Don't worry, Dick: Hell is on the way.


Quite the tragedy: apparently Bush doesn't trust Cheney anymore. He's blaming the Veep and Rumsfeld for the lack of victory in Iraq.

(Wait -- I thought God was Bush's primary advisor on the war. And now he's blaming it on Cheney? Lame, W.)

But who's actually in charge here? (Hint: last I checked, it wasn't Bush.) To me this "distancing" kind of seems phony. Bush doesn't have the brains, the guts, or the morals to break away from Darth Cheney. It's quite possible they planned this together because they recognize that Cheney is even less popular than Bush, and by making it seem that Bush recognizes Cheney's badness, he might be able to win back a little credibility. All those Republicans who have finally come look upon the war and Cheney with suspicion would be relieved to see Bush "dump" Mr. Torture. It would confirm their original, hard-tested faith in the real goodness of the President. (Note that the story appears in a right-wing publication.) This may even explain why the VP had absolutely no shame about advocating torture, saying baseless things about "last throes," etc. Let's face it, Cheney's heart won't hold on much longer anyway. He could resign on health reasons in '06, and be replaced by someone like Rudy Giuliani or John McCain, who would give the GOP a much-needed injection of life -- and get himself a headstart on candidacy in 2008.

Too far fetched? I don't think so. It seems more likely to me that they negotiated this one than that Bush is really turning against Cheney. I think it's all for show, and tomorrow Cheney will be back doing Bush's homework for him again.