Dump Dick



Originally column published March 8, 2007

It's time for Dick Cheney to move on
By Kelvin Wade

"There is a cloud over the vice president." - Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald

Of course there's always been a dark cloud over Vice President Dick Cheney. It's a cloud of arrogance, of messianic neocon zeal. No vice president has ever wielded the power of this man. And the past week's events may signal that it's time he left the stage.

The conviction of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Cheney's former chief of staff, on four federal charges just confirmed there's a stench around the vice president's office. During Libby's trial, evidence was revealed inferring a wider role in the Valerie Plame affair for the vice president, including notes written by Cheney that appeared to show he knew Libby was being sacrificed.

Why doesn't President George W.Bush do the right thing and dump Cheney? It would almost be the equivalent of Darth Vader throwing his emperor down into a power shaft, ending his reign. They wouldn't even have to use the standard "he wants to spend more time with his family" line that they usually use when they force someone out. With Cheney's shaky health situation, he has a built-in excuse.

There's nothing good that can come from keeping Dick Cheney on the job. I think more Americans support Britney Spears as a role model for their daughters than support Dick Cheney as vice president.

The Democrats smell blood in the water. At least I hope they do. There will likely be hearings to get to the bottom of this situation. Cheney was evidently eager to testify on behalf of Libby. Let him swear to tell the truth and sit down and testify in front of Congress about the Valerie Plame affair.

And how about hearings on the run up to war? Dick Cheney appeared on talking head show after show spreading misinformation. Let's find out if he helped mislead the public into war.

Bush needs better advisers than Cheney. It's no secret that Cheney has been the president's biggest backer of the troop escalation in Iraq. We saw nine soldiers killed in a single day this week while scores of Iraqis were blown to pieces by suicide bombers with hundreds injured. Even Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a supporter of the war, accidentally told the truth in public last week when he said soldiers' lives were being "wasted" in Iraq.

Dick Cheney is being sued by Valerie Plame and since the Supreme Court brilliantly ruled back in the '90s that government officials can be sued in office without worry of it harming their job performance, we have that to look forward to the rest of the term.

What does Bush gain by forcing the emperor out? He can change the subject in Washington. He can turn the 2008 presidential race on its head by appointing John McCain or Rudy Giuliani vice president. No doubt the Democratic Congress would reject the choices. Perhaps Bush could make a little history of his own by appointing Condoleezza Rice vice president. It would change the atmosphere in Washington and give Bush a break.

Of course, I don't expect our politically tone deaf president to sack Cheney. In the past week or so, Cheney has dodged an al-Qaida assassination attempt and a deadly blood clot. For Bush to deliver a political coup de grace would be outside his character. Bush believes in loyalty, even if that loyalty is misplaced and leads him off a cliff.

Dumping Cheney wouldn't solve all of Bush's problems. He's still an incompetent lame duck and a finalist in the Worst President Ever Sweepstakes. But just as he garnered a little goodwill when he finally axed Don Rumsfeld, dropping the veep would give his cratering, pathetic presidency a little lift. While I know many would love to keep watching the Bush Administration implode, America could use a break.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Remembering Matt Garcia

Image
Ten years ago, I woke up and turned on my laptop and went to the Daily Republic website and was devastated to learn of the shooting of Fairfield City Councilman Matt Garcia. I immediately called my brother Tony who answered and knew why I was calling. We shared our shock and horror. But mainly we just cried together on the phone. Later when Matt had been removed from life support and passed away I told Tony that it felt like hope itself had died. He told me, “Matt has inspired too many people to let hope die. But hope took a beating today.” It seemed like some horrible cosmic joke. Twenty-one year old Matt Garcia, elected to the Fairfield City Council on a platform of supporting youth and curbing violence is murdered on the streets of Fairfield. What's worse, his killer mistook him for someone else. It was a pointless act of evil in which a worthless example of a human being took the life of a priceless one. In 2007 Matt invited me to lunch at Joe's Buffet to discuss...
Read more

What if we could enforce our own driving laws?

Image
Thursday, June 6, 2013 Let’s all enforce our own driving laws By Kelvin Wade From page A11 | June 06, 2013 | Leave Comment Vallejo resident Anthony Cardenas, 52, became a local hero after painting his own crosswalk near his home on Sonoma Boulevard at Illinois Street. Cardenas claims the busy street is dangerous for pedestrians, so he painted the crosswalk and earned himself an arrest for felony vandalism and trip to jail for his trouble. Mr. Cardenas makes me want to place my tongue firmly in cheek and take matters into my own hands to make things safer. Have you ever had idiots zoom down your street in complete disregard for kids in the neighborhood? I’d love to creep outside at 3 a.m. with some cement and make my own speed bumps. The next time the speedsters come flying down my street, they’d make a sunroof with their own heads when they hit my new speed bump. BAM! Problem solved. Last week, my friend Nedra Polk asked me to write about the condition of Clay Bank Road between Air B...
Read more

The reason I've ditched my earphones at night

Monday, August 26, 2013 FAIRFIELD-SUISUN, CALIFORNIA Accident convinces me to ditch my iPad By Kelvin Wade From page A7 | August 22, 2013 | 4 Comments I’ve been an insomniac for years. I used to embrace my insomnia by putting on a pot of coffee at night and doing some of my best writing while the stars were out. I wrote about having a sleep study a couple of months ago and one of the things the analyst told me is I have to stay off my iPad in bed. That hasn’t happened. But recently, my girlfriend Cathi stumbled upon a cure for my nightly iPad habit. So there I was in the middle of the night in bed with earphones in listening to an awesome version of Paul McCartney and Wings’ “Live and Let Die” while pummeling various victims in “Words with Friends” on my iPad when I heard a boom. I turned on a lamp and saw my Beagle, Theo, panting at the bedroom door. I thought he’d jumped against the door to get my attention. Lately, he’s had to go out a lot at night (a dog with the bladder of a mouse...
Read more