Walter Mondale: The Vice Precedent

[babylonsister]

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0307/2999.html

The Vice Precedent

By: Walter F. Mondale
March 6, 2007 01:12 PM EST

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But now we face another problem. Under the Bush-Cheney administration, the vice president has stepped over the line. Vice President Cheney, I believe, has gone beyond what should be permitted. I believe that Cheney has reached out to influence and pressure the legitimate and essential leadership of government and the agencies upon which the president and our government must depend.

Most of these efforts have seemed directed toward "fixing the facts" surrounding the Iraq war and managing the flow of public information or disinformation. We have seen his tracks in seeking to influence the judgment of intelligence agencies as they prepare their findings. He has established a huge National Security Council-type staff which, operating under the power and influence of the vice presidency, has helped to implement Cheney's agenda.

He has also been publicly involved in asserting as fact all -- not just some -- of the reasons for entering the war that we now know were either false or seriously disputed within the government.

I don't think President Carter would have tolerated this kind of behavior because it would have compromised the integrity of the agencies upon which he depended to conduct his presidency. While the Bush-Cheney precedent needs to be better understood by scholars and by the public, I think we know enough even now to be alarmed by what we have seen.

A vice president's status in an administration is almost entirely the president's decision. I hope our next president's relationship with the vice president will be carefully shaped to avoid the dangers of the Cheney precedent.

Walter F. Mondale served as vice president of the United States from 1977 to 1981.