Ya think?
Obviously, for either of those two, it failed to register. And the same can be said about our most recent ex-President since, at this point, it's become clear that history, in its own, often snidely subtle manner, may have again repeated itself in the form of the absolute destruction wreaked on the Presidential legacy of George W. Bush by his clearly amoral and possibly sociopathic Vice President, Dick Cheney (who, ironically was Chief of Staff for Nixon's successor, Gerald Ford); carried out in a manner not all that dissimilar to that which was wrought upon the Nixon legacy by his second in command.
What is easily gleaned even from brief reviews of his just-published memoir, "In My Time," (which sounds like the title of a Mary J. Blige torch song), is that when it comes to "going rogue," Palin ain't got nothing on Dick Cheney. Considering the increase in the power of the Vice-Presidency that occurred during Cheney's time, one can only guess what kind of havoc a Vice President Palin would have inflicted on America's image and our way of life by now had McCain been elected. The possibilities seem limitless. Nonetheless, it's difficult to imagine that even someone as bat-shyte off-kilter as Palin has enough "mama grizzly" in her craw to have had as negative an impact on the future of the planet as has Dick Cheney.
The epic failure which was the presidency of George W. Bush is, of course, multi-dimensional. It's an Omni-tragic flameout that encompasses virtually every area of the lives of people not just here in America, but throughout the world. But perhaps the two most obvious (and what will likely become Bush's most enduring) failures involve the rapid demise of America's geo-political stature and prestige, and the partial meltdown of both the national and global economy. Bush has been almost universally credited for the thorough trashing of both. Cheney's book seems to indicate that at least in one of those areas, Dubya might be getting too much credit.
While the connection of the near economic collapse to Bush's political legacy is apt to say the least, the caricature of the combat-averse Bush as "War President" seems clearly misplaced. That's a bit of self-deception that lines up more appropriately with the persona of a full-blown chicken-hawk; that ultra-patriotic "warrior" who rarely has time to fight wars, but manages to find plenty of time to plan them. And of course, during the Bush era, the fundamental basis for any talk of war was always rooted in the advancement of the "Bush Doctrine."
If it's fair to include lying to the American people ; subverting the Constitution; waging pre-emptive wars; and engaging in torture , as integral components of the Bush Doctrine, it becomes much easier to conclude that doctrine to be an enunciation of American exceptionalism/imperialism which is as much the embodiment of someone as diabolical as Dick Cheney as the Powell Doctrine is of former Secretary of State Colin Powell. But it certainly doesn't seem a reflection of the true, "all hat and no cattle" persona of George W. Bush, a persona soft enough, despite all the "mission accomplished" flight-suited flights of frenzy, to have enabled Bush to convincingly run for President as a "compassionate conservative." But in all frankness, Dubya just doesn't come across as having the smarts required of the truly diabolical. Easily swayed? Quite likely. Diabolically sinister? Doubtful.
Indeed from the earliest indications of the possibility of a Bush presidency, it seemed clear who, in a George W. Bush administration, would be pulling major strings.
Some may recall when then-Governor Bush initially selected Cheney to head up a Vice presidential search committee and how after what he'd likely call an exhaustive and thorough search, Cheney unabashedly concluded that among any number of very qualified potential candidates from which to choose, the best person Dick Cheney could find for the job was Dick Cheney. Of course it was ultimately Bush's decision whether or not to co-sign onto Cheney's conclusion. The fact that Bush did so simply means that in essence, it was Cheney who appointed himself Vice President, not Bush.
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