Here is the lead paragraph of the story:
WASHINGTON -- When President Bush and the two top Democrats in the House met with reporters on Thursday, Vice President Dick Cheney was largely silent, sitting impassively with his characteristic half-smile. "All three of us recognize that when you win, you have a responsibility to do the best you can for the country," declared Bush, apparently forgetting that the vice president was there to make it a foursome.
Half smile? Is that another way of saying smirk -- their favorite attack word against Bush himself?
And, what is with the "forgetting that the vice president was there to make it a foursome"? Since when has a Vice President been considered a separate political entity, one not directly tied to the President making them, in essence, one mind?
Bush would naturally not include the VP in the threesome of Pelosi, Reid and himself. Cheney isn't an autonomous player in the situation. That IS, after all, the whole POINT of being Vice President. You back the President 100% in public. And if you don't there is a major problem between the two and the Executive branch is in turmoil.
About the only time a Vice President is heard nay-saying his president is when he has been wholly cut out and is sulking back in his home state having had little connection to the seat of power. Sort of like when "Cactus Jack" Garner, FDR's first VP, said from Texas that the Vice Presidency wasn't worth a warm bucket of spit... though everyone is SURE he said a warm bucket of **explitive deleted**, and not spit! Garner realized he had little place in FDR's scheme of making decisions and resented it.
The rest of the article describes how Cheney is going to attempt to secure his power base without Rumsfeld by his side, how he will try to get his favorites placed in positions of influence, etc., etc.
Interestingly the Globe leaves out of the story the biggest influence on Cheney's power: President Bush himself. They present the story as if Bush has already made it clear that Cheney is out as a chief advisor or that Cheney has to figure some arcane way to worm his way back into power with Bush. But, the Globe also does not bother to explain why they approach the story in this manner.
Of course, we know why. It's because they are doing their best to diminish the Vice President in hopes that their wish will be fulfilled. They hope to damage the President and Vice President because they fear his close relationship with President Bush.
Still, after the whole article is done, and after all their wishful thinking, the Globe glumly states the obvious:
The bottom line seems to be that Cheney doesn't need Rumsfeld to remain the administration's pre eminent policy maker.
Well, there you have it. Another Bush is a puppet and Cheney runs it all behind the scenes jab.
It must be so frustrating to be the Globe.
