Dick Cheney: The Real President?
The Man Behind the Curtain
Dick Cheney, huh? The name alone conjures images of shadowy backrooms, whispered deals, and a level of influence that makes your average politician look like a toddler playing with Lincoln Logs. This article calls him the "most influential vice president in modern U.S. history." Let's be real – that's like saying a great white shark is a "pretty effective" swimmer.
The guy was basically a prime minister in disguise, pulling strings while Dubya was busy... well, doing whatever it was Dubya did. Remember that whole "secret undisclosed location" thing after 9/11? Give me a break. It was like a Bond villain lair, only instead of plotting world domination, he was just figuring out how to invade Iraq. Or so they say.
And the Iraq War? Don't even get me started. The article says he was "arguably the driving force." Arguably? That's like saying the sun "arguably" causes sunburns. He was obsessed with secrecy, American power, and preserving the authority of the president... which, conveniently, translated to expanding his own power. As Dick Cheney: The most influential vice president in modern American history notes, Cheney's influence extended to his involvement with Halliburton.
From Wyoming to... Well, Wyoming, Again
It's funny, isn't it? He started out as a soil conservation official's son from Wyoming – a state so irrelevant it makes Rhode Island look like a global superpower. Then, boom, Yale, dropped out, back to school, then suddenly, he's Rumsfeld's right-hand man, navigating the Nixon and Ford administrations like a seasoned pro.
The article mentions his "quiet competence." That's putting it mildly. The guy was a bureaucratic ninja, maneuvering through the corridors of power while everyone else was busy grandstanding. He knew how to get things done, even if it meant bending a few rules – or, you know, starting a war based on faulty intelligence.
And that Halliburton gig? Please. Let's not pretend that wasn't a massive conflict of interest waiting to happen. "Business-friendly administration," they called it. I call it legalized corruption.
The Heartbeat Away... From Sanity?
The article mentions his numerous heart attacks. Ironic, isn't it? A guy so ruthless, so focused on power, was constantly battling his own mortality. But maybe that's what fueled him. Maybe he figured he had nothing to lose, so why not go all in?
And the neo-cons? He was their mentor, apparently. Pushing for the invasion of Iraq to "promote reform across the Middle East." Yeah, how'd that work out for everyone? It's like trying to fix a broken clock with a sledgehammer. Offcourse, he probably didn't care about the "reform" part. Just the "American power" part.
The article quotes Brent Scowcroft saying, "Dick Cheney, I don't know any more." That pretty much sums it up. The guy was an enigma, a black box of political calculation and ruthless ambition.
But wait, are we really supposed to believe that one man, even with all the power in the world, could have single-handedly shaped an entire era of American foreign policy? I mean, come on... Then again, maybe I'm giving everyone else too much credit.
