Der Kasematte Macht Frei

WaPo's David Ignatius:

I would be inclined to leave Cheney to the mercy of Jon Stewart and Jay Leno if it weren't for other signs that this administration has jumped the tracks. What worries me most is the administration's misuse of intelligence information to advance its political agenda. For a country at war, this is truly dangerous.
...
Bush and Cheney are in the bunker. That's the only way I can make sense of their actions. They are steaming in a broth of daily intelligence reports that highlight the grim terrorist threats facing America. They have sworn blood oaths that they will defend the United States from its adversaries -- no matter what . They have blown past the usual rules and restraints into territory where few presidents have ventured -- a region where the president conducts warrantless wiretaps against Americans in violation of a federal statute, where he authorizes harsh interrogation methods that amount to torture.

When critics question the legality of the administration's actions, Bush and Cheney assert the commander in chief's power under Article II of the Constitution. When Congress passes a law forbidding torture, the White House appends a signing statement insisting that Article II -- the power of the commander in chief -- trumps everything else. When the administration's Republican friends suggest amending the wiretapping law to make its program legal, the administration refuses. Let's say it plainly: This is the arrogance of power, and it has gone too far in the Bush White House.

Right on.

The apologists have acted all indignant, calling the hunting incident a "non-story", but they're wrong.  It's not really the shooting per se, but the Veep's odd response and strange, contradictory bits of info that has caused raised eyebrows. 

Yes, there's a fair bit of musing about whether alcohol was involved--my drinking buddy Occam thinks there was--and discussions about Cheney's clear violation of basic firearms safety practices, the completely unsporting hunts he enjoys, not to mention his not even having the proper stamp for his license.  To me, though, the story is really that this whole thing is just another data point the larger context of how BushCo has operated for 5+ years. 

Their first instinct is always to delay, obfuscate and demand we move on whenever anything happens.  ANYTHING.  No matter how small, if something doesn't conform to the nice and neat reality they wish to project they must distort it or, failing that, destroy it.

It's hard to have a solid grip on reality when you live in the bunker and only come out to hunt snipe.

ntodd