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The Spectacle Blog
In the past I have made quite clear my admiration for former Vice President Dick Cheney. So it will come as no surprise that I think his speech today at the American Enterprise Institute was pitch perfect. But I will say something stronger: I think that if somebody came to the subject fresh, with no preconceived notions, and watched (as so many of us did) President Barack Obama and Cheney back to back today, dueling across town, that open-minded person would believe that Cheney made a far stronger case. And oddly enough, Cheney's very lack of "style points" served only to emphasize rather than detract from the simple, straightforward weight of his message.
Obama looked and sounded like a politician posing for cameras while self-consciously striving for the loftiest rhetoric and the most subtle but hurtful denigrations of those who disagreed with him. His "moral preening" factor, though, was patently obvious, and a bit offensive.
Cheney looked and sounded like a man who is all business, all seriousness -- and wise. He did not pause to emphasize applause lines. He did not pose for the cameras. He did not raise or lower his voice for effect. He just gave us his message straight and unvarnished, and almost in a monotone. But the words were powerful enough to overcome all that, and the meaning of the words more powerful still.
Listen to Obama's speech, and you come away empty, as if you just were given the intellectual equivalent of meringue. Listen to Cheney, and you come away thinking you have just had the intellectual equivalent of a full, stick-to-your-ribs, meat-and-potatoes meal.
It really was a remarkable thing to be there at AEI. There was palpable tension int eh room as Obama failed, and failed, and failed for 28 whole minutes after his scheduled time to start his comments -- clearly trying to upstage Cheney by waiting to speak all the way until just beore Cheney himself was scheduled to start. There was a sense of something momentous, of a real challenge-and-response sort of situation. It was, if an AEI event can be so described, exciting. And it became even more of a mano-a-mano thing when Obama went on not for the pre-advertised 35 minutes, but for 50 whole minutes, as if deliberately trying to squeeze all life out of Cheney's own address.
Obama's gambit didn't work. It merely served to ratchet up the anticipation for Cheney's response. (Cheney was sort of funny when he opened by quipping that Obama never would have survived being in the House subject to its "five minute rule" for floor speeches.) And it became all the more remarkable when Cheney seemed to answer OBama point for point for point, often responding to the exact language Obama used -- even though Cheney's speech was handed out BEFORE Obama began talking, so it clearly was not a spur-of-the-moment tit for tat. In sum, the fact that Cheney so well anticipated Obama's screed served to emphaszie how well Cheney had thought through what he wanted to say.
And what Cheney wanted to say, and did say, was utterly superb. Watch the whole speech for yourself, here. (Do NOT read the speech if you can watch it. The text on the page is as prepared, not as delivered. Cheney cut out one gag paragraph at the beginning about heading a search for a new trustee, but inserted an EXTREMLY important paragraph later. In fact, here is his insertion, about the CIA people who did the interrogations: They were "“especially prepared to apply techniques within the boundaries of their training and the limits of the law. Torture was never permitted, and the methods were given careful, legal review before they were approved. Interrogators had authoritative guidance on the line between toughness and torture, and they knew to stay on the right side of it.”
Finally, as an aside, I loved Cheney's shot at the NY Times, here:
Our government prevented attacks and saved lives through the Terrorist Surveillance Program, which let us intercept calls and track contacts between al-Qaeda operatives and persons inside the United States. The program was top secret, and for good reason, until the editors of the New York Times got it and put it on the front page. After 9/11, the Times had spent months publishing the pictures and the stories of everyone killed by al-Qaeda on 9/11. Now here was that same newspaper publishing secrets in a way that could only help al-Qaeda. It impressed the Pulitzer committee, but it damn sure didn't serve the interests of our country, or the safety of our people.
Okay, that's enough for now. Hail to Richard Cheney, a great American.
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More Blog Posts by Quin Hillyer
http://spectator.org/blog/2009/05/21/cheney-was-terrific
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WendyG| 5.21.09 @ 7:28PM
Cheney was FABULOUS.
Mary| 5.21.09 @ 7:44PM
Dear Sister Josepha,
It was so good to see you after so many years. You look good, and you look happy.
Did you happen to watch President Obama today? What did you think? Did his words seem a fog of vapidity? I think so.
And how about Vice President Cheney -I understand it tweaks his detractors to refer to him as the Vice-President- wasn't he magnificently understated and precise? I thought so.
You know, his success, his vigor is supplied by a clear conscience. Remember when you told me that we sleep more restlessly as we age because our sins prick our dreamy conscience? You were a good girl. You are a good girl.
Sister, explain to me how this President can be thought of as an intellectual heavy-weight? He is platitudinous. He signifies nothing, though it's true his first class temperament is without fury and dispassionate. He never arrives; a President must arrive if he is to lead.
What of the excuse making? You would have never let me get away with that! I did clean the Convent, after all, on more than one occasion. You know, I can still summon the smell of it, at will.
You were a feminist in the good sense of that word. You thought that the life of the mind was not just reserved for men. And speaking of that, did you happen to catch Liz Cheney’s appearance?
The reporter interviewed her respectfully and she replied respectfully. That was good to see. She's smart. She'd make a good President or Vice-President. Perhaps she (or would that be her?) and Governor Sanford could form an exploratory team. On second thought that probably wouldn't work out too well; he’s not sold on “pre-emption.”
Sister, do you remember our later years when we read Edwin Arlington Robinson together: "Miniver Cheevy, child of scorn, grew lean while he assailed the seasons." Beautiful!
As time passes, I realize my blessings are uncountable. First among them, this grand experiment we call America.
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty…
Well, I won’t rehash old speeches.
Your health is strong; and I’m glad for that. May it hold and hold and hold until you’re ready to depart for still waters. You’ll be happy to learn that we still lift our glasses of wine to those who wish us ill, and I still think you’re the best teacher I ever had.
All the best,
Angel| 5.21.09 @ 7:53PM
Vice President Cheney is a true American hero--unlike the poser Biden who was banished to the Balkans for his reckless disclosure of the VP's secret emergency bunker. What a fool.
Diana| 5.21.09 @ 7:55PM
God bless you, Vice President Cheney. Thank you for your courage.
Pingback| 5.21.09 @ 8:19PM
Cheney was terrific — ButAsForMe links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Jilly| 5.21.09 @ 8:35PM
How tiresome is Obama's pontificating about his national security theories that he claims are morally superior to the successful steps the previous administration took to keep us safe. What arrogance to think he should be the arbiter of all things moral....this from a guy with much hidden past, and no track record of his own.
I think he's painting himself into a glass house corner.
Spicy Joker| 5.21.09 @ 8:46PM
It's too bad Cheney didn't speak out WHILE Bush was President. Instead, Cheney followed Karl Rove's "new tone" policy.
Smitty| 5.21.09 @ 8:56PM
Cheney didn't speak out during his eight years as VP because of his respect for President Bush. GW really dropped the ball when it came to defending his national security policies. He allowed the left to define him; and his weakness hurt the Republican party and our country. Bravo, Mr. Cheney!!
Jules Hamil| 5.21.09 @ 9:23PM
Thank God for Dick Cheney and his speech today. True Americans needed to hear his words. Every day since January 21, 2009 our family wonders what Obama will do to continue to destroy in America. His daily assault on our freedoms and our Country is getting scary. Cheney gave us hope that people still care for our America and that men of courage still exist. God Bless Dick Cheney.
Mark | 5.21.09 @ 9:41PM
I agree he was terrific, good analysis
http://mark24609.blogspot.com/2009/05/gloves-are-off-obama-vs-cheney.html
Aaron| 5.21.09 @ 10:51PM
I always been a fan of V.P. Cheney, I hope he has good security though, I'm sure Rahm is gunning for him.
Copper Castings| 5.21.09 @ 11:06PM
I agree he was terrific, good analysis
Smitty| 5.22.09 @ 12:21AM
Screw Rahmbo--he doesn't have the nads to mess with VP Cheney. The guy's a twit.
Pingback| 5.22.09 @ 4:33AM
Add Webz » Blog Archive » The American Spectator : AmSpecBlog : Cheney was terrific links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Pingback| 5.22.09 @ 6:33AM
» The American Spectator : AmSpecBlog : Cheney was terrific links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Henry| 5.22.09 @ 8:18AM
I watched the speeches on BBC international. They were not broadcast on CNN. Obama's speech was broadcast in its stupefying entirety. Cheney's was faded out. Afterwards a hired hack said both men said more or less the same thing! I know which man I would rather have in charge.
Steve| 5.22.09 @ 8:21AM
From the first campaign speech that George Bush and Dick Cheney gave it was clear we had gotten their positions reversed.
Mark| 5.22.09 @ 12:58PM
Excellent. You are right. Dick is a great American. Here is my analysis
Just the facts - Cheney told us how he was going to keep us safe, and Obama told us how he was not going to keep us safe.
Mark
http://mark24609.blogspot.com/2009/05/gloves-are-off-obama-vs-cheney.html
Oldefarte| 5.22.09 @ 4:20PM
There is one major difference between Obama's and Cheney's speeches-----Cheney told THE TRUTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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