in Cheney going to hell.
PS Leftside Annie, speaking of hell, RR is doing overtime in the porn thread.
January 7th, 2009 at 6:47 pmdont forget the energy meeting, & how he never revealed the notes.
January 7th, 2009 at 6:50 pmwow. rachel maddow just finished an interview with Zbigniew Brzezinski…
she thanked him for coming on the show and he thanked HER and said he really enjoys her show… and that there are 2 shows he watches on msnbc and hers is one…
she said in the interest of diplomacy she wouldn’t guess the other… good laughs all ’round…
ok… back to topic…
January 7th, 2009 at 6:52 pmOfcourse there gonna lay it the feet of lil george.
why else do you think they would want him in the first place..so they can say dont blame me I waz only following orders
george bush the neocons and cheneys zoolander
January 7th, 2009 at 7:04 pmget the dimwit in and he will do there bidding as long as they let him strut around like a decider guy
Next ole dead eye dick will be trying to convince us it’s an “urban legend” that he blasted one of his friends in the face with birdshot while on a drunken hunting adventure.
January 7th, 2009 at 7:06 pmI love to fly fish and seeing a picture of Cheney with a fly rod in his hand does fly fishing a disservice. Bet Cheney only fishes where the stream is heavily stocked. Who knows, maybe a diver goes under the water and puts the fish on Cheney’s hook. After all, he only hunts at “canned” hunting farms.
January 7th, 2009 at 7:07 pmA motion has been made, and seconded, to offer a gesture of our appreciation to the troll poster Rapture Ready aka Daryll.
January 7th, 2009 at 7:07 pmHe singlehandedly carried a thread past 230 comments on an otherwise uneventful afternoon.
All those in favor please visit the “Porn Industry Goes Limp..” thread, (carefully) read Rapture Ready’s comment number 5, and give him an attaboy.
We luv ya, Daryll.
He doesn’t even know what an urban legend is!
January 7th, 2009 at 7:11 pmBozo The Neoclown Says:
Next ole dead eye dick will be trying to convince us it’s an “urban legend” that he blasted one of his friends in the face with birdshot while on a drunken hunting adventure.
I heard that one! Happened to the lawyer of my cousin’s stepfather.
Nah, Cheney flatly denies ever shooting anybody. It’s a pure lie, plain and simple. He also added that anybody who might think about admitting they were shot by him probably should shut the f**k up if they know what’s good for them.
January 7th, 2009 at 7:12 pmHe brought the worms.
January 7th, 2009 at 7:14 pmDick Cheney will get his legacy as he loses every dime he stole. Waiting in the wings are all those he called friend and those he did his corrupt deals with. Cheney might even get the chance to be waterboarded and tortured if he’s lucky as he had no problem doing it to innocent men/woman/children he had kidnapped. One thing he can say when it happens he did sign the order for the troops to follow. Life is funny if you live long enough to see the end of the story. I see Dick as a man who learned at a young age to have no heart or feelings for human life and greed was the direction to his future by any means necessary. In the end he’ll get exactly what he has given out but worse. That smile will turn to help me as no one is listening.
January 7th, 2009 at 7:14 pmTP, forgot to mention shooting somebody in the face with a blood alcohol level and not facing any charges.
January 7th, 2009 at 7:16 pmI think was Cheney is trying to pull is actually a lie of omission. He claims that he never exceeded the authority of the Vice President. What he leaves out is that Bush gave him virtually unlimited authority to do pretty much anything he wanted to do. The fact that Bush did not have the authority to do that is irrelevant to him. He did not exceed the authority Bush gave him, however unlimited that was. So, in his mind, he’s telling the truth.
Of course, he’s full of crap.
January 7th, 2009 at 7:18 pmnext ole darth vader dick will be trying to convince us his lesbian daughter really didn’t have a kid out of wedlock with the help of a turkey baster and her “signifigant other”
January 7th, 2009 at 7:19 pmWayne A. Schneider Says:
I think was Cheney is trying to pull is actually a lie of omission. He claims that he never exceeded the authority of the Vice President. What he leaves out is that Bush gave him virtually unlimited authority to do pretty much anything he wanted to do.
Something we’ll discover, after Obama rescinds those bullshit restictions on presidential records.
January 7th, 2009 at 7:22 pmOops.
restrictions
January 7th, 2009 at 7:24 pmPlain & Simple Cheney did it!
January 7th, 2009 at 7:29 pm‘bush made us safe.’
January 7th, 2009 at 7:30 pmNow there’s an urban legend.
Here’s a few more:
There was a connection between 9/11 and Iraq.
Iraq was an imminent threat to the US and had WMDs.
The intel was wrong.
No one could’ve predicted 9/11.
The US does not torture.
If we give up our freedoms, we’ll be safe.
You can’t erase what you’ve done dickey, but nice try.
January 7th, 2009 at 7:31 pmThey will be coming for you, oh yes, they will be coming for you. And the world will rejoice.
Ol’ tricky Dick Cheney would have you believe that he never did all those nasty things. All fiction.
I’ll bet in a few years he would have you think he was never even the Vice President. Maybe he never existed at all.
Nope, all a figment of your imagination.
Nothing to see here. Please keep moving along.
January 7th, 2009 at 7:31 pmWow! Cheney was uncharacteristically close on that call. Thats urban disaster, Dick.
January 7th, 2009 at 7:34 pmI wonder if he’d say the same thing from a cell awaiting his hanging, found guilty of war crimes and exceeding his authority. My guess is yes.
January 7th, 2009 at 7:35 pmLTdan Says:
“Do any of you libs know what a VP does? Guess not.”
Yes, assclown since I actually paid attention in Civics class. The role of the vice president is to preside over the senate and cast the deciding vote should there be a tie. He/she will take the place of the president in case the president cannot finish their term. Nothing more, nothing else.
January 7th, 2009 at 7:37 pmOl’ Dickhead milkin’ it for everything its worth. He’ll drop dead soon, and I’ll cheer.
January 7th, 2009 at 7:37 pmThen why would he need a man-sized safe and regular visits from the shredding company?
Maybe he was just hoarding dollar bills in that safe — or EU’s after the dollar went in the toilet?
January 7th, 2009 at 7:40 pmI like his criminal justice system: the accused gets to set his own verdict!
January 7th, 2009 at 7:40 pmThrow that jerk, Cheney in jail. As for the jerk LTdan, go back under the rock you crawled out from, you RepubliCon stooge.
January 7th, 2009 at 7:43 pmI wonder if that was before or after he declared himself a one man Fourth Estate and subject to no law but his own. He’s evil, but a crafty old Buzzard. And in 13 days, subject to prosecution.
January 7th, 2009 at 7:44 pmWe wish you were an urban legend – something that doesn’t exist.
January 7th, 2009 at 7:47 pmLTdan Says:
Do any of you libs know what a VP does? Guess not.
January 7th, 2009 at 7:33 pm
Okay, LTdan, please tell us, in your own words, exactly what “a VP does”. I would like to hear your take on this, so I can assess why we appear to have differences of opinion.
January 7th, 2009 at 7:50 pmhttp://pubrecord.org/politics/604-conyers-wants-independent-panel-to-probe-bushs-torture-war-policies.html
Conyers Wants Independent Panel to Probe Bush’s Torture, War Policies
Wednesday, 07 January 2009 13:06
In one of the first acts of the 111th Congress, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers proposed legislation to create a blue-ribbon panel of outside experts to probe the “broad range” of policies pursued by the Bush administration “under claims of unreviewable war powers,” including torture of detainees and warrantless wiretaps.
January 7th, 2009 at 7:53 pmLTdan i owned you. now, STFU like a good lil troll while you’re behind to avoid making a bigger jackass of yourself than you already have.
January 7th, 2009 at 7:55 pmthepublicrecord Says:
…
Conyers Wants Independent Panel to Probe Bush’s Torture, War Policies
much as i was hoping he would bring that up, again, i was also hoping it would wait till after 1/20… maybe get the bushies thinking they were in the clear… hoping not to give them an excuse to “delay” the changing of the guard…
i’m still holding my breath…
January 7th, 2009 at 7:58 pmLTdan Says:
——————————————————————————–
Do any of you libs know what a VP does? Guess not.
—-
January 7th, 2009 at 7:58 pmDress like a tool and pretend to fish?
darn… i was also, too, hoping that the trooll could explain “what exactly a VP does”… sarah’s still wondering about that one also, too…
January 7th, 2009 at 8:00 pmwhere’d LTdan go? for his sake i sure hope he’s in the kitchen making me a snack like i told him to.
January 7th, 2009 at 8:12 pmA leopard doesn’t change its spots and neither is Dick.
Darth Cheney is half human and half cyborg who like the movie “Terminator,” will be terminated from office in 13 days. And I hope the UN charge Dick and George [soon to be private citizens] with war crimes.
January 7th, 2009 at 8:14 pmCheney’s lawyer “told the Secret Service in …“to eliminate data…”
Under federal records retention laws, wouldn’t this be illegal. And if trying to avoid other laws, be considered obstruction ?
Of course, Cheney has tried to argue that he wasn’t in the executive branch. But I dare say such a preposterous claim wouldn’t even pass the judges appointed by Bush.
January 7th, 2009 at 8:29 pmBozo The Neoclown Says:
where’d LTdan go?
The fact that he answered his own question (not based on any previous comments) in the same post pretty much demonstrates that was an intentional hit and run.
January 7th, 2009 at 8:33 pmdbadass Says:
LTdan Says:
——————————————————————————–
Do any of you libs know what a VP does? Guess not.
_________
Ooooo!! Oooooooo!!
***waving hand in air…***
I can answer this one!
Ahem…
Get drunk whilst slaughtering cage-raised birds and shoot his friend in the face?
January 7th, 2009 at 8:41 pmAwww…
VinylSpear already got that one… Dang…
January 7th, 2009 at 8:41 pmThe man who got drunk and shot a friend in the face laughs at truth and justice. Burn in hell, dick.
January 7th, 2009 at 8:57 pmGod how I wish this maniac were an urban legend. And Bush and all the rest. We should be so lucky.
January 7th, 2009 at 9:24 pmHe never exceeded his authority. It’s true. He never went beyond his own limits. That’s integrity.
January 7th, 2009 at 9:36 pmExpect Cheney to spin his administration’s crimes as “don’t blame me for all that stuff Bush did. I just worked for the guy.” Yeah, he’d say that, with a straight face.
January 7th, 2009 at 9:40 pmWell, LTdan, it’s been nearly two hours since we politely asked you to provide your idea of “what the VP does”. We’re still waiting.
Or was there really no point to your comment at all?
January 7th, 2009 at 9:41 pmthat’s twice now -
i’ve seen this commercial, during countdown/rachel:
“welcome to the Knowledge Generation Bureau… K G B … kgb.com ”
really… haven’t gone to the site yet…
January 7th, 2009 at 9:48 pmbut, if it’s anything like the CIA recruiting commercial i’ve seen, well, that’s just spooky…
Wayne A. Schneider:
January 7th, 2009 at 9:49 pmMay I suggest that LTdan be approached in the same manner each time. I have noticed that a polite request for a substanitive explaination of each initial post LTdan rapidily fades away in an almost John Kerry sort of way. I have been tinkering with this lure for a while and this fish bites that one everytime…
dbadass,
I do try to engage these visitors politely, so as to not give them any excuse to be rude back to me. I hope they understand that I am also being sincerre. I really do want to hear how they explain it, so I can understand how they think. I believe that we can help them, but we have to understand where they each are coming from individually. Some just spout talking points, but some seem to have their own ideological spin on the issue, and I am interested in hearing them. I would like to debate them, but I see how they respond to insults, and it never goes anywhere.
(Don’t get me wrong, some of the sarcasm is great; something I enjoy as a New Yorker.)
January 7th, 2009 at 10:00 pmI agree and acknowledge your sincerity. I too welcome all to the table.
Sarcasm? Only in good cheer
“To understand the dolphin, one must first think like the dolphin”
January 7th, 2009 at 10:05 pm“To understand the dolphin, one must first think like the dolphin”
I think I’ll have another fish.
January 7th, 2009 at 10:40 pmYou want to use an attractive lure, and take your time.
You know, now that Cheney’s got the public so riled up, we may be able to reestablish the U.S. as a welfare state…
…waits…
January 7th, 2009 at 10:41 pmOpinion, perhaps, but urban legend? The Republicans consistently try to squelch debate by mocking their critics. This is all part of the concerted attempt to reform the legacy of the Bush administration. Unfortunately for them all the fundamentals point the wrong way. History will remember Bush as the weakest President we have ever had, not just for his terrible national security record, but also because he ceded so much of his power to the Vice President.
January 7th, 2009 at 11:09 pmYes, some urban legends. Well, for those who like video of Bigfoot and UFOs, here’s some proof that of the existence of the Cheney monster that would please the heart of Art Bell.
January 7th, 2009 at 11:23 pmSome bozo introduced deathblood as the prezadent of the Senate. Is this true?
January 7th, 2009 at 11:27 pmGame of Life Says:
Some bozo introduced deathblood as the prezadent of the Senate. Is this true?
Well, technically the Veep “presides over” the Senate, which just means he sits in the high chair while the grownups work. I’m sure that some Republican assumed that meant he “was the President” of the Senate, because they don’t seem to know a damn thing about law, governance or the Constitution.
January 7th, 2009 at 11:47 pmHe’s certainly a legend in his own mind.
January 8th, 2009 at 12:06 amCaption contest: “You f**king fish can go f**k yourselves! I got an M-80 if you want to see some shock and awe. Now get in my boat!”
January 8th, 2009 at 12:18 amDid he catch a seven pound perch in that there river?
January 8th, 2009 at 12:39 amWhen his guide told him to loosen his drag, Brucey adjusted his female undergarments.
January 8th, 2009 at 12:41 am.
I don’t know how TP missed it during THIS but the D!ck all but admitted as much…
… Cheney channelling Nixon’s defense, “Why, of course, it’s not illegal when the president does it.”
- WATCH from 2:36 – 3:00 for the context of the question
- WATCH from 3:00 – for the Q and subsequent A.
#1) Just because our Congress has been more of a CONgress than anything and has begun instituting policies and practices that undermine basic American Principles (i.e. the Fourth Amendment) and have acted in collusion with the Administration in that attempt and their(!) subsequent lack of accountability for these misdeeds perpetrated by members of this Administration does NOT(!) necessarily mean that everything that has happened over these last 8 years was absolutely legal.
#2) The events of 9/11 happened AFTER both the D!ck-N-BUSH were ’selected’ to screw this Nation up real good.
REMEMBER: 9/11 HAPPENED ON THEIR WATCH!!!
#3) Lincoln’s suspension of Habeas Corpus happened during a civil unrest commonly known as the American Civil War. For the D!ck to make such equations means that America is also engaged in a civil war of our own… YES?
QUESTION: Who wants odds that the devout 30% club gets that part of history wrong, too?
.
January 8th, 2009 at 1:33 amHuh, so that’s why you’ve kept your energy task force so secretive, right Mr. Cheney? And that is also why your position occupies its own special office, outside of the Executive branch, correct?
Cheney is as dishonest as some of his supporters.
January 8th, 2009 at 2:35 amPersonally, I don’t care to be loved by everyone. That said, if I was elected (well, not really elected in 2000)ok but my home this one is I would certainly show some respect for the citizens of this country. Cheney cannot even generate the common courtesy humans express to one another.
January 8th, 2009 at 4:09 amCheney and the Repubs suffer from the well-known psychiatric disorder of right-wing authoritarianism:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-wing_Authoritarianism
January 8th, 2009 at 5:45 amIf I hear one more wingnut use ‘urban legend’ when attempting to excuse their misdeeds, I think I’ll scream. I wonder who was the wordsmith who put that term in their mouths because they are surely too imbecilic to have thought of it themselves. We need to find that person and take away their pen.
January 8th, 2009 at 8:33 amI don’t think “barnacle” is appropriate. “Carbuncle” is more like it.
January 8th, 2009 at 10:07 amWow! It’s interesting the way Evil follows the same patterns!
January 8th, 2009 at 11:03 amPol Pot and the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia said the exact same thing after hundreds of thousands of skulls were found in the killing fields ! Amazing….the EXACT same words!
Wow!
Caption Contest: “Sure I’ll pull you out, Reid. If you want to live, grab this hook in your mouth.”
January 8th, 2009 at 11:15 amIt’s an urban legend.
It’s a suburban legend.
It’s a rural legend.
It’s an mythological legend.
It’s an historic legend.
It’s a legend of sleepy hollow.
It’s a legend of Zelda.
His abuses of authority are indeed legendary.
January 8th, 2009 at 12:23 pmWhy don’t we get Adam, Jamie, Cary, Grant and Kari on this “urban legend.”
BUSTED!
January 8th, 2009 at 12:42 pmurban legend:
January 8th, 2009 at 5:08 pmif you look in the mirror and say “war criminal” five times, Dick Cheney will appear behind you and kill you.
Cheney is, simply put, the most powerful vice president in history. Early in the Bush presidency, cetCheney worked out a deal with Bush so he could be active in “whatever area the vice bedava mp3 indirpresident feels he wantssohbet to be active in,” according to Chief of Staff Josh Bolten. “He has been pretty damn good at accumulating power,” remarked former secretary of state James Baker.
March 1st, 2009 at 11:28 am