Cheney On Obama, Detroit

Former Vice President Dick Cheney is at it again--sort of--accusing President Obama of "trying to pretend" we are not at war. The accusation comes to us in the form of a statement to Politico. It should be noted that it's one thing to stage a speech in Washington on the same day Obama addresses national security matters, as Cheney did earlier this year, and another thing to respond to a newspaper's request for comment. We already know, more or less, what Cheney thinks about Obama and what's now become of the Bush-era Global War on Terror. It's an irreconcilable clash of paradigms.

Here's the statement Cheney gave to Politico:

"As I've watched the events of the last few days it is clear once again that President Obama is trying to pretend we are not at war. He seems to think if he has a low-key response to an attempt to blow up an airliner and kill hundreds of people, we won't be at war. He seems to think if he gives terrorists the rights of Americans, lets them lawyer up and reads them their Miranda rights, we won't be at war. He seems to think if we bring the mastermind of Sept. 11 to New York, give him a lawyer and trial in civilian court, we won't be at war.

"He seems to think if he closes Guantanamo and releases the hard-core Al Qaeda-trained terrorists still there, we won't be at war. He seems to think if he gets rid of the words, 'war on terror,' we won't be at war. But we are at war and when President Obama pretends we aren't, it makes us less safe. Why doesn't he want to admit we're at war? It doesn't fit with the view of the world he brought with him to the Oval Office. It doesn't fit with what seems to be the goal of his presidency -- social transformation -- the restructuring of American society. President Obama's first object and his highest responsibility must be to defend us against an enemy that knows we are at war."