Cheney Smugs for the Camera
Matthew Rothschild, Editor, Progressive Magazine
A hero to the conservatives at the Republican Convention, Dick Cheney could not have found a more sympathetic crowd, except perhaps at the annual meeting of the Halliburton corporation.
He soaked up the applause, and then, in his smug monotone, began his case, oddly invoking the name of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who stood for everything Cheney opposes.
After the obligatory autobiographical bow to the promise of America, Cheney spent less than 10 percent of his time racing through Bush's domestic achievements. Granted, he did not have much to deal with there.
On the economy, he said, "President Bush delivered the greatest tax reduction in a generation, and the results are clear to see."
Indeed, they are: A net loss of one million jobs, stagnant wages, the stock market in the doldrums, and consumer confidence on the decline.
On health care, he said, "President Bush is making it more affordable and accessible to all Americans."
What's he talking about? A new government report just came out showing that 45 million Americans are without health care--more than ever before. And the cost of health care, for those who have it, keeps rising, with Americans having to shell out more for deductibles and premiums.
Cheney also praised No Child Left Behind, which is a disaster for school systems around the country.
That was it. He said nothing more about what Bush did domestically.
Then Cheney lavished all of 27 words about what Bush will do domestically in the next four years.
Here they are: "And there is more to do. Under this President's leadership, we will reform medical liability so the system serves patients and good doctors, not personal injury lawyers."
For all the rest of the speech, Cheney contented himself with reformulating insults about Kerry being too indecisive.
By contrast, he praised Bush's leadership qualities, including Bush's "wisdom and humility," both of which have been in short supply.
At first, playing good cop to the Swift Boat bad cops, Cheney tried to act magnanimously toward Kerry, which is difficult for him: "The President's opponent is an experienced Senator," Cheney said. "He speaks often of his service in Vietnam, and we honor him for it."
It is said that mafia godfathers, after ordering a hit, sometimes pay for the victim's funeral, and that's what Cheney's gesture was like.
But he couldn't help himself from joining the hit squad.