I stumbled upon PBS, which rarely happens. The Jim Lehrer News Hour was on, and he was interviewing Vice President Dick Cheney. I have seen impersonations of him, spoofs, and embarrassing comments caught on tape. It has been a long time since I have actually listened to an unspliced interview with the man that is 'a heart beat away from the Presidency'. My curiosity was piqued.
I jumped in just as Jim Lehrer asked him a question regarding what he is proud of accomplishing, as he is now leaving the office. He responded with this administrations typical "We have not been attacked since 9-11. We have prevented another homeland attack on our civilians." What a surprise, right? Jim Lehrer followed up with, a question something like "Have there been many attempts? Why have we not been aware of such attacks?" His next answer surprised me. Maybe because I have been one of the hundreds of millions of citizens who go about their day-to-day responsibilities unaware of our threats. Vice President Cheney then listed off a longer list than expected of thwarted terrorist attacks, I only committed several to memory. They were: a multi-plane attack departing from London's Heathrow Airport, an airplane attack similar to 9-11 on several of the west coast high rises in a populated area, dirty bombs being distributed throughout the mainland in a coordinated attacks, and an airplane attack over O'Hare Airport in Chicago.
I was shocked. I wanted to know more information about these possibly devastating events. What kind of book could our intelligence community, or even this administration write about things we didn't know. Was it for our safety that these attacks were never leaked? Would it have helped their public image if we knew all the difficult decisions they truly had to make for our own safety? Probably minimally. Were these plans thwarted because of access the government had through the Patriot Act? Will we ever know? Is this why President Bush is convinced his legacy will eventually be redeemed with 20-20 hindsight? Questions we may never have the answers to. But I for one, would love to know!
8 comments:
I've spent the last few years judging the President and Vice President. And wasn't very impressed with decisions they made & the fact that they weren't doing what (I deemed) the majority of the people wanted.
But, I saw this interview last night with Dick Cheney. And listened to the President speak a few days ago. They both defended their actions whole-heartedly. And hearing about those thwarted attacks made me think... they have made decisions for this country based on the information that they have been given. Much of that information has not been passed on to us, the civilians. After watching these press conferences/interviews I was impressed. They both stuck to their guns. They believe in what they are doing and what they have done. No matter what the people think and what has been said about both of them, they both feel like they have done the right thing. It must have been tough to stay the course while the rest of us sent our disapproval their way. It's not easy to stand alone. I respect them for their resolve. You could argue that the President wasn't doing what WE wanted him to do. But, I do believe he did what he thought was best for the country. And maybe WE didn't have enough information to know better.
I don't know... I'm not informed about all of these issues like you guys are. But, I for one was impressed (for the first time in a long time) with both President Bush and VP Cheney.
I do think it might have changed people's opinions about them if we did have all of that information. And I think that President Bush is right that we won't really be able to tell what his legacy was until many years have passed and we can truly see the effects of his decisionts through hindsight. He may not be redeemed, but maybe we will have a greater appreciation for his time in office. Who knows?!?!
This makes me unpopular amongst both democrats and republicans but I think the world of both Bush and Cheney. They have been demonized and I absoutely disagree with many of their decisions and methods but I beleive that they are very very good men who are the right ones at the right time for our safety. I could go on and on about the things I think they did wrong but until I have been president and been privy to all they know and the weight they bear I simply say "I think they are good men who did their best".
I agree 100% with Gale. There is so much more that we DON'T know than we DO know about what's happening a lot of the time. The President, and Vice President, are carrying such a heavy weight and our job is to understand that they know a whole lot more than we do and they're trying to do their best. That's why it's so important to elect someone of high moral character. We will never fully understand what goes on behind closed doors in those meetings, but if we know that the President, and those around him, are truly good, honest people, than we can be assured that they're doing what they really believe is best, based on the knowledge that they have at the time. Isn't that what we all do?
I also agree with you Gale. Can we be 100% satisfied with all of our leaders? Impossible. But I really like Bush and Cheney and I feel they have gotten a very bad wrap. My best friend Steph works for the CIA. I remember her telling me one day--when Colin Powell was Sec. of State, how he had come to visit their office and congratulated them because they stopped a war that day. There is so much that goes on that we are totally unaware of. I mentioned this before, I do not know Cheney and I have never met him, but I know people who do, have and work with him. They say that he is the nicest man with a great heart and he is impressively intelligent. People can choose to look at him as an oil monger. Heaven forbid we give him any credit for being an expert in a particular industry.
I just found this blog--and I love it! I AGREE Gale--completely! So thank you! I wish I would have caught this interview.
You ladies are very easy to please. And I'll leave it at that.
Hey, I got your message before you deleted it. Funny things about that blasted email system. I'm all warm and fuzzy that conservatives can be just as snarky as liberals. And Bushman when Clinton left office, I and all democrats had to put up with the same thing so in the words of what WE were told when the courts gave the election to Bush in 2000 - Get over it.
Does it make it right? It drove me up the wall listening to my parents constantly demonize Clinton. And whats more interesting is now looking back, they are much LESS critical of him. Amazing what perspective does.
And yes, I wrote my response before realizing it accomplishes nothing. That is why I deleted it. Then commented on your blog, as an olive branch, a petition to have a momentary cease fire. If Israel and Hammas can do it, surely we can!
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