Dueling banjos in Washington; Updated

By Michelle Malkin  •  May 21, 2009 08:50 AM

Scroll for updates…

It’s the Obama-Cheney showdown this morning. I, for one, am gratified to see this White House forced to put national security on the front burner. If not for the forceful public defenses by Vice President Cheney of the aggressive, proactive measures the last administration took to keep us safe, the current commander-in-chief would be happily gabbling about solar panels and weatherization subsidies or somesuch.

National security is and always will be the Democrats’ soft spot. And they know it.

Which is why Team Obama scrambled to preempt Cheney’s AEI speech.

Which is why the same Senate Democrats who cheered so lustily when Obama declared his Gitmo closure date turned around and denied him the funds to implement it.

Which is why Obama is embracing the very same principles of preventive detention that the Left went bananas over for the past eight years.

And which is why you woke up this morning to news of one of countless terror busts whose results were, ahem, inherited by the Obama administration.

The men and women who worked tirelessly the past eight years to prevent and disrupt jihadist plots at home and abroad aren’t the ones who’ve “lost their way.”

It’s the unreality-grounded civil rights absolutists, grievance-mongers, and 9/10 juveniles who have been and remain, in Andrew McCarthy’s apt description, willfully blind.

***

Related thoughts from Meghan Clyne in the NYPost on national security and the SCOTUS wars:

A poll released this week shows Democrats have closed the gap with Republicans on national security. There are few media circuses like Supreme Court hearings — and if the GOP seizes the spotlight to focus attention on some of the left’s more bizarre and dangerous legal theories on the War on Terror, it can only work to its advantage.

After all, by placing terrorism center stage, they might just accomplish one more thing: reminding Washington, and the American people, that we are still at war. With a Democratic supermajority in the Senate, it’s unlikely that Republicans will be able to block Obama’s nominee, no matter how unappealing. Yet if they can use the Souter vacancy to show that the War on Terror isn’t just about preening lawyers, but a real battle fought by real Americans whom a lot of judges are endangering . . . well, there are worse things to get out of a confirmation hearing.

***

Update: Here is the text of Cheney’s speech.

Cliff Notes’ version of Obama’s speech: I blame Bush (but, uh, I will follow his “lost way” on preventive detention. Just in a kinder, gentler, more, uh, moral way).

Update: I second Kathy Shaidle on Dick Cheney’s speech:

“Cheney’s speech was the best speech of the Bush administration. Too bad it was months/years late.”

See what others have said

Note from Michelle: This section is for comments from michellemalkin.com's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that I agree with or endorse any particular comment just because I let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with my terms of use may lose his or her posting privilege.

Trackbacks

  1. FBI Busts 4 Muslim Prison Converts [Dan Collins]
  2. Obama vs Cheney it’s on! « DaTechguy’s Blog
  3. Jules Crittenden » Split-Screen Irony Alert
  4. Fun Game, Oratory Page & other stuff | The Anchoress
  5. It’s Bush’s fault: NYC terror plot busted « Sister Toldjah
  6. Bloodthirsty Liberal » The Brawl on the Mall
  7. Obama’s New/Old Plan For Terrorists | NEOAVATARA
  8. F3 Coalition - [Faith. Family. Freedom.] » Blog Archive » ‘Bout Time!
  9. Cheney’s speech - better late than never : Conservative Nation
  10. BETRAYAL: Obama Sides With Bush, Rove, Libby Against Valerie Plame « DONE (Democrats Over Nominating Elitists)
  11. Obama national insecurity speech - the plan stinks | Radio Vice Online
  12. Lawyerly Obama Good at Bush Bashing, Bad on Morality, Cloaked in Self Righteousness « Peace and Freedom Promises
  13. White House’s version of narcissistic poseur’s speech on “security and values” « Danishova
  14. Cheney: New York Times is No Friend « Peace and Freedom Promises
  15. Obama, Cheney Speeches on Gitmo: Better Format for Future Presidential Debates Than the Pablum Now Used… « Peace and Freedom Promises
  16. VP Joe Biden’s a Blabbermouth & National Security Risk… I Trust Palin Daughters More Than Biden or Pelosi: Are Any Secrets Truly Safe under Obama’s Watch? « Frugal Café Blog Zone
  17. First Gitmo Detainee Brought to U.S. – Ahmed Ghailani will be sent to New York City « Goodtimepolitics
  18. Brits Welcome Obama’s Moral Stand on Gitmo; Just Distracted By Mega-Scandal in Parliament « Peace and Freedom Promises
  19. “…the danger here is a loss of focus on national security…” « Gunservatively!
  20. Liberal And Conservative Bloggers Head To Their Tree-Forts, Arm The Pea-Shooters, And Fire « Around The Sphere
  21. Obama: Bush was wrong in seeking to prevent terrorist attacks | Fire Andrea Mitchell!
  22. Cheney Strikes at the Yellow Underbelly of Belly-aching Obama « The Lioness
  23. Cheney Cracks His Knuckles After Obama Campaign Stop : Stop The ACLU
  24. MishMashZone » Obama vs Cheney
  25. Cheney Brings It « The Forum
  26. High Noon: Dueling Speeches–Cheney Demolishes Obama–Videos « Pronk Palisades
  27. My Friend Dick | Vancouver Secrets
  28. Pirate's Cove
  29. Obama and Cheney give dueling speeches on terror policy « Wellsy’s World
  30. Obama please shut up! - The Angry White Guy
  31. Text Of Former Vice President Dick Cheney Is Thousands Of Words Long — The GTL™ Shall Happily Condense It For Thee | THE GUN TOTING LIBERAL™
  32. Obama Looking Forward, Or? « Zipline Conservative
  33. Transición de Obama: seguridad nacional (II). Obama reivindica a Bush, o Guantánamo 2.0. « Sarah Palin en Español
  34. Michelle Malkin » Obama-come-lately on Iran

Trackback URL

Comments


  1. #705070
    On May 21st, 2009 at 1:22 pm, RetFireman said:

    You know, the thing with the New York Terror bust yesterday is more than just proof the Bush Admin was doing more about protecting us than Der Fuhrer.

    Yesterday proved just how much we need Git-Mo, and how horrible of an idea it is to place these jihadist ba**ards into the American prison system.

    It is one thing when you have all these terrorists that have been taken off the field of battle in one location, one prison in a foreign country, albeit on an American base, where all they have to talk to is themselves.

    It is another thing entirely when you place these same people, filled with hatred and plans of destroying America, killing Americans and laying waste to everything they deem non-Islamic into the general population of a Super-Max prison and get them talking to those who WILL get out at some point…those who have made “jailhouse conversions” to Islam and who already have a vendetta against this nation and those who live here.

    Three of those captured yesterday were “jailhouse converts”. They came up with their plot all on their own. What does the Obama Admin and the rest of the Liberal jack-a**es think is going to happen once they get the fine, upstanding gentlemen housed currently in Git-Mo around these same people in an American prison?

    No, the danger is not in these Club Git-Mo rejects getting out. It is in the damage they can do to those in prison who WILL get out and who are legally allowed to remain in this country and who cannot be sent elsewhere.

    And THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is the prime example of how Liberals, and more to the point, the Obama Administration DOES NOT THINK and they DO NOT have the safety and security of this nation and her people in mind or in their hearts in anything they do.

    Ad don’t give me the crap about how they will be kept away from others, or in solitary or anything like that. IF that were the case, then there would be no reason to bring them here in the first place. They won’t allow that to happen, for all the idiotic Liberal peace-nics will be all up in arms about discrimination and other nonsense. Look at what they do now.

  2. #705072
    On May 21st, 2009 at 1:23 pm, Ragspierre said:

    Fifty-eight percent (58%) believe the Obama administration’s recent release of CIA memos about the harsh interrogation methods used on terrorism suspects endangers the national security of the United States. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 28% believe the release of the memos helps America’s image abroad.
    Rasmussen

    Also, 64% of Americans say that the balance between individual rights and national security is either about right, or is weighted toward individual rights too much.

  3. #705074
    On May 21st, 2009 at 1:24 pm, MtsEdge said:

    Leadership is not a popularity contest.

    Unless you’re still in jr. high.

  4. #705075
    On May 21st, 2009 at 1:25 pm, Mister P said:

    Obama is the first Anti-American President.

  5. #705076
    On May 21st, 2009 at 1:25 pm, rambler said:

    Being popular is no replacement for leadership; speaking well is not a replacement for the truth; being cool is not a replacement for competence; pandering to wackos will not keep us safe!

  6. #705078
    On May 21st, 2009 at 1:26 pm, AlohaGuy said:

    From that moment forward, instead of merely preparing to round up the suspects and count up the victims after the next attack, we were determined to prevent attacks in the first place.

    Can you ever in your wildest imagination think of Obama saying that – or even “getting it”?

  7. #705080
    On May 21st, 2009 at 1:28 pm, MtsEdge said:

    On May 21st, 2009 at 1:22 pm, RetFireman said:

    Well said. I’m still trying to figure out what’s wrong with Gitmo in the first place.

  8. #705081
    On May 21st, 2009 at 1:29 pm, tbear44 said:

    lgm sez:

    Maybe Obama will turn out to be a mistake

    No maybe about it lgm. He is.

  9. #705090
    On May 21st, 2009 at 1:40 pm, Dexter Alarius said:

    “…recklessness cloaked in righteousness…”

    My favorite phrase!
    Pretty much sums up the Leftards.

  10. #705096
    On May 21st, 2009 at 1:48 pm, Ragspierre said:

    If America is hit again…

    No Obama grandiloquence will avail.

    Nothing on his teleprompter will suffice.

    Americans will be telling him and his cohort…

    “Tell it to the pitchfork…!!!”

  11. #705097
    On May 21st, 2009 at 1:48 pm, Ilovemycountry said:

    “Dueling banjos” – you people are finally talking about something you’re good at.

  12. #705099
    On May 21st, 2009 at 1:50 pm, Ragspierre said:

    “Dueling banjos” – you people are finally talking about something you’re good at.

    Thank you. We are excellent musicians…

    In addition to being far more rational and realistic.

  13. #705103
    On May 21st, 2009 at 1:52 pm, Regulus said:

    On May 21st, 2009 at 1:24 pm, MtsEdge said:

    Leadership is not a popularity contest.

    Unless you’re still in jr. high.

    Indeed. When I was in the 9th grade at Waldo Junior HS, we had a black kid who ran for student body president and won solely on that “qualification.”

    He was dumber than a post, which was obvious all along, but that didn’t matter. Voting for him was the “popular” thing to do, we didn’t give a tinker’s damn about what he’d do after he won.

    And now … We’ve got a kid who got everything in life based on preferential treatment because of his skin color. Does anyone really think he could’ve gotten into Columbia or Harvard based on his academic qualifications? There’s a reason why they’re still top-secret.

    Does anyone believe for one moment that he got onto the Harvard Law Review, and became president of the same, based on any other criterion than the color of his skin? He never wrote a single scholarly article in law school.

    Does anyone believe that if he were white with the same near total lack of credentials or experience that he’d have survived the donk primaries, not to mention the general election?

    Welcome back, Waldo…

  14. #705108
    On May 21st, 2009 at 1:54 pm, b-cat said:

    Thank you. We are excellent musicians…

    We are the Renaissance men, and ladies.

  15. #705111
    On May 21st, 2009 at 1:56 pm, Ragspierre said:

    Or, what Mr. Nock would call the remnant…

    (See Jonah Goldberg’s excellent essay on Nock)

  16. #705112
    On May 21st, 2009 at 1:57 pm, ARJCPA said:

    “What’s more, to completely rule out enhanced interrogation methods in the future is unwise in the extreme. It is recklessness cloaked in righteousness, and would make the American people less safe.”

    Hear hear.

  17. #705117
    On May 21st, 2009 at 2:00 pm, MtsEdge said:

    On May 21st, 2009 at 1:52 pm, Regulus said:

    GRRRR…brings back memories of my hs days when the “rebels” voted for a deadbeat for senior class pres. The rest of us knew that this person would be expected to be the class “leader” for all future events. Of course, the deadbeat never even shows up for reunions…

    Too bad we can’t have a do-over of the 2008 election…I guess even if we did, those w/the jr. high mentality wouldn’t change a thing. Lemmings, all.

  18. #705121
    On May 21st, 2009 at 2:04 pm, Ragspierre said:

    Does anyone believe that if he were white with the same near total lack of credentials or experience that he’d have survived the donk primaries, not to mention the general election?

    AND, his racial identity has a GREAT deal to do with his maintaining even the mediocre popularity numbers he has now.

  19. #705124
    On May 21st, 2009 at 2:10 pm, Papa Louie said:

    …the same Senate Democrats who cheered so lustily when Obama declared his Gitmo closure date turned around and denied him the funds to implement it.

    A smart person never dives into unknown waters without first checking the depth of the water below the surface. Obama leapt before he looked when he announced the closing of Gitmo. And he did it to score cheap political points with Europe and the Code Pink crowd.

    Because he didn’t come up with a plan to close Gitmo BEFORE announcing its closure, his dive into unknown waters is likely to end up badly. Even if he doesn’t bash his head on rocks below the surface, he’s likely to come up with mud on his face.

  20. #705129
    On May 21st, 2009 at 2:15 pm, MtsEdge said:

    AND, his racial identity has a GREAT deal to do with his maintaining even the mediocre popularity numbers he has now.

    And why we keep hearing how he is “personally popular” although the polls show his policies aren’t.

  21. #705132
    On May 21st, 2009 at 2:17 pm, On-my-soap-box said:

    Nice “shot” Dick! Only needed words to bag that turkey.

  22. #705135
    On May 21st, 2009 at 2:20 pm, RetFireman said:

    On May 21st, 2009 at 1:48 pm, Ragspierre said:

    IfWHEN America is hit again…

    Fixed it for you. Sorry, but it is a hard reality.

  23. #705148
    On May 21st, 2009 at 2:42 pm, babbledabble said:

    With all this flap about “torture” does anyone know exactly ow many suspected terrorists were actually waterboarded?

  24. #705152
    On May 21st, 2009 at 2:44 pm, Dexter Alarius said:

    does anyone know exactly how many suspected terrorists were actually waterboarded?

    3

  25. #705155
    On May 21st, 2009 at 2:45 pm, Dexter Alarius said:

    Actually, 3 TERRORISTS.

    0 suspected terrorists.

  26. #705158
    On May 21st, 2009 at 2:49 pm, Dexter Alarius said:

    You’ve heard endlessly about waterboarding. It happened to three terrorists. One of them was Khalid Sheikh Muhammed

    Abu Zubayda and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri were the other two.

  27. #705165
    On May 21st, 2009 at 3:03 pm, On-my-soap-box said:

    On May 21st, 2009 at 2:45 pm, Dexter Alarius said:
    Actually, 3 TERRORISTS.

    0 suspected terrorists.

    STILL WAITING ON THE REPORT THAT TELLS US HOW MANY LIVES WERE SAVE BY A FEW OUNCES OF WATER.

    Yes, I was yelling.

  28. #705171
    On May 21st, 2009 at 3:14 pm, Papa Louie said:

    “There are no neat or easy answers here,” Obama said in a speech in which he pledged anew to clean up what he said was “quite simply a mess” at Guantanamo that he had inherited from the Bush administration.
    – Pres. Obama in today’s speech

    Even if Gitmo WAS “quite simply a mess” when it was inherited from Bush, Eric Holder claims the prison is NOW run properly. Since the Obama Administration took over, every problem has been fixed:

    I recently visited Guantanamo… I can confidently report that the prison is now run in an efficient, professional manner. Detainees are treated humanely.
    – Eric Holder in Berlin, Germany, Apr 29, 2009

    So, if Gitmo is now being run in an efficient, professional manner and no one is being mistreated, why the hurry to close it? Why waste all that time and money on a non-problem. And why risk the safety of the American people by bringing terrorists here just to get back at Bush?

    Yes, Mr. President, there is a “neat” and “easy” answer here. Keep Gitmo open and keep America safe! The creation of the Gitmo detention center was a brilliant move on the part of the Bush Administration. You can’t see that because you are blinded by BDS and by the “not invented here” syndrome. So change the name of the prison – like they did at Abu Ghraib – if it makes you feel better, but make it your first priority to keep America safe.

    The foremost responsibility of any President, above all else, is to guarantee the security of our nation.
    – Jimmy Carter, Jul 15, 1976

  29. #705174
    On May 21st, 2009 at 3:16 pm, 29Victor said:

    This all makes one wonder who was muzzling Cheney for the past eight years and why.

  30. #705176
    On May 21st, 2009 at 3:23 pm, Wildcatter1980 said:

    “Dick Cheney gets results!” – Rush Limbaugh

    I suspect “W” had a real distaste for the–as it turns out, necessary–political infighting that both the Democrats and the mainstream media are so willing to engage in. Cheney may very well have bowed to Bush’s desires to stay “above the fray”.

    But, now the gloves have come off for Cheney. With him out there speaking on a subject he is perceived to be strong on, Cheney’s poll numbers are rising!

    And, as Rush posited last week, Cheney is speaking out for “love of country” as he has little else to gain personally from doing this.

  31. #705177
    On May 21st, 2009 at 3:25 pm, spaceycakes said:

    Does anyone believe that if he were white with the same near total lack of credentials or experience

    wait.
    He’s not white?

  32. #705179
    On May 21st, 2009 at 3:28 pm, RetFireman said:

    STILL WAITING ON THE REPORT THAT TELLS US HOW MANY LIVES WERE SAVE BY A FEW OUNCES OF WATER.

    Well, based on the report, there was an attack on Los Angeles thwarted where they had planned on flying at least one aircraft into a high-rise building in Downtown Los Angeles. THis can be seen as having saved thousands of Americans, based on what happened on 9-11, as well as saving us more in the panic and terror the action would have caused.

    Yes, a few drops of water, making an admitted terrorist who has the blood of countless Americans and others on his hands think he was drowning in a controlled environment saved the lies of unknown hundreds to thousands of Los Angelenos and others in the aftermath.

    However, those facts are not important. In the Liberal mind, they are irrelevant. In their mind, were there to be a nuclear bomb set to go off in Downtown Anywhere USA, and the only way to get the information out of the guys who did it was to waterboard them or some other thing they define as heinous, they would rather have millions of Americans slaughtered so that they can say, “Sure, we lost millions of innocent men, women and children, but at least we can say we didn’t do everything in our power to stop it from happening.”

  33. #705180
    On May 21st, 2009 at 3:29 pm, no2pcbs1 said:

    zero was throwing a tantrum in stating he will close down gitmo, when even the liberal hacks in the congress don’t buy it. this pathetic cretin posing as a leader, what a joke. he still finds one standard to high to reach, that of being a man.

  34. #705181
    On May 21st, 2009 at 3:33 pm, cousin vinnie said:

    The Bush Administration used the sound and straightforward doctrine of holding enemy combatants until the cessation of hostilities. The Obama Administration prefers preventive detention. The latter makes me think Obama is reading the NKVD playbook, rather than the Geneva Conventions on warfare.

  35. #705182
    On May 21st, 2009 at 3:34 pm, Papa Louie said:

    On-my-soap-box said:

    STILL WAITING ON THE REPORT THAT TELLS US HOW MANY LIVES WERE SAVE BY A FEW OUNCES OF WATER.

    Yes, I was yelling.

    Soap, are you saying you don’t have faith in the President’s promise of an “open and transparent government”? I know his track record doesn’t match his words when it comes to being open with his own records (his medical records are off limits, his school records are hidden, and even his birth certificate is sealed). But surely you believe the words of Eric Holder, don’t you?

    “It is certainly the intention of this administration not to play hide and seek, or not to release certain things,”
    – Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.; NY Times; Apr 23, 2009

    Having the “intention” of being open and transparent is all that matters, isn’t it?

  36. #705184
    On May 21st, 2009 at 3:35 pm, RetFireman said:

    The latter makes me think Obama is reading the NKVD playbook, rather than the Geneva Conventions on warfare.

    You think he is reading a playbook? THAT’S funny.

  37. #705191
    On May 21st, 2009 at 3:42 pm, JustAThought said:

    These are the results of a CNN Poll (for whatever a CNN poll is worth) as of 12:35pm PDT today:

    Quick Vote
    Whom do you agree with most on closing Guantanamo Bay?
    President Obama 60% 72751
    Ex-Vice President Cheney 40% 49426
    Total Votes: 122177

    Without regard to the intelligence level of 60% of the respondents, since when is Dick Cheney an Ex-Vice President rather than a Former Vice President?

    Am I upset over nothing or is this the insult it seems to be?

  38. #705193
    On May 21st, 2009 at 3:46 pm, spaceycakes said:

    Sounds like an insult to me too, JustaThought…I could never imagine them calling Bubba an ‘Ex-President’.
    Sheez, they practically call Gore an ‘almost-really-actually-got-more-votes President’.

  39. #705194
    On May 21st, 2009 at 3:47 pm, RetFireman said:

    Am I upset over nothing or is this the insult it seems to be?

    I dunno…are they “former” Marines or are the “Ex” Marines?

    Yes…that is most definitely an insult. He is supposed to be referred to as “Former”, much the same way as the President…unless you are addressing him personally in which case you are still supposed to refer to him as “Mr. Vice President”, or “Vice President Cheney”.

    Have you seen or heard them ever refer to Gore as “Ex-Vice President Gore”? No, you most certainly have not.

  40. #705201
    On May 21st, 2009 at 4:00 pm, Major O said:

    On May 21st, 2009 at 3:25 pm, spaceycakes said:
    Does anyone believe that if he were white with the same near total lack of credentials or experience
    wait.
    He’s not white?

    I hear that. Don’t try to hang His Incompetence solely around the neck of us black folks; he’s just as much white as he is black!

    And while we’re at it, what explains the elevation of Pelosi, Reid, and Biden? Point being, there’s more to the popularity of clearly unqualified elected Democrats at this time than skin color. We have a dumbed down electorate that has reached critical mass, creating the perfect opportunity for the Left.

    All that said, it’s clear that his ethnicity was a huge part of his success. But I think it is also very important to give credit to how he presents himself. Like it or not, he has a unique ability to charm the mass of those on the Left and even a few on the Right side. (Personally, I cannot even stand to LOOK at him and I never listen to what he says; I read it after the fact.) But for too many, he is THE grandiloquent leader.

    Absent his speaking and presentation skills, I don’t think he could have ascended to where he is today solely on the basis of being HALF black.

  41. #705204
    On May 21st, 2009 at 4:07 pm, spaceycakes said:

    yeah, and besides, there are lots of Presidents that were elected despite being half Irish!

    LOL

  42. #705207
    On May 21st, 2009 at 4:11 pm, On-my-soap-box said:

    On May 21st, 2009 at 4:00 pm, Major O said:

    Absent his speaking and presentation skills, I don’t think he could have ascended to where he is today solely on the basis of being HALF black.

    He had help from 53% of the populace of which I am going to guess 50% of them are just good ol’ stoopid.

  43. #705223
    On May 21st, 2009 at 4:29 pm, Major O said:

    He had help from 53% of the populace of which I am going to guess 50% of them are just good ol’ stoopid.

    The killing part is some of them are pretty darn smart but still are in lockstep with the administration.

    On my Facebook page, a friend had a status message saying, “Dick Cheney, please show some class and go away to your ranch.” I pinged him about it and asked, “What is classless about a man defending himself against the bully pulpit of the presidency and a media that almost daily tries its best to tarnish the man as a CRIMINAL?” How is that “tacky”?

    My friend is a pretty smart guy, but politics has become so emotional and irrational for him, he just “reacts” when he sees any significant conservative figure doing or saying pretty much anything.

  44. #705225
    On May 21st, 2009 at 4:32 pm, Ragspierre said:

    I recently visited Guantanamo… I can confidently report that the prison is now run in an efficient, professional manner. Detainees are treated humanely.
    – Eric Holder in Berlin, Germany, Apr 29, 2009

    Look at the implicit lies embedded in that statement…

    “I can confidently report that the prison is now run…” This implies that it was not, before THE ONE’s magical transformation, run in a professional, efficient manner. That is a lie, as everyone who has visited GITMO has documented.

    “Detainees are treated humanely.” Implicit is the lie that they were EVER NOT treated humanely.

    Holder is a liar, too. And he EXPRESSLY demurred on the record to enhanced interrogation back in the day when America was on something like a war footing, as opposed to now.

  45. #705227
    On May 21st, 2009 at 4:33 pm, NJ-Aviator said:

    That was a great speech. And the points Cheney made about the recklessness of liberals and their ability to equivocate is among the reasons I detest liberals that have the positions he described.

    LOL… and all LGM can say is something about popularity. That’s comical. And sad at the same time.

  46. #705235
    On May 21st, 2009 at 4:41 pm, Ragspierre said:

    I was thinking a while ago that I would LOVE for Sarah Palin to make a statement wherein she adopted the Cheney Doctrine of May 2009.

    It would go a long way toward defining Palinism….

  47. #705239
    On May 21st, 2009 at 4:45 pm, Mister P said:

    Obama has put himself in a box. Any of the conflicts turns violent or we get another terrorist attack, and he and his policies are firmly to blame.

  48. #705243
    On May 21st, 2009 at 4:53 pm, Ragspierre said:

    The Constitution behind THE ONE was a fake…

    appropriate.

  49. #705246
    On May 21st, 2009 at 4:57 pm, Ragspierre said:

    From over at Hot Air

    Cheneyku

    Every time I sneer
    Khalid Sheikh Mohammed faints
    Try that one, Barack

    ***

    We left you a mess
    You’re doing all the same things
    Now they’re not messy?

    ***

    Bronx synagogues burn
    Because of waterboarding
    On Bizarro World

    ***

    Redefine “torture”
    To mean anything you want:
    Waterboarding worked

  50. #705254
    On May 21st, 2009 at 5:09 pm, Speakup said:

    I can’t help but think that with Cheney in charge the surge would have occurred, Jan.04 and Syria would be a US ally.

  51. #705255
    On May 21st, 2009 at 5:09 pm, ajmontana said:

    I wonder how many dipwad Odopey voters are finally realizing the Community Organgrinder is in way over his head and is clueless as a grapefruit?

  52. #705256
    On May 21st, 2009 at 5:10 pm, Ragspierre said:

    And Iran would be tooling up to make good watches…

  53. #705311
    On May 21st, 2009 at 6:24 pm, WaterBoyz said:

    Physical Damage:
    Kill 3 pirates to save one ship’s captain.

    NO Physical Damage:
    Waterboarding to save the lives of 1000’s.

    And the POTUS endorses what exactly?

  54. #705324
    On May 21st, 2009 at 6:39 pm, Ragspierre said:

    So…

    we want to make Super Max a terrorist target?

    Hmmm…

    I kinda like GITMO WAY better. Nice ocean barrier. Bad, Communist country they’d have to pal up with to get to GITMO from the landward side. LOTS of well-armed, well-trained and motivated troops…actual ARMY guys…not prison guards.

  55. #705329
    On May 21st, 2009 at 6:47 pm, 24Klady said:

    I’m willing to bet, that after the next attack on U.S. soil, even the nutroots that voted ‘Bambi/Biddlebum will be crying for the grown-ups to be back at the helm. After today’s speech, to upstage a Former V.POTUS, ‘Bambi looks more childlike and petulant than ever. He simply must always be in front of an audiance or cameras. Bet he’s another one that can’t pass a mirror without preening.

    They used to write Greek comedies and tragedies about the vanity of their leaders.. Today, we live it 24/7 on cable news.

  56. #705331
    On May 21st, 2009 at 6:51 pm, DanME said:

    Bush had the worse PR team ever. Bush was a poor communicator and he never tired to even stand up for his decisions. He never even tried to explain why he made certain decisions. He let the Dems and the media define him. It’s so frustrating !! I’m so glad Cheney is now standing up for these Bush decisions.

  57. #705347
    On May 21st, 2009 at 7:26 pm, jangar said:

    Well, well…here we have Obama, backed into a corner, forced to do his first honest days’ work of his life.

    Courtesy of the (evil) former Vice-President Richard Cheney (who, if we had any luck at all, should have been the current sitting President).

  58. #705350
    On May 21st, 2009 at 7:32 pm, jangar said:

    Poking the MSM in the eye is Cheney’s long-suit. Bush did not see this as beneficial to the office. I’ll have to agree to a certain extent. However, now-a-days the game seems to have changed, since the media no longer reports fairly on both sides.

    So…screw ‘em…go Cheney!

  59. #705351
    On May 21st, 2009 at 7:34 pm, prendad said:

    Why does Obama have to rush to the pulpit every time somebody disses him? Poor guy. Let’s get him a psych doc to help him with this phobia. And why does he have to constantly dump on Bush? 26 negative comments on the Bush administration in his press conference today. Hey, it’s over man. Move along dude. We need a president here, not a struggling history teacher. Start being president any time you want.

  60. #705354
    On May 21st, 2009 at 7:36 pm, Surveyor said:

    I’m not going to give either administration any slack here. There are hundreds of Saudi “students” and Somalia “refugees” brought here all the time. Just let in. Given food and housing etc, etc. IMHO this is the real problem we face. Are they radicalized? Maybe not. But why does the STATE DEPARTMENT risk it? Bush or Obama or Slick Willy for that matter, could have stopped this ridiculous policy years ago. Personally, I can sleep at night knowing terrorists are locked up in a maximum security federal prison in their cells 23-1/2 hours a day with no time for prostelitizing. Do I want my tax dollars going to that? No. But, Obama is hell bent on closing down Gitmo and I don’t reckon these idiots will escape from a maximum security facility. I worry more about all the terrori….ooops…I mean “students” & “refugees” the State Dept. imports. On purpose for some reason. Hmmmm

  61. #705357
    On May 21st, 2009 at 7:41 pm, Ragspierre said:

    How about getting THE ONE to answer these…

    1. Mr. President, your Attorney General has said that GITMO is being run “efficiently and professionally”, and that detainees are “humanely treated”. Please explain your compelling reason to bring arguably the most dangerous men in the world on to American soil, rather than leaving them where they are being humanely treated?

    What “American value” is served by that move?

    2. Mr. President, will you give your personal assurance that the GITMO detainees will not be released, under any circumstances, into the American population?

    3. Mr. President, do you mean to tell the American people that the Super Max facility is as secure as GITMO?

    4. Are the Federal prison guards as secure from terrorist attack, including an attack on their families, as are the military personnel at GITMO?

    5. Can you assure that the people of Colorado will never be subjected to the situation where a school full of children is not taken by terrorists demanding the release of their detainee comrades?

    And I could write a WHOLE lot more…

  62. #705360
    On May 21st, 2009 at 7:50 pm, Surveyor said:

    3. Mr. President, do you mean to tell the American people that the Super Max facility is as secure as GITMO?

    why yes. yes it is. The one we plan on sending them to is in the middle of a Military training base. next question Jake.

    4. Are the Federal prison guards as secure from terrorist attack, including an attack on their families, as are the military personnel at GITMO?

    Well, Jake, we’ve decided to setup a seperate fenced-in camp on the grounds outside guarded by military police.

    5. Can you assure that the people of Colorado will never be subjected to the situation where a school full of children is not taken by terrorists demanding the release of their detainee comrades?

    What is keeping any of them from doing that now? Gitmo or not Gitmo?

    I don’t want Gitmo closed either rags…but you know he’s going to do it one way or the other.

  63. #705361
    On May 21st, 2009 at 7:51 pm, emjem24 said:

    Ilovemycountry said:
    “Dueling banjos” – you people are finally talking about something you’re good at.

    Well, you excel at perpetrating stereotypes and hate against groups of people you couldn’t possibly understand or wish to understand. Do you ever feel like being genuinely, intelectually honest or is this all you’re capable of?

    No, no… continue contemplating your fuzzy navel and bemoaning how “divided” our country is because of the Republicans. I’m sure the immediate answer you fail to confront will again look at you through your bathroom mirror once more. :roll:

  64. #705363
    On May 21st, 2009 at 7:57 pm, Ragspierre said:

    The one we plan on sending them to is in the middle of a Military training base.

    Having been on many military bases of all types…both as a service member and in other guises…including during the immediate period after 9/11, I can assure you that I could wreak utter destruction on a training base with impunity. They are the LEAST secure bases, outside of purely logistics ones, in the military structure.

    But, I take your point.

    My point was, a real life reporter could PIN the freaking KING down, and obtain his answers to “your personal assurance” questions.

    It ain’t hard…

  65. #705364
    On May 21st, 2009 at 8:04 pm, prendad said:

    There is so much whining and hand-wringing about the poor Gitmo detainees and their terrible plight. I look at it this way: These guys started out as goatherders, sitting on rocks and daydreaming all day before they were attracted to the terrorist-thug style of life. Then, they start tear-assing around blowing up kids etc. and get caught by us. We transport them to Gitmo and there they sit. What is going through their minds? Well, I’ll bet that more than a few are thinking “Hey, this is great. While my buddies are back home, on the run, and getting shot at all the time, I am sitting here on a nice soft bed instead of a rock, with fantastic food, primo health care, nice reading material, and arabic tv. I can sleep all day, watch tv all night, no bullets to dodge, no constantly having to look over my shoulder for predator drones that are hunting me. And if I get my feelings hurt for some reason, I can hurl the most vile curses at my guards, even throw feces and cups of urine at them with no fear that they will beat me to death like any other arab or third- world country would. Hey, and I just heard that we all were recently “upgraded” by the American president. No more terse interrogations or the guards will be in deep KaKa with the president. Gee, life is good. All I have to do is keep pretending that i am SOOOO miserable so I don’t blow this incredible good deal.

  66. #705366
    On May 21st, 2009 at 8:06 pm, emjem24 said:

    I’ll say this for Dick Cheney: he was certainly a better SecDef than the likes of that a$$ kisser Gates who suddenly decided, “hey, I’m gonna fire this general because he’s just not the right fit after about a year.” Oopsy there.

    I just wish that Dick Cheney had shown more of this spine during the administration instead of letting Americans and a lazy, anti-military media get complacent and forget 9/11. Believe me I know they have. I see the same people, walking in a daze and complaining about a practice Navy airfield that’s too close to their home.

    Good on Cheney. Hey, LGM, could you be the first liberal to host one of these “poor, victimized” terrorists? Please? :grin:

  67. #705380
    On May 21st, 2009 at 8:42 pm, nuss said:

    The hypocrasy of Obama is breath-taking. I couldn’t believe my ears when he preached the Constitution to us today in his Gitmo speech. Everything this creep does is a violation of the Constitution. Does he think we are idiots? He knows that there are enough of us who are idiots that he can slither on.

  68. #705382
    On May 21st, 2009 at 8:43 pm, Ragspierre said:

    Hey, LGM, could you be the first liberal to host one of these “poor, victimized” terrorists? Please?

    Sure. Let’s have the “Daily Kos Half-way House For GITMO Detainees”, “The Barbara Streisand Memorial Center For Maltreated Jihadists”, and “The Barack And Michelle Obama Rehabilitation Center”.

    They would have to post a trillion dollar bond, of course…

  69. #705383
    On May 21st, 2009 at 8:50 pm, Surveyor said:

    But, I take your point

    and I yours.

    “Real-life reporters” seem to be a thing of the past. Sad really….you know, to watch them all grovel around their man Obama like he is some kind of Saint who should not be questioned but covered-for. They are groupies not journalists. Well, ok, Jake Tapper seems to dole it out a little but that’s it. And Major Garrett barely gets a question so who’s left?

  70. #705387
    On May 21st, 2009 at 8:56 pm, Ragspierre said:

    Jake Tapper seems to dole it out a little but that’s it. And Major Garrett barely gets a question so who’s left?

    Maybe us.

    We can ask our friends and relatives questions like the ones I suggested.

    THE ONE will never answer them forthrightly, but that never means ordinary Americans will not answer them for themselves.

  71. #705388
    On May 21st, 2009 at 8:59 pm, Tuesday said:

    On May 21st, 2009 at 7:34 pm, prendad said:
    Why does Obama have to rush to the pulpit every time somebody disses him?

    Hey, it’s over man. Move along dude. We need a president here, not a struggling history teacher. Start being president any time you want.

    “Struggling history teacher” is not even accurate. Even Obama’s “present” vote did not mean he learned anything that day. He revises/ manipulates history to present himself in a good light. Can’t be a history teacher that way.

  72. #705390
    On May 21st, 2009 at 9:04 pm, Surveyor said:

    THE ONE will never answer them forthrightly, but that never means ordinary Americans will not answer them for themselves

    you are quite right sir.

  73. #705398
    On May 21st, 2009 at 9:27 pm, T-Bone said:

    You guys are giving liberals way too much credit here. Liberals could care less about torture. What they actually want is power. They want to win elections so that they can implement their utopian society that they have in their brains.

    This torture nonsense allows them to attack Republicans who they see as an obstacle in the way of their great society. They could care less about others. All they care about is themselves. Look at guys like Bill Ayers who would KILL people to get his way. Do you think he is really worried about torture if he is willing to kill his enemies. Think about that.

  74. #705400
    On May 21st, 2009 at 9:28 pm, jangar said:

    prendad said:
    Why does Obama have to rush to the pulpit every time somebody disses him?

    Self-righteous indignation…with a heaping dose of affirmative action.

  75. #705403
    On May 21st, 2009 at 9:35 pm, jangar said:

    Everything this creep does is a violation of the Constitution. Does he think we are idiots?

    Obama is living proof that the US Constitution is no longer understood or studied in the public education system. Therefore, he is at liberty to spew whatever he wishes, and the sheeple will nod in agreement.

  76. #705405
    On May 21st, 2009 at 9:40 pm, oldcollegeguy1980 said:

    Obama dosen’t give press conferences,

    he gives lectures.

  77. #705406
    On May 21st, 2009 at 9:42 pm, T-Bone said:

    Obama claims to be a constitutional scholar. He taught constitutional law. How could he not know what the constitution says? I heard him talk about his constitution experience this morning. I don’t get it.

    How can Obama get such a differing interpretation of the constitution than other scholars? And then he is allowed to go out there and tell other “students” what it means? How does that happen? Who is correct?

  78. #705409
    On May 21st, 2009 at 9:54 pm, jangar said:

    T-Bone said:
    How can Obama get such a differing interpretation of the constitution than other scholars?

    Conservatives see the constitution as liberties. Liberals see the constitution as limits.

  79. #705414
    On May 21st, 2009 at 10:08 pm, Ragspierre said:

    Conservatives see the constitution as liberties. Liberals see the constitution as limits.

    If I may, I suggest that Conservatives see the Constitution as the charter of the central government, which the Founders intended to very carefully limit to a few activities, and no others. It is a charter of limitations on government, with the specific provision that all other actions were reserved to the states and people (especially when read in context with the Bill Of Rights).

    Statists see the Constitution as an anarchic, rather quaint document that is subject to expansion or contraction to meet societal needs or wants at given periods of time, without any need to resort to the cumbersome machinery of an amendment. It is like a Chinese menu…they may pick from this or that Amendment as seems expedient to them in support of the outcome, while trashing the remainder.

    A ConLaw class does not deal with the actual document for more than a few hours. After that, the study is directed at case law interpreting the Constitution, and discussions of what it SHOULD mean, according to the Statists who generally teach in law schools.

  80. #705416
    On May 21st, 2009 at 10:10 pm, WaterBoyz said:

    On May 21st, 2009 at 9:42 pm, T-Bone said:

    Obama claims to be a constitutional scholar. He taught constitutional law. How could he not know what the constitution says?

    Has anyone actually figured out how much actual teaching hours Obama has in the lecture hall? I read somewhere that he has less than a part-time burger flipper.

  81. #705420
    On May 21st, 2009 at 10:19 pm, jangar said:

    Here is the text of Cheney’s speech.

    Contrast that to Biden’s sandbox humor. No comparison.

    One a leader…the other a jester.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Waking up to deadly diversity

November 24, 2009 12:02 PM by Michelle Malkin

41 Comments | 0 Trackbacks

9/11 families issue call to action

November 23, 2009 10:04 PM by Michelle Malkin

99 Comments | 5 Trackbacks

Never forget. Act now.

Here we go: World meddling in 9/11 show trials begins

November 23, 2009 11:48 AM by Michelle Malkin

64 Comments | 3 Trackbacks

Gitmo detainees will use trials as “platform” to bash America

November 22, 2009 10:13 PM by Michelle Malkin

63 Comments | 6 Trackbacks

“Their assessment is negative.”

Corruptocrat AG Eric Holder’s conflicted DOJ

November 20, 2009 05:29 PM by Michelle Malkin

18 Comments | 2 Trackbacks

Emetic of the day

November 19, 2009 01:14 PM by Michelle Malkin

93 Comments | 3 Trackbacks

“You guys make a pretty good photo op.”

How do you say “You lie!” in Mandarin?

November 18, 2009 09:20 AM by Michelle Malkin

85 Comments | 12 Trackbacks

Obama’s double-talk on dissent.


Categories: Barack Obama, Dick Cheney, Gitmo, Homeland Security



JustOneMinute

» The Prescient Joe Biden

Mudville Gazette

» The five-year plan
Follow me on Twitter Follow me on Facebook