Dick Cheney's 'war' on Obama
In a battle of words, the former vice president and the White House fight over Flight 253 and national security policy
The White House pushed back at Dick Cheney after the former vice president said Obama's "low-key" response to the failed Christmas Day bombing of Flight 253 proves he's "trying to pretend we are not at war," which "makes us less safe." White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer said Wednesday that Obama "doesn't need to beat his chest" to fight al Qaida, and that Cheney and other critics could help make the country safer by focusing on the enemy instead of pointing fingers at the administration. Will either side win a war of words over the war on terrorism? (Watch Rachel Maddow respond to Dick Cheney's attacks on Obama)
Cheney should stop lying: Dick Cheney is using a terrorist attack to score political points, says Eugene Robinson in The Washington Post. But his "shrill screed" is based on a "big lie" — that Obama takes terrorism lightly. Obama has said repeatedly that we are at war with terrorists, so perhaps it's time for Cheney to drop the "histrionic Rottweiler-in-Winter act" and "put country first" for a change.
"Dick Cheney's lies about President Obama"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Obama reacts quicker to Cheny than to terrorists: It "beggars belief" that the White House would "accuse of all people, Dick Cheney," of being soft on al Qaida, says Mark Hemmingway in the Washington Examiner. But the real outrage is that the White House found time for a petty "rapid response" to Cheney's jab, after Obama took four days to respond to this "barely averted domestic catastrophe." Um, "priorities!"
"White House...responds to Cheney criticism in matter of hours?"
Obama is too similar to Cheney: Dick Cheney's argument may be "stupid," says Jacob Sullum in Reason, but so is his — and Obama's — fixation on the word "war." It's not like "an insufficiently martial attitude explains the intelligence screwups" that allowed the "underwear bomber" to walk on a plane with explosives. So Cheney should relax: if anything, Obama's terrorism policies aren't, unfortunately, "substantially different from his predecessor's."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'King's horses take free rein through London'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Is pop music now too reliant on gossip?
Talking Point Taylor Swift's new album has prompted a flurry of speculation over who she is referring to in her songs
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Nuclear near-misses
The Explainer From technical glitches to fateful split-second decisions, the world has come to the brink of nuclear war more times than you might think
By Rebecca Messina, The Week UK Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published