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Dick Cheney: Brutal, Uncompromising, Brilliant
Dick Cheney: Brutal, Uncompromising, Brilliant
Nile Gardiner at May 23, 2009
Forget Christian Bale in Terminator Salvation - the new leader of the resistance is Dick Cheney. The former vice president, who this time has been sent from the past to save the future rather than the other way round, has had an astonishing week. He's dominated much of the news with his barnstorming defence of the previous administration's counter-terrorism strategy, and completely overshadowed President Obama's weak-kneed and exceedingly dull speech at the National Archives. He's even been getting a big boost in the polls even though he's not running for any kind of office. According to CNN, Cheney's up eight points since he left government, not bad for a figure the Left continues to demonize as the Antichrist.
You've got to hand it to the 68-year old Cheney. He's come out swinging like Jake LaMotta, and as Toby Harnden blogged earlier, is landing several well-placed blows. Cheney's speech at the American Enterprise Institute was brutal, uncompromising and brilliant. In contrast to President Obama's highly confusing address across town, which frankly could have been written by the European Commission on a slow day, Cheney adopted a compelling take-no-prisoners approach which generated hundreds of hours of air time across the news networks. It was old-fashioned John Wayne-style stuff, summed up by the former veep's classic line that "there is no middle ground" in the war against Islamist terrorists (aka Overseas Contingency Operation).
There is something very reassuring about a leader who never apologizes for America's actions, possesses no self-doubts about defending his country, and who believes his nation must do what is necessary to crush al-Qaeda. The spectacular return of Dick Cheney on the political stage is a huge breath of fresh air after months of suffocating liberal dominance in Washington. Let's hope he's here to stay.
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