Damage Vice-President Cheney Did to the United States

Damage Vice-President Cheney Did to the United States

Sarah Palin says she will increase the Power of the Vice Presidency

by Carole Bell

One of the worst things the George W. Bush administration has done to the United States of America is the arrogantly taking of power that did not belong to the Presidency or the Vice-Presidency. It’s painful to see the lasting damage both President Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney have done to our Constitution, the basic foundation of the United States.

The Constitution was never meant to be partisan, to be bent to achieve the goals of one political party over the basic Democracy it created. Under Cheney’s Vice-Presidency, serious attempts have been made, and powers not granted have been taken, to change the set-up created by the U.S. Constitution. This travesty of politicians sworn to protect the United States who have, at the highest levels of government, attempted rape of the Democracy Americans hold most dear will be the ultimate non-legacy of the Bush Administration. 

What did George Bush do? He looked the other way while his Vice-President Dick Cheney grabbed power he had no right to take.  What did Dick Cheney do?

He played a role not given to him by the Constitution, "in starting the war with Iraq, in misleading Americans about weapons of mass destruction, in leading the charge to create illegal prison camps where detainees are tortured, in illegally wiretapping Americans, in creating an energy policy that favored the oil industry that made him very rich before the administration began."

This scathing indictment of Dick Cheney was in a New York Times editorial condemning both Cheney’s actions, and the apparently utter lack of understanding of these actions by Republican candidate Sarah Palin. 

"Exactly, frighteningly wrong" is the way the Times phrased Palin’s understanding, or lack of it, of the legal powers of the Vice-President.

Cheney’s "bizarre view" that the President was not powerful enough led to his dedicating himself to expand Bush’s authority and appropriating powers of all three branches of the U.S. government that are not granted by law.

Sarah Palin did not show she understands what the Vice-President does when asked about it in the Vice-Presidential debate.

"We have a lot of flexibility in there" she said, declaring how thankful she is that "the Constitution would allow a bit more authority given to the Vice President also, if that Vice President so chose to exert it."

GO DIRECTLY TO JAIL! DO NOT PASS GO!  This is not in the U.S. Constitution!

Cheney is "the most dangerous Vice-President we’ve had in American history." That’s what Joe Biden, Democratic candidate for Vice-President, called Cheney during the debate. 

Cheney, who hugely enriched himself in ways that are known, and possibly still not known, feeding off Americans’ appetites for oil and his political connections, is not a Vice-President we can be proud of.

Do you think Sarah Palin would be? Her understanding of foreign policy is like that of a high school student doing last-minute cramming for a test; and she said she thinks it’s great that the Vice-President can expand the limits the Constitution specifically places
on that role.

Worse, with John McCain’s age and his failure to release complete medical records, Palin would be in direct position to be in charge of the whole enchilada.

Perhaps she could look out at the Potomac, see it’s nearness to the Atlantic, and believe she could understand the complexity of the special relationship with Britain since they shared a "water boundary" in each country’s vicinity.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:  Carole Bell is an American author and professional speaker living in England, United Kingdom.  She practiced law in California, and previously, did PR for 20th Century-Fox and the ABC Television Network.  Her web site is Americans Away From Home at www.americans-away-from-home.com