Cheney
Not what he used to be.
The Bush administration still has a chance to recover, said John Heilemann in New York magazine. But the 'œCheney administration is over.' Considered 'œthe most influential vice president' in history, Dick Cheney has spent the past five years discreetly whispering in George W. Bush's ear, lobbying heavily for the invasion of Iraq, and pushing the administration's energy, tax, and environmental policies to the extreme right. But over the past year, the popularity of the behind-the-scenes power broker has plummeted, as critics have zeroed in on how he sold the war to the American public. The final blow may have been last week's indictment of his top aide, I. Lewis 'œScooter' Libby, in the CIA leak investigation. The indictment says Libby learned the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame not from reporters, as he had claimed, but from Cheney himself. It wasn't a crime for Cheney to tell another official about Plame, but it puts Cheney at the center of the campaign to publicly discredit her husband, war critic Joseph Wilson. Suddenly, Washington is filled with 'œmurmurings''”unimaginable a few months ago'”that Bush may even want to replace the man he fondly calls 'œVice.'
Even if Cheney keeps his job, said Howard Fineman and Richard Wolffe in Newsweek, his influence is clearly waning. In foreign affairs, where Cheney's hawkish, unilateral views were once predominant, the more conciliatory Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is now the leading voice. Bush aides now insist that Cheney's influence was always overstated. 'œEven if they are rewriting history, the revision is politically significant'”and an ominous sign for Cheney in a city where power is the appearance of power.' Even more ominous, said Andrew Sullivan in the London Times, is the fact that special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald hasn't closed the book on his investigation. 'œSome kind of plea deal by Libby'”a shorter sentence in return for naming names in the underlying case?'”is not inconceivable. If I were Cheney, I'd be sweating.'
Nicholas Kristof
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.
The New York Times
National Review Online
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
-
The best new music of 2024 by genre
The Week Recommends Outstanding albums, from pop to electro and classical
By The Week UK Published
-
Nine best TV shows of 2024 to binge this Christmas
The Week Recommends From Baby Reindeer and Slow Horses to Rivals and Shogun, here are the critics' favourites
By The Week UK Published
-
Crossword: December 28, 2024
The Week's daily crossword puzzle
By The Week Staff Published