Recommended reading: Cheney v. Bush

Published Aug 13 2009, 12:18 PM by Adam Reilly

One of the big liberal knocks on George W. Bush has always been that, as president, he was essentially Dick Cheney's puppet.

But according to this fascinating piece in today's Washington Post, Bush's obedience to Cheney may have been greatly overstated--especially in his second term, and much to Cheney's regret:

Cheney's disappointment with the former president surfaced recently in one of the informal conversations he is holding to discuss [his upcoming memoir] with authors, diplomats, policy experts and past colleagues. By habit, he listens more than he talks, but Cheney broke form when asked about his regrets.

"In the second term, he felt Bush was moving away from him," said a participant in the recent gathering, describing Cheney's reply. "He said Bush was shackled by the public reaction and the criticism he took. Bush was more malleable to that. The implication was that Bush had gone soft on him, or rather Bush had hardened against Cheney's advice. He'd showed an independence that Cheney didn't see coming. It was clear that Cheney's doctrine was cast-iron strength at all times -- never apologize, never explain -- and Bush moved toward the conciliatory."

As a friend of mine notes, this raises an interesting question: might the same liberals who reviled Bush eventually end up grateful to Bush for having the guts not to do Cheney's bidding?

I haven't found a projected publication date for Cheney's memoir yet. But given Cheney's willingness to publicly rip Bush, it sounds like it's going to be a must-read, whatever your political orientation.

Also new in the Phoenix: when is a news story not a news story?

New in the Phoenix: Rupert's respectability quest

4 Comments

aging cynic said:

"might the same liberals who reviled Bush eventually end up grateful to Bush for having the guts not to do Cheney's bidding?" Er, no. That's what makes ideologues, (left and right), what they are. Best recent examples are the (many) policies that were excoriated when implemented by the Bush administration but which are now just considered pragmatic examples of campaigning vs. governing..

August 16, 2009 12:04 PM
Adam Reilly said:

Interesting point, AC. I actually think that, the further left you go, the more likely you are to find people willing to call Obama on (among other things) his defense of signing statements and his plans for Afghanistan and Iraq. Toward the center, however, I see plenty of the double standard you're talking about.

August 17, 2009 4:19 PM
Farnkoff said:

Aging cynic's "interesting point" is merely false (as you noted, Adam). So I'd argue that it's really not all that interesting.

August 17, 2009 6:34 PM
andycox said:

Whatever!

September 18, 2009 8:03 AM

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Recommended reading: Cheney v. Bush

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aging cynic said:

Adam Reilly said:

Farnkoff said:

andycox said:

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