Has anyone seen Dick Cheney? He's the Vice-President of the United States. He's about 65,
stands about 6'1'', a little stout.
It's interesting that since 9-11, Mr. Cheney has become invisible. Previous to that event,
it seemed as if Mr. Cheney was running the country, and that Bush was just a figurehead.
But after 9-11, it seems as if Bush is the real President.
For example, on May30th, I did a search for all articles in the New York Times during the
last 30 days, concerning Vice-President Cheney. Here is what I found. These
articles show that Cheney did not issued any substantial statements on U.S. policy.
Nor did he seem to do anything particularly important during this month.
- A article in which he said that questioning the administration about what it knew before
Sept.11 is unpatriotic.
- Several articles concerning his previous company, Halliburton. Apparently it is
having an accounting scandal.
- Cheney called new terrorist attacks "almost certain".
- Regarding the Palestine issue:The debate in the Bush administration has divided along familiar lines,
officials said, with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney
pressing for a policy that would undermine Mr. Arafat's control over the Palestinian Authority
and pave the way for a change in leadership.
- Articles concerning his contacts with Enron, and his energy planning.
- Cheney comments concerning redistricting in NY
- Speech to Naval Academy
During the same month, President Bush issued statements on India and Pakistan.
He gave $250 million to his brother in Florida. He met with Putin in Russia.
This is just to name a few things that he did.
After 9-11, it was said that Cheney was in "a secure location". But this argument
seemed puzzling after a few months went by. The truth seems to be that Bush has
lost confidence in Cheney.
And why did Bush lose confidence? Was it something that Cheney did or said in the
days following 9-11? Or has Cheney's health significantly declined.
It's an interesting question.
Is it important? Should we care? I'm not sure.
Some people have argued that, although Vice-President Cheney has kept a low profile,
he is still wielding much power. I find this argument unsatisfying. In my opinion, the best
way to judge who has the power, is by seeing who makes the speeches, etc. Now, one could
argue that it is possible for unseen characters to have power. This may be true. But if
it is true, then we really can never know anything about who is really in control.
So I think that we are compelled to assume that whoever is seen on TV is probably the
person in power.
If anyone has any articles regarding this topic,
please forward them to me.