Cheney

We're actually winning the war in Iraq. Saddam Hussein really did have ties to al Qaida. And anybody who questions the administration's execution of the war is playing for Osama bin Laden's team. Welcome to the 'œBizarro' world of Dick Cheney, said Al Martinez in the Los Angeles Times, where, as in the square planet in the old Superman comics, 'œright is wrong, up is down, good is bad, and war is peace.' In recent months, as even President Bush and his generals have admitted that Iraq is going badly, Cheney appears to have retreated more deeply into his belligerent delusions. He's insisted the war has produced 'œfabulous successes,' and said congressional critics' call for a phased withdrawal of U.S. troops would only serve to 'œvalidate the al Qaida strategy.' Last week, when asked about Iraq's bloody insurgency, Cheney bristled. 'œIt's just the terrorists doing what terrorists always do, adjusting and adapting,' he said. 'œWe can do the same, obviously.' In Washington, said John Nichols in The Nation, both Democrats and Republicans are beginning to whisper about the vice president's 'œtenuous ties to reality.'

Even inside the Bush administration, the doubts about Cheney's judgment are growing, said Michael Abramowitz in The Washington Post. Cheney, for example, has always opposed negotiating with North Korea over its nukes; nevertheless, the State Department recently signed a deal with Pyongyang. The White House has also backed away from Cheney's insistence that the president's wartime authority is absolute, agreeing to allow judicial review of its surveillance program. But that doesn't mean Bush himself has written off Cheney, said Mark Silva in the Chicago Tribune. The two men have a symbiotic relationship, and the president still seems to be using 'œhis sharp-tongued No. 2 to launch the most searing offensives against critics.'

Thank goodness for that, said Jay Nordlinger in National Review Online. With the pressure to 'œretreat' in Iraq mounting, it's comforting to know Bush can rely on a man who couldn't care less about the media or polls. Actually, that cuts both ways, said Bruce Bartlett in Realclearpolitcs.com. Bush has said the fact that Cheney has no desire to be president means his counsel is not based on personal ambition. But there's a flip side. Bush has surrounded himself with sycophants who reinforce his 'œgo it alone attitude,' and badly needs an advisor who will give him the unvarnished truth. When he talks to Cheney, though, he's exchanging views with a guy who lives in the same airtight bubble.

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