Lame Duck?

A frightening scenario outlined by Andrew Sullivan in his weekly Times column.

This is all he’s got left. The mighty power of the presidency, a predilection for sudden action, and absolutely nothing to lose. This lame duck, in other words, could quack or fly without warning. And Washington, for all its increasingly open contempt for him, is rattled by the possibility. They don’t know what’s coming; but they know they’ll have to adjust.

In this, perhaps for the first time, even Republicans are having a familiar experience. They now know what it’s like to be a European with this president. And they are longing for it to be over.

I've always believed it was Dick Cheney who was pulling the strings. How far back does the relationship go? It is well known that George W Bush asked Cheney to select a candidate for VP but how influential was Cheney in pushing forward GWB's nomination, preparing an empty vessel that he could then fill at will?

The only issue that Bush deserves credit for is his stand on immigration. It's his personal knowledge from his background in Texas that drives this. Everything else has been driven by Cheney. Remember the president's questioning by the 9/11 commission - he wouldn't do it without his VP.

This video says it all.