James Klurfeld
© 2003, Newsday
This isn’t how Papa Bush and the handlers thought it would work out. Not when they put solid Dick Cheney in charge of the kid’s government.
With all of his experience in government, from White House chief of staff to congressional leader to secretary of defense, Cheney was the one who would avoid the big mistakes, who would make up for Junior’s lack of experience.
And yet President Bush is going into his re-election year with one huge mess on his hands in Iraq. It isn’t only that much of the world is bewildered if not downright scared at the administration’s arrogant unilateralism; it’s that a good segment of the American people have begun to question the president’s judgment and credibility because of how Iraq was handled.
Cheney was supposed to prevent something like this from happening. He was supposed to protect the not so well prepared W. from the big mistakes. And yet, as more accounts of the maneuvering inside the administration are revealed, it is increasingly clear that it was Cheney who was the moving force behind the decision to fight a war of choice against Iraq.
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http://www.arbiteronline.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/12/08/3fd628861d1ba