The power behind the throne was out-manoeuvred by Edwards
Sidney Blumenthal
Thursday October 7, 2004
The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uselections2004/comment/story/0,14259,1321624,00.htmlCheney expected the assertion of his authority to be sufficient to make his case. His logic is built on his force. He was commanding, domineering, sardonic and intimidating. His transparent attitude to the debate was as if it were a waste of his valuable time.
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Faced by another younger man, Cheney attempted to denigrate him. "Your rhetoric, Senator, would be a lot more credible if there was a record to back it up ... Now, in my capacity as vice-president, I am the president of Senate, the presiding officer. I'm up in the Senate most Tuesdays when they're in session. The first time I ever met you was when you walked on the stage tonight."
With that, the master of Washington dismissed the apprentice. But it turned out that Cheney's statement was untrue. He and Edwards had met several times before and photographs were published the next day showing the two together. Cheney's effort to intimidate Edwards rebounded on his credibility, the larger point the former trial lawyer was pressing. The case for the Bush doctrine floundered on the Groucho Marx doctrine: "Who are you going to believe, me or your own eyes?"
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Cheney's performance revealed how formidable he is as the power behind the throne and how inadequate as a public man. Through charm and litheness, Edwards demonstrated that Bambi is the disguise of a fox. But enduring issues of class and culture, of power and democracy, were disclosed in this one-time encounter between the high-handed Cheney and the quicksilver Edwards.
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Excllent piece! Please give it a read. Cheney WAS silenced, figuratively and literally. Anyone spinning this for Cheney hasn't been paying attention. Cheney's performance sums up the problems with the Bush administration - rhetoric that appears solid and reliable, but when held to the light is shown to be as thin as tissue and as just as transparent.