June 11, 2007
Cheney Worst Veep Evah
So says John W. Mashek, retired Beltway journalist of four decades and U.S. News and World Report blogger. I'm sure he was completely objective in his reporting, and didn't develop any strong opinions until he began blogging.
And yet as horrible as the Veep is, Cheney's approval numbers are twice that of Harry Reid.
How disconcerting.
Cheney didn't and still doesn't know his place vis-a-vis the fourth estate the people had vested with absolute moral authority. That that estate is now disintegrating has nothing to do with their wailing and gnashing of teeth.
A side note, the last time US News and World Report came up in a conversation with a bunch of reporters in the room, (which I'll qualify as a while back) the consensus was that it wasn't a real professional journal. Something about USN&WR's policy of providing interview questions in advance and passing final copy past interviewees prior to publication stuck in their craw. Their disdain was quite remarkable.
I don't know whether that's still the case. As I said it was years ago.
Posted by: Dusty at June 11, 2007 11:29 PMMondale was the worst, hands down. Look at how he let Carter manage things. ...and let us not forget that strong (lol) showing in 1984. Talk about 'where's the beef?' it was more like 'where're the votes?' lol. What a dud.
Posted by: brian at June 12, 2007 07:10 AMAnd I'll bet more people know Paris Hilton's chihuahua's name than they do Harry Reid's.
Or Mitch McConnell's.
I, thankfully, am not one of them.
Posted by: David Terrenoire at June 12, 2007 08:25 AMReid and McConnell have chihuahuas?
(Sorry, couldn't resist.)
Posted by: Dusty at June 12, 2007 09:08 AMBrian:
To be fair, you can't use Mondale's 1984 campaign either for or against him when you assess his tenure as VP.
Posted by: Doc Washboard at June 12, 2007 10:34 AMDont know who Carters VP was, but ill roll the dice that he was pretty bad.
ANyone catch Al "liar" Gore back in the 90's about the threat of Sadaam Hussein and Bush I's failure to take decisive action against him?
I did. Its pretty funny.
http://www.breitbart.tv/html/1602.html
Hopefully one day the libs will realize they are being bamboozled
Posted by: TMF at June 12, 2007 01:39 PMDont know who Carters VP was
I'm crossing my fingers, hoping that you're joking.
Posted by: Doc Washboard at June 12, 2007 02:28 PMNope- not joking. I actually forgot who it was (i was 7 yrs old at the time....) Now going through the thread (I hadn't before), I see it was Walter Mondale.
So my suspicion was correct. Carter's VP was indeed pretty bad, certainly far worse than Cheney.
And of course, Carter's administration as a whole will go down in history as the worst ever.
Skyrocketing interest rates, oil embargo, "malaise", Iranian hostage crisis/botched rescue mission, proposed arms freeze/detente, etc, etc. the list goes on forever
Posted by: TMF at June 12, 2007 03:03 PMI'm sure he was completely objective in his reporting, and didn't develop any strong opinions until he began blogging.
Come on: you're snarking the guy for something that you suspect he might have done before he retired.
Anyway, who says that members of the press can't have opinions? Isn't the idea that they try to not to let them influence their reporting?
* He trumped up intelligence reports to pave the way for attacking Iraq. And he continues to deny it in the face of overwhelming evidence. THIS IS A LIE.
* His office has smeared opponents of the war who dared speak out. Scooter Libby is headed to prison on this very matter unless Bush pardons him. You can bet Cheney will be urging a pardon. FUNNY HOW WHEN POLS YOU DON'T LIKE SPEAK OUT AGAINST THOSE YOU DO LIKE, IT'S SMEARING. WHEN IT'S THE OTHER WAY AROUND, IT'S SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER.
* He and his buddy Donald Rumsfeldwere the principalarchitects of the failed policies in Iraq. The idea ofinstalling democracy by force is inimical tothe nation's heritage. IS THIS FOR REAL? DIDN'T THE COUNTRY START BY USING FORCE? JAPAN? GERMANY? ANYONE? BUELLER?
* He has helped sink the GOP's present-day fortunes. In the last election, he was against firing Rumsfeld and was opposed even after the voting. Many Republicans said Rumsfeld's tardy departure hurt them at the ballot box. YEAH, I'M SURE THAT WAS THE NUMBER ONE ISSUE FOR MOST VOTERS.
* His penchant for secrecy knows no boundaries. Early in Bush's first term, he refused to divulge the names of Big Oil executives and others who met with him onenergy policy. Even after he accidentally shot a friend on a Texas ranch, he had to be pushed to admit it. OOOOOOH, HIS PENCHANT FOR SECRECY. SO SCARY. DOES CHENEY WEAR A BLACK CAPE AND HANG IN THE SHADOWS? SCARY. OOOH, I JUST POOPED MY PANTS. HE HAD TO BE PUSHED TO ADMIT IT? LOL! THE PRESS IS PISSED BECAUSE THEY GOT SCOOPED BY SOME LOCAL CRAWFORD RAG.
Honestly, is this the best people can come up with?
