Cheney the worst VP? Hardly!
posted at 10:54 am on December 23, 2008 by Ed Morrissey
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The good news from this CNN poll is that 77% of respondents didn’t choose Dick Cheney as the worst VP in American history. Unfortunately, that leaves 23% as the rate of historical illiteracy in the US:
A new national poll suggests that almost a quarter of Americans think that Dick Cheney is the worst vice president in American history.
Twenty-three percent of those questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Monday say that Cheney is the country’s worst vice president, when compared with his predecessors.
An additional 41 percent feel that Cheney is a poor vice president, with 34 percent rating him a good number two.
No, what this poll suggests is that almost a quarter of Americans have no grasp of our own history. The question itself is rather silly; it’s almost as trenchant as asking who makes the worst fast-food taco. Vice Presidents have little real impact on policy, unless they become President through succession or election. They do nothing without the endorsement and forebearance of their presidents, which makes the idea of best and worst in class almost entirely meaningless.
However, let’s offer three examples that should have rendered the question entirely moot:
- Aaron Burr – The only VP to kill a man in office. He shot the Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, in a duel after Hamilton (reportedly) deliberately shot wide. (Cheney shot a man by accident, who survived, but there’s a thin parallel for Cheney haters.) Burr had to flee to South Carolina while VP to avoid prosecution for murder in New Jersey Later, he formed his own army and by several accounts intended to rebel against the US and form his own nation in the Ohio valley.
- John Calhoun - One of the men who inspired the Civil War and an outspoken proponent of slavery. He served as VP to both John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson, resigning under the latter to take a seat in the Senate. He championed “nullification”, the supposed right of states to supercede federal law when they disagreed with it, and the right of secession. More than most, he amplified the bitter divisions between the South and abolitionists and set the stage for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans as well as the extension of slavery for decades.
- Spiro Agnew – The only VP to resign because of criminal charges, this really shows how illiterate the CNN respondents had to be. After all, Agnew resigned just 35 years ago, and he worked for Richard Nixon, one of the most reviled presidents in history. Agnew pled guilty to a failure to report income in order to avoid charges of bribery during his tenure as VP and as governor of Maryland.
No matter what one thinks of Dick Cheney, he hasn’t done anything to eclipse these embarrassments in the American historical record. I myself think Cheney’s done a good job, but I would allow that history may prove differently. The burden of history will really fall, as it should, on George Bush.
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You forgot Joe Biden on your list!
/just getting a head start
Religious_Zealot on December 23, 2008 at 11:00 AM
umm, I think you’ll find some disagreement and some other history on this one by some southern conservatives.
about any history related to the Civil War is highly bias and not fully accurate(whether Northern or Southern). The truth is somewhere in between on this one.
jp on December 23, 2008 at 11:01 AM
and man-bear-pig
jp on December 23, 2008 at 11:02 AM
hmm..25%? Thats better than the percentage that couldnt recognize America from a map of America.
Speaking of illiterates…I was discussing the History Channel’s series on the Revolution with my daughter and her friend. Her friend actually asked who won the war!!! I said..well, you’ve heard about the 4th of July? Independence Day? duuhh. This girl is 21…one of our voters! Yikes!
becki51758 on December 23, 2008 at 11:02 AM
Cheney’s is probably one of the most influential VPs of all time.
therightwinger on December 23, 2008 at 11:04 AM
Al Gore? Helloooooo, the fool comes off the ticket of a politically-savvy President and gets beat by some Chimperator Hitler fascist from the southern hick state of Texas.
Bishop on December 23, 2008 at 11:04 AM
I wish Palin were better read. She could have given a two-word retort after Biden harped on Cheney:
Aaron Burr.
Though she probably could have gotten away with Spiro Agnew.
Or Al Gore. Though most of his idiocy seems to have occurred ex officio.
BKennedy on December 23, 2008 at 11:05 AM
becki51758 on December 23, 2008 at 11:02 AM
Do what I do sometimes, fire off some strange answer such as “Why, the Hungarians won the war” and then give them a knowing look, as if you are importing secret knowledge to them.
Bishop on December 23, 2008 at 11:06 AM
I’m not surprised, we’re a country kept numb by mass media infotainment.
Anyone can tell you who won American Idol three years ago but is completley ignorant of our nation’s history. Yet, if you’re proud to be an American and want to learn more about your country you’re a nationalist pig.
We have people coming over from other countries to be American citizens and they know more about our nation than most who were born here and educated here.
Maybe one day people will wake the fudge up. Perhaps that’s why mainstream media is starting to die off.
Lay-Z on December 23, 2008 at 11:06 AM
I was one of the people polled in that survey. The kid couldn’t even pronounce Blagojevich. For the record, CNN’s poll results on a few of those questions are about some dude named Blagovick.
Oh, and no, I didn’t say Cheney was the the worst VP ever.
Ronnie on December 23, 2008 at 11:08 AM
ahh..that sounds like a great idea! lol I love it!
Im just thankful my daughter knows her history. Whew!
becki51758 on December 23, 2008 at 11:08 AM
Besides the slavery issue what’s wrong with Calhoun? The North has constantly exerted its will on the South, and because until recently, the North was more populous it always won. That is why Nullification is a good idea – States Rights basically. I actually wrote my senior thesis on Nullification – called “in defense of nullification.”
Canerican on December 23, 2008 at 11:10 AM
I believe the latest polling shows about 30% of Americans call themselves liberals.
My guess – not going out on much of a Christmas tree limb – is that 90-95% of that group believe Cheney is history’s worst VP.
For me, he’s been a mediocre vice president because of his failure – or unwillingness – to promote the policies. As Dick Morris said, if you don’t feed the press, they’ll find something to eat. And they’re not picky about their diet.
SteveMG on December 23, 2008 at 11:10 AM
That’s a good point. So not even all Liberals think he’s the worst President, maybe only 65-75%. Thats not bad. Who did they choose? H.W.?
Canerican on December 23, 2008 at 11:14 AM
What’s so wrong with the “nullification” argument? Seems to me it could be put to good use these days.
gatorgirl on December 23, 2008 at 11:15 AM
Im just thankful my daughter knows her history. Whew!
becki51758 on December 23, 2008 at 11:08 AM
Yah, it seems to be absent oftentimes, the history of our founding and the great people who made it all happen.
Bishop on December 23, 2008 at 11:16 AM
It was only asked about Cheney. I believe Best, Good, Poor and Worst were the choices.
Ronnie on December 23, 2008 at 11:17 AM
jp on December 23, 2008 at 11:01 AM
Not just Southerners. I’ve actually seen some Northerners that think Lincoln should have been offed earlier.
Ryan Gandy on December 23, 2008 at 11:18 AM
Probably the same dunderheads who are approached on Jay Leno’s Jaywalking segment, are shown a photo of Cheney and asked if they can name the person in the photo.
Typical answers ……
“I don’t know.”
“Is that FDR?”
“Was he on Hogan’s Heroes?”
They voted him worst ever? They do even know who he is.
fogw on December 23, 2008 at 11:18 AM
the big lie is that the Civil War was about Slavery, its absurd but how the history got wrote by the North to assert Moral Authority on the issue, and an area their hands were far from clean on in the north. They definitely did overstep big time on the Agricultural south, which is of course the root of the conflict.
jp on December 23, 2008 at 11:18 AM
Just fyi, you impart knowledge.
12thman on December 23, 2008 at 11:19 AM
The vice president can’t have an active role inless the president invites him to do so or allows it. Bush was his own man while inviting Cheny to have input. Best example was Cheny supported Rumsfield and Bush fired him. This was a credit to both men. Compare that to the Biden exile by Obama. He did to Joe what Jesse Jackson threatened to do do Barack–perform a certain operation.
Herb on December 23, 2008 at 11:19 AM
Bishop on December 23, 2008 at 11:16 AM
Unless they’re referred to as homophobic slaveholding drunks, racists, or my personal favorite – a line of Jonah Goldberg’s – the “pale penis people.”
Then its there in full force.
Ryan Gandy on December 23, 2008 at 11:20 AM
But I bet she could tell you all about her sexual explorations, porn films, movie actors, Paris and J-Lo.
We MUST stop blaming everything on our “leaders”, the Pres, the VP, Congress… I’m so sick of Republicans and even some Conservatives like me that point the fickel’d finger of failure
THE BLAME LIES WITH US!!!
WE have allowed our schools to be infested with sub-par far left Liberal union activist so called teachers.
WE have allowed home schooling to be illegitimized and in some cases outlawed.
WE have allowed TV and Movies to get sexier and more voilent.
WE but the 12 year old Daughter a thong or pants that say “hot buns” on the “cheecks”, and THEN allwo them to wear them in PUBLIC as some 12 y/o sex toy.
WE allow Hanna Montana garbage from a trollop that take “pictures” that are NOT for a 15 y/o consumption, but yet, she’s a ROLE MODEL.
WE elect morons over and over again, with the same result.
WE allowed Political Correctness to fill EVERY aspect of our lives.
WE worry about offending someone when speaking the truth.
WE worry about being called RACIST or BOGOT for speaking out against sexual perversion and moral decay.
SCREW THAT!
I’M DONE!
I accept responsibility for my past transgressions against America and it’s historic values and greatness.
Now, CLEAN SLATE… I’M BACK & READY TO FIGHT!
Mark Garnett on December 23, 2008 at 11:21 AM
jp
Never heard of any slaves running away from the North.
Herb on December 23, 2008 at 11:21 AM
Americans knowledgeable of their own history?
Shoot, most Americans don’t know the history of their own families beyond the names of their grandparents, maybe a very small percentage know the names of their great-grandparents.
It’s very disappointing for me when I talk to immigrants, especially from Europe, and they know more about our history than most Americans I talk too.
Texas Gal on December 23, 2008 at 11:22 AM
This is why polls suck. I remember back in like 88 or 89 there was an awards show that had a series of polls and one of the questions was, “What was the greatest comedy film of all time?” All time, mind you.
You might thing classics like Dr. Strangelove, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Annie Hall, Animal House, Caddyshack, Some Like It Hot or even Duck Soup would make the grade.
No, the winner was Coming to America starring Eddie Murphy. Why? Because it was the leading comedy of 1988 and was fresh on people’s mind. This is typical of the American consumer’s mindset.
The 23% who picked Cheney as worst probably cannot name more than 3 people who ever held the office.
grdred944 on December 23, 2008 at 11:23 AM
Wow, lots of misspelled words in my post…
Darn public schools…
ROFL!
:)
Mark Garnett on December 23, 2008 at 11:23 AM
Cheney wasn’t a bad VP…hell, he was hardly there. And yes, compared to Spiggy Agnew, every other VP in our history looks pretty good.
But Cheney could have been the greatest VP in history, if only he had pressured Jorge Boosh to keep it real: More aggression in the WOT, thinking of Americans before Mexicans and every other damn one of his great pals around the world, less Democrat-like random wasting of our money…the list goes on.
I wish Cheney had been present for duty more often. Then, he would have a solid place in history, and his boss might not be regarded as a hopeless buffoon.
And yes, Spiggy’s gonna have a little competition for the bottom of the VP pile from Mindless Joe after January.
MrScribbler on December 23, 2008 at 11:24 AM
Aaron Burr is the greatest VP ever. Hamilton is the source of all the big government we have today.
lodge on December 23, 2008 at 11:24 AM
Not surprising, just look how many acorn folks voted for Barry!
How MANY times for that matter.
Cheney’s to much of a man for some of those liberal’s to comprehend.
christene on December 23, 2008 at 11:28 AM
Herb on December 23, 2008 at 11:21 AM
Quote him in context please.
Ryan Gandy on December 23, 2008 at 11:28 AM
I would love to read that thesis. What do you believe is the point of the federal government if Nullification existed?
Anyway, I’m black and would still say Spiro Agnew is by far the worst VP. I merely disagree with Calhoun but Agnew was a true criminal. Burr was nuts and killed a man but hey, my general rule is don’t accept a challenge to a duel if you don’t want to get shot.
12thman on December 23, 2008 at 11:29 AM
The very premise of the poll is tainted.
That percentage is a small minority but yet it is presented as a significant number.
Why didn’t it read:
34% rated Cheney a good number two?
Since when do poll results focus on the smaller numbers?
This is just the media getting in their last shot at their favorite villians before they leave office.
I would be interested in seeing that poll be taken with some different names in it.
NeoKong on December 23, 2008 at 11:29 AM
No kidding. This head start thing is just ridiculous. I saw a magazine in the store recently with a cover pic of that horrific woman who is so unproud of her country, with a caption that read: “First Lady Michelle Obama.”
Anyway this poll was created as a parting shot and intended only to target Cheney. And, as Ed said, it’s not VPs who make policy, so it was cheap as well.
I am just listening to Tammy Bruce who talked about the 3,000 people who couldn’t take the poll because you have to be alive to do so–and they aren’t in large part thanks to another VP who sees issues such as
global warmingclimate change as much more pressing and dangerous than terrorism.Tammy also said something about how in California high schools history classes are not required. I don’t know if I heard her right–is that true? If so, that is frightening. Who and what else will they forget if that spreads to other states?
So…anybody have any good suggestions for books to use as a teaching tool when I start filling my son in on what he’s missing at school?
fireweednectar on December 23, 2008 at 11:29 AM
Just fyi, you impart knowledge.
12thman on December 23, 2008 at 11:19 AM
Yes I do, but I’m not one to run around worrying whether or not I take every opportunity to set the record straight, especially for some teenager who will probably discount what I have to say just because I’m not their age.
Life’s too short not to have a little fun with people, such as when I convince my kids that there are werewolves living in the woods behind our house.
Bishop on December 23, 2008 at 11:30 AM
I remember when Cheney was the Congressman in Wyoming as a very small child. He did some good things for that State, and some not so good. But at least it got the Oil and Gas industry up and running there, which wasn’t in part because of his shares either. It was because Wyoming is pretty desolate.
I think more people need to look into the backgrounds before talking about how good or bad someone was.
upinak on December 23, 2008 at 11:34 AM
3yrs into the war, when France was about to ally with the South to help them win(which would’ve happened) Lincoln freaked out and did the Emancipation Proclomation to assert a moral highground to keep France out of it. Thats the root of what happened.
The North was full of slaves as well, just not as many since agriculture wasn’t what it was in the South. Companies located in the North did alot of the slave trade as well. Aside from that, there were plenty of southern slaves(that were treated well) who fought willingly with the South against the North.
Anyone who thinks Lincoln said at the beginning: “Look, the South has slaves and that is wrong we are going to war with them and go through all the disease and Killing to ‘end slavery’” is absolutely out of their minds. The Civil War was about Money, power and “states rights”, ever since that war the Feds have grown in power.
Just because years into it they changed the narrative, and its true the net effect of the war did eventually end slavery, but that is not what the War was about and the South was already well on its way to ending it peacefully.
jp on December 23, 2008 at 11:38 AM
“25% of Americans are retarded”
- George W. Bush on South Park
BKennedy on December 23, 2008 at 11:39 AM
I have my reservations about trusting such a “survey”. In the first place I seriously doubt if 23% of the respondents could name the current VP.
bOB4094 on December 23, 2008 at 11:40 AM
Ive been done with all that for quite some time! lol
While my youngest..shes now 21 was growing up, I didnt allow her to wear that crap or wear makeup when she was 9. I was very strict but I am glad I was. She turned out to be a mature, levelheaded young woman, who speaks her mind and stands up for her ideals.
becki51758 on December 23, 2008 at 11:40 AM
Wow Ed, what a ringing endorsement. As I see it, no VP has been a more fierce, forceful and loyal defender of his President. The only thing he didn’t do is carry out hits on back-stabbers like Tenet, Powell, Paul O’Neil or pip squeak McClaren — but there will be lots of time to round these guys up for a Cheney hunting trip.
Mark30339 on December 23, 2008 at 11:41 AM
I watched the VP debates with my daughter, a high school junior taking AP U.S History. When Biden made that crack about Cheney being the worst she immediately piped up “That’s not true! Aaron burr killed someone, he was the worst ever!” she also said that was a really stupid thing to say. To this day she thinks Biden is still stupid.
I couldn’t be prouder. Public school, BTW!
redshirt on December 23, 2008 at 11:42 AM
I don’t know if Owl Bore was that bad as a vice president. Accept for standing by his man that day in the rose garden, he was pretty much a non-entity for 8 years.
One of the worst ex-vice-presidents ever. Hands down winner there.
MarkTheGreat on December 23, 2008 at 11:42 AM
or pip squeak Mc
ClarenClellanMark30339 on December 23, 2008 at 11:41 AM
Fix’t.
Ryan Gandy on December 23, 2008 at 11:42 AM
Not true. California HS students take world history in 10th grade, US history in 11th, and US government in 12th (and our district also requires economics in their senior year).
Bob's Kid on December 23, 2008 at 11:44 AM
Maybe because the Black Codes many of them passed in order to keep blacks from migrating to the North.
You got that right. Many don’t even know that the Emancipation Proclamation did not apply to the Northern States.
Texas Gal on December 23, 2008 at 11:45 AM
So you weren’t aware that slavery was permitted in many northern states?
You weren’t aware that racism was as virulent, and perhaps even more so in the North than it was in the South?
MarkTheGreat on December 23, 2008 at 11:45 AM
1) Provide for the common defense.
2) Mediate disputes between the states.
MarkTheGreat on December 23, 2008 at 11:47 AM
jp on December 23, 2008 at 11:38 AM
The Emancipation Proclamation also only covered slaves in states that tried to break away from the union.
If you were a slave in a northern state. Tough noogies.
MarkTheGreat on December 23, 2008 at 11:50 AM
Calhoun
Calhoun didn’t invent some weird new theory of states rights. I think he had this in mind:
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
Also, NY, RI, and SC ratified the Constitution on the basis of their right to secede being understood.
When hussein compares himself to Lincoln, I’m not offended, I nod in agreement.
Akzed on December 23, 2008 at 11:51 AM
Slaves might have run away from the Grant family. Yes, those Grants.
Akzed on December 23, 2008 at 11:52 AM
True, and I don’t think anyone’s disputing that, but that doesn’t mean the North was completely blameless either.
This doesn’t have to be an either or scenario where either the North is racist or the South is. Both were racist. That’s just a fact, not a criticism that you need to defend against.
Exactly. Most people can’t name presidents much before their birth let alone vice presidents. This is the same public that couldn’t correctly identify the current party in power. Why should anyone expect them to remember Burr?
Esthier on December 23, 2008 at 11:52 AM
Actually, Gore’s fate was sealed in 2000 when he was rejected by the voters of his own home state. If he had received Tennessee’s Electoral Votes, he would never have needed to win Florida.
Del Dolemonte on December 23, 2008 at 11:53 AM
Lincoln’s phony public relations ploy called the Emancipation Proclamation expressly exempted Union-occupied counties. I guess the slaves in those counties didn’t need no freedom.
Akzed on December 23, 2008 at 11:56 AM
most southern republicans would agree with you there, and most think Lincoln was horrible.
That said, the interesting thing about history is that in some ways its probably better the North won going into the 20th century and the conflicts to come. Atleast thats the optimistic, calvinist thinking in me.
Calhoun was an extension of Jefferson in many ways, he was one of the more brilliant thinkers we’ve had and are short on.
Also, now that I’ve beat up on Northern historians which is in most textbooks around the country. There are plenty of southern “Neo-Confederate” historians that can be taken to the woodshed as well. Some of them lie, and claim the Confederacy was this perfect anti-Socialist Govt., when in reality it had lots of Socialistic programs. They also tend to overlook some of the big picture, long view ideas that Lincoln had, IMO.
jp on December 23, 2008 at 11:57 AM
I think the 23% who are not fond of Cheney are mostly afraid of him because he isn’t an obsequious pipsqueak to the media, his opponents, or anybody who challenges him. Re: telling Leahy to fark off, as one example.
I, for one, am going to really miss him.
tru2tx on December 23, 2008 at 11:58 AM
The
Like hope and change? The constitution be damned, we need to move an agenda!
Like I said…
Akzed on December 23, 2008 at 11:59 AM
just the importance of not weakening the country given the Foreign Challenges that lay ahead, and we had to take on in the 20th century as the world globalized and business expanded.
I doubt a weakened US would’ve made it through the 20th century.
jp on December 23, 2008 at 12:01 PM
in short, Lincoln was along the lines of the Hamiltonian view of things.
Calhoun, the Jefferson view..broadly speaking.
the same conflicts can be seen in the fighting between Jefferson and Hamilton.
Both brilliant, both had merits to their arguments. Hamilton had good reason to want a stronger Central Govt. at the time given the challenges and trying to keep the Country they founded from being conquered. I think they did a good job of showing both sides in the John Adams mini-series on HBO.
jp on December 23, 2008 at 12:04 PM
I agree with that. But that’s not the intent of the meme … “Lincoln united the country”.
Don’t get me wrong, I think the preservation of the Union was the right course, I just don’t think the means justified the end.
Texas Gal on December 23, 2008 at 12:11 PM
Don’t forget, Aaron Burr was actually brought to trial on charges of treason (though he was acquitted).
Absolutely.
CP on December 23, 2008 at 12:14 PM
I guess I can ignore you for Constitutional matters from now on. State nullification had a long history in the North, but the difference was that the South never passed laws to screw the North, like the North did with the South and the Taxation Abomination.
Also, you have a huge historical gap on the idea and proponents of secession, because you forgot to mention the long long history of Northern States who wanted to secede for different reasons. For example, at one point NE states threatened to sue if there was another President from Virginia. You also had the Mid-Alantic States wanting to secede for years prior to the Civil War. You are also forgetting that the majority of the Abolition movement were pro-secessionist so they could escape the Compromise of 1850.
And the main reason for the hundreds of thousands of deaths, was Lincoln. Had he let the South go, they would have ultimately freed the slaves and brought them to equals as the rest of the world did. Not to mention the mass execution Lincoln did to win an election. …And we give him a place of honor in DC.
Tim Burton on December 23, 2008 at 12:14 PM
“The North was full of slaves as well”
might want to back up such a statement with a link or two …
/and people complain about arabs holding grudges …
Buckaroo on December 23, 2008 at 12:14 PM
And I think the revisionist history that is taught about the Civil War and reasons for it cause the lesson that should have been learned to the lost as we see developing before us now with a Democrat controlled Congress and Executive.
I really enjoyed that series and purchased the CD set which is terrific and has a setting to embed historical facts relevant to the story. I’d recommend purchasing the set to anyone interested in American history.
Texas Gal on December 23, 2008 at 12:17 PM
I think Cheney was a fine VP. I like his style. Gore was the worse in my book. Now that monkey won a Oscar! Who would have thought? He just spewed lies not the truth!
sheebe on December 23, 2008 at 12:18 PM
Anyone for Walter Mondale?
Blame the Teachers Union
Kini on December 23, 2008 at 12:24 PM
wow! we’re re-fighting the War of Northern Aggression. Yee-aaah (my lame attempt at a rebel yell).
kelley in virginia on December 23, 2008 at 12:24 PM
In a related story, more than 80% of people had no idea what Cheney has been doing for the last eight years.
Vashta.Nerada on December 23, 2008 at 12:29 PM
Read your Tocqueville on that one. Or I can give you the brief: the North ended slavery because it was economically impractical and either sold their slaves South or cut their ex-slaves off from society.
Lincoln himself, in his House Divided Speech, commented on the current trend being pro-slavery. He had two reasons. First was, of course, the ridiculous Dred Scott decision. Secondly, many northern states that had previously allowed free blacks to vote were forbidding them that right.
And let’s not forget that Maryland and Delaware were Northern slave states during the Civil War – and that the Emancipation Proclamation DID NOT free the slaves in those states. The slaves weren’t really freed until the 10 Percent plan was instituted and the 13th Amendment came along.
PurpleWombats on December 23, 2008 at 12:29 PM
I think Al Gore should be included somewhere on the list… if for no other reasons than that I get angry every time I see him and I shudder at the idea of him winning in 2000. He probably would have offered the terrorists Israel and Florida if they would just be nice to us. The guy is clueless when it comes to any mentality but his own and hypocritical and unethical in his plans for the environment.
DL13 on December 23, 2008 at 12:32 PM
This is a typical MSM poll specifically designed to shape opinion, not reflect it.
Has CNN (or NBC/CBS/ABC/NY Times) ever asked:
Which president do you believe was the most unfaithful to their wife?
or
Which president do you believe left the economy with the highest interest rates?
Please only consider Republicans in your answers.
perroviejo on December 23, 2008 at 12:33 PM
As pointless academic exercises go, this seems more pointless than most.
In retrospect, I do wish Dick Cheney had grabbed GW by the scruff of the neck, thrown him out of the oval office and said “You don’t get this back till you grow a pair and flush that stupid amnesty idea down the crapper.”
SKYFOX on December 23, 2008 at 12:34 PM
“SKYFOX on December 23, 2008 at 12:34 PM”
iirc, Angler was for some form of amnesty as well …
:-(
Buckaroo on December 23, 2008 at 12:35 PM
Liberals have small minds and short memories.
Oh, and they’re abject cowards to boot
Bevan on December 23, 2008 at 12:36 PM
Cheney actually is a man who has not had his testicles put in the “lock box” with AlGores and Joe Biden.
One of the high points of the administration was when Cheney informed Leaky Leahy to “F” himself.
Gonna miss the man.
Kuffar on December 23, 2008 at 12:44 PM
Ummm, people in Massachusetts have always been open-minded and tolerant, right? Well, maybe except when schools were intgrated in Boston.
Not a pretty day for our “Yankee” friends.
Observation: Racism is NOT exclusively a “southern” thing.
perroviejo on December 23, 2008 at 12:44 PM
I don’t understand why the Civil War is included in this, but my elevator speech is:
The Republicans believed that all were created equal and should be treated as such; the Democrats were for slavery and blocked every attempt to reform civil rights for all people. When they didn’t get their way they ceded from the Union and attacked Fort Sumter, bringing on the Civil War, which cost over 600,000 lives. The losses on the South were for refusing to bend to God’s will of allowing all to have the “inalienable rights of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” as stated in the Declaration of Independence. The losses on the North were the costs of maintaining our freedom, which were enormous as well. After the war the clueless politicians took over since Lincoln was gone and could not thwart the idiocy that was to transpire. The Democrats maintained control of the South for another 100 years with the KKK and Jim Crow laws and it took the Republicans to set the African American free again. The greatest swindle has been the Democrats getting all the minorities to believe that they are the ones responsible for the freedom they now experience in this country, because it is just not true…
DL13 on December 23, 2008 at 12:52 PM
True, but unfair. For eight years, voters have been assaulted with a steady drumbeat of hate and lies about Cheney and Bush. Bush at least has defenders – 63 million of whom re-elected him four years ago – but as a VP you get no press and no respect.
It’s a nothing job, which is why none of those polled know whom to compare Cheney to. I’ll bet 75% of those who voted for Obama are unaware that Gore was Vice President for 8 years, partly because they’re too young to remember and partly because their teachers don’t teach history (OK, and partly because they are so effing stupid).
Someone do a poll, asking the man on the street to name as many of the recent VPs as they can; HotAirians – give me the over/under on how many the average person can name. My guess is it’s less than three.
Jaibones on December 23, 2008 at 12:57 PM
Dick Cheney’s biggest “flaw” in office, I think, will be the fact that he operated largely in secret. This is a guy who reportedly keeps a “man sized safe” in his office that only he knows the combination to. His lack of transparency allowed the Democrats and the MSM to portray him as an evil conspiratorial sort who was inherently untrustworthy. Even we affectionately call him “Darth Cheney.”
This is simply another symptom of the Bush Administration’s AWFUL, ATROCIOUS, UGLY & NASTY media strategy. You want to know why Bush is the “worst President in world history” and why 1/4 of Americans think Cheney is the “worst VP in world history?” Because Bush had absolutely no aptitude whatsoever for communicating with the press. Yes, the media was against him. But the media is against every Republican. It’s our responsibility to figure out ways to communicate with the American people through (or around) the MSM liberal filter, and our responsibility to figure out how to limit the damage.
The only optimistic thing in the future about this is that a lot of MSM news organs are failing. As a result, it gives conservatives new opportunities to get their message out. If network news and the NYT/WaPo/LAT complex lose their primacy, and cable news, talk radio, and the blogosphere take over, I STRONGLY suggest that we have a strong presence in the blogs and new media… We’ll just put those liberals out of work and get good conservatives in as journalists.
Outlander on December 23, 2008 at 12:57 PM
He was a heartbeat away with a bad heart. No one questioned that now did they?
He was a good Sec. of Defense and a good VP. A bad shot, but uh…hey crap happens.
johnnyU on December 23, 2008 at 12:58 PM
Slo-Joe Biden is using Cheney as a counter point to explain away why Barry is going to confine him to the children’s table.
If Rahm Emanuel can keep his head, he’ll probably get the job of jerking on Biden’s leash and pushing the microphones away.
moxie_neanderthal on December 23, 2008 at 1:01 PM
Because Obama compares himself to Lincoln to perpetuate the meme that Lincoln united the country and therefore Obama will unify the country and since Lincoln freed the slaves how very perfect it is now that Obama would become POTUS. (ignoring the fact that Obama is not a descendant of American slavery)
It’s very clear that Southerners who know their history see the comparison of Obama to Lincoln very differently than those who have been fed American history through the public school system.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed into law by LBJ, a Democrat.
Texas Gal on December 23, 2008 at 1:08 PM
Don’t know about that. A lot of historians believe that if the US had stayed out of WWI, there never would have been a WWII.
MarkTheGreat on December 23, 2008 at 1:15 PM
I’m going to paint with a broad bush here, but, anyone who wins an Oscar and/or a Nobel Peace Prize is an American hating leftist. Gore, Carter, Arafat. Just how in he!! did Arafat win a Nobel?
cjs1943 on December 23, 2008 at 1:19 PM
‘Cos he was the subject of a funny “got milk?” ad once?
Howard Dean, is that you?
Snowed In on December 23, 2008 at 1:20 PM
If it hadn’t been for the Republicans in congress, it never would have passed.
MarkTheGreat on December 23, 2008 at 1:23 PM
Will we have another civil war to prevent becoming wards of the state under Obamanation? Baracky’s AG Holder is an ignoramus when it comes to the 2nd amendment.
kirkill on December 23, 2008 at 1:24 PM
I can think of over 100 countries, any of which was much weaker than the US, and they survived the 20th century.
MarkTheGreat on December 23, 2008 at 1:25 PM
One thing I find interesting, is that many of the people who are most adamant about Lincoln being right in doing anything to preserve the union, are talking sympathetically about seceeding in the modern era if Obama gets bad enough.
MarkTheGreat on December 23, 2008 at 1:26 PM
I *heart* Cheney.
D2Boston on December 23, 2008 at 1:26 PM
Can’t say that I’ve noticed that phenomenon. Could you point to one of the many people who have made both statements?
Ronnie on December 23, 2008 at 1:30 PM
Furthermore, EVERY Civil Rights Act legislation was supported by Republicans in greater numbers as a percentage than Democrats. Additionally, the KKK was founded originally as an arm of the Democratic Party.
BKennedy on December 23, 2008 at 1:34 PM
perroviejo on December 23, 2008 at 12:44 PM
Exactly. I can sum Boston up – as it exists today – in 3 words for you: Drunk Irish racists.
And let’s not forget the guy that named his daughter Aryan Nation.
Ryan Gandy on December 23, 2008 at 1:53 PM
If the VP’s job is to support administration policy, Thomas Jefferson may have been the worst VP in history. He pretty much did everything that he could to undermine John Adams.
My collie says:
CyberCipher on December 23, 2008 at 1:58 PM
Cheney is not even the worst VP of the last ten years.
Actually, I would put him at or near the top of any list of VEEPs
gridlock2 on December 23, 2008 at 2:13 PM
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