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Jewish World Review
Sept. 1, 2011
2 Elul 5771
The infallible Dick Cheney
By
Dana Milbank
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Regrets? Dick Cheney had few to mention.
The former vice president’s memoir, “In My Time,” is 576 pages long, but the word “regret” and its variations appear only six times – in each instance to express Cheney’s regret over something that somebody else did, or didn’t do. As in: “I thought Senator Obama’s views in these areas were misguided, and I regretted that no one was making the argument on the other side.” For those who lack the time to read the vice president’s entire sanitization of the Bush record (“He had been a visceral and forthright commander, a president who strengthened all of us with his conviction.”), here are some actual excerpts from “In My Time” that will give you the gist of it. Consider these the CliffsNotes to an unapologetic apologia. “It was exactly the right call.” “It was the right decision.” “It was clearly the right decision.” “He was right.” “And time would show that he was right.” “‘Mr. President,’ I said, ‘you were right.’” “And he was right.” “Addington was an ideal choice.” “Petraeus was a superb choice.” “Jim was right.” “Secretary Gates got it right.” “She was exactly right.” “Exactly right.” “The plan was the right one.” “The decision was the right one.” “President Bush’s decision to abrogate the ABM Treaty was exactly the right thing to do.” “The president had been right when he had denounced the failed approach of the Clinton era.” “We knew that military commissions were the right place for these trials.” “She came into my office, sat down in the chair next to my desk, and tearfully admitted I had been right.” “Pardons were the right thing.” “They did the right thing.” “We were on the right course.” “I was unfortunately accurate in my assessment.” “Contrary to subsequent assertions by war critics, my assessment had been on target. ” “I believe our intervention in the financial sector was justified.” “With the benefit of hindsight — even taking into account that some of the intelligence we received was wrong -- that assessment still holds true.” “It is a model facility. . . . It’s not Guantanamo that does the harm, it is the critics of the facility who peddle falsehoods about it.” “I wouldn’t have traded my years as secretary of defense for anything.” “My critics continued to make false claims.” “I think they were hoping for a kinder, gentler Dick Cheney, and I listened to what they had to say, and then I ignored their advice. And to this day I am glad I did.” “I had no doubt.”
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Previously:
• 08/31/11 This liberal says Perry is the ultimate conservative candidate
• 08/29/11 Wanted: More bite from Obama the Great Nibbler
• 08/10/11 How Rep. Austin Scott betrayed his Tea Party roots
• 08/09/11 The most powerful man on Earth?
• 08/08/11 The FAA shutdown and the new rules of Washington
• 08/04/11 Lt. Col. Allen West fires a round at the Tea Party
• 08/03/11 Government on autopilot
• 08/02/11 Dems mourn debt deal like death
• 07/27/11 Life imitates sport
• 07/26/11 Obama and Boehner take on Washington
• 07/21/11 Why Americans are angry at Congress
• 07/20/11 The new party of Reagan
• 07/18/11 Rob Portman, the boring Midwesterner who could bring sanity to the debt debate
• 07/13/11 John Boehner's bind
• 07/04/11 Stephen Colbert, Karl Rove and the mockery of campaign finance
• 07/01/11 President Puts Up His Dukes, As He Ought To
• 06/28/11 Rod Blagojevich verdict: All shook up
• 06/27/11 Progressives voice their anger at Obama
• 06/24/11 ‘Mission accomplished,’ Obama style
• 06/22/11 Jon Huntsman's first step toward oblivion
• 06/21/11 Scott Walker finds making bumper stickers is easier than creating jobs
• 06/20/11 A day of awkwardness with Mitt Romney
• 06/06/11 Hubris and humility: Sarah Palin and Robert Gates on tour
• 06/02/11 The Weiner roast
• 06/01/11 Congress clocks in to clock out
• 05/30/11 Hermanator II: No More Mr. Gadfly
• 05/24/11 How Obama has empowered Netanyahu
• 05/24/11 Pawlenty bends his truth-telling
• 05/20/11 Default deniers say it's all a hoax
• 05/18/11: Gingrich gives voice to moderation
• 05/17/11: Donald Trump and the House of Horrors
• 05/16/11: The medical mystery of Mitt Romney
• 05/12/11: The body impolitic: Schock photos should tempt lawmakers to cover up
• 05/10/11: Muskets in hand, tea party blasts House Republicans
• 05/09/11: The GOP debate: America -- and the party -- needs the grown-ups
• 05/05/11: Mitch Daniels, an alternative to scary
• 05/03/11: Obama's victory lap
• 05/02/11: How the journalist prom got out of control
• 04/28/11: Obama's birther day: Why did he lower himself by appearing in the briefing room?
• 04/27/11: Obama, lost in thought
• 04/24/11: Andrew Breitbart and the rifts on the right
• 04/22/11: Ten Commandments for 2012
• 04/21/11: Obama likes Facebook. Facebook likes Obama.
• 04/18/11: Without Nancy Pelosi, Obama is adrift
• 04/15/11: If progressives ran the world
• 04/14/11: Faith in political apostasy
• 04/13/11: One man's revolution is another's political expediency
• 04/11/11: Shutdown theatrics
• 04/06/11: Paul Ryan's irresponsible budget
• 04/05/11: Robots in Congress? Yes, we replicant!
• 04/04/11: Robert Gibbs, Facebook and the White House corporate placement service
• 04/01/11: Haley Barbour, the fat cats' candidate
• 03/31/11: Republican freshmen in House shut down compromise, and possibly the government
• 03/30/11: Coburn and Durbin, the dynamic duo of the debt crisis
• 03/28/11: The Obama doctrine: A gray area the size of Libya
• 03/24/11: Dems as Weiners
• 03/23/11: Obama's quick trip from tyrant to weakling
• 03/17/11: Who's afraid of Elizabeth Warren?
• 03/15/11: The underwear flap over Bradley Manning
• 03/10/11: In Senate's debt debate, talk isn't cheap
• 03/09/11: With Obama's new Gitmo policy, Administration officials had some 'splainin to do
• 03/02/11: Issa press aide scandal is like bad reality TV
• 02/25/11: Jay Carney: Mouthpiece for an inscrutable White House
• 02/14/11: The Donald trumps the pols at CPAC
• 02/09/11: Arianna Huffington's ideological transformation
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