It speaks eloquently to the Obama administration’s priorities that it took the White House four days to acknowledge the “catastrophic breach of security” that led to the failed bombing of a US-bound jet on Christmas Day — but a scant four hours to accuse Dick Cheney of coddling terrorists.
The former vice president Wednesday harshly criticized the administration’s efforts — or non-efforts — against terrorism. Whereupon, Team Obama went ballistic.
But Cheney’s take was spot-on: “We are at war” against terrorism, but President Obama “pretends we aren’t.” This, warned Cheney, “makes us less safe.”
Precisely.
Obama, he said, “seems to think that if he gives terrorists the rights of Americans, lets them lawyer up and reads them their Miranda rights, we won’t be at war.
“He seems to think that if he closes Guantanamo and releases the hardcore al Qaeda-trained terrorists still there, we won’t be at war.”
“Why doesn’t he want to admit we’re at war?” asked Cheney — then answered the question: “It doesn’t fit with what seems to be the goal of his presidency — social transformation, the restructuring of American society.”
Amen to that.
In response, White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer actually claimed that Cheney was “more focused on criticizing the administration than condemning the attackers.”
That’s a laugh.
Dick Cheney — the man who, as one blogger put it, would waterboard terrorists until their lungs qualify for federal wetlands status — soft on terrorism?
More to the point, Cheney unhesitatingly identifies the murderous ideology that motivates Islamist jihad — which is more than the Obama administration has ever done.
All of which just reinforces what Cheney was saying: These guys simply don’t get it.
That the White House feels the need to respond to Cheney so quickly and vehemently suggests two things:
* First, that they believe the former veep is a lot more popular and influential than they’d care to let on.
* Second, that his words are more reflective of reality than they’ll ever admit.
The truth, especially when spoken to power, really can hurt.