Rumbling blunders

Lately, Cheney is taking a much deserved hammering in the press. One poll has his approval rating at 19%. I thought more Americans would be more enthusiastic about legal torture and that his position as national oracle was secure. Maybe not.

I also always thought there wasn’t much to Cheney. That he was truly an empty suit who had mastered the art of slow talking deeply, thus giving every utterance the weight of bedrock. His success is the triumph of form over content. His product: political lies and gibberish and world domination delusions rumbled down to us as if from Mount Sinai.

Not only is Cheney being revealed as a liar and an advocate of torture as defense policy, but more and more writers are discovering Cheney’s lengthy list of incompetent moves.

Here’s a year old profile, The Curse of Dick Cheney, from the Rolling Stone, which gives a good account of the real rodent squeak behind the contrived rumble of gravitas.

Here's a sample from near the end:

Those who have known him over the years remain astounded by what they describe as his almost autistic indifference to the thoughts and feelings of others. "He has the least interest in human beings of anyone I have ever met," says John Perry Barlow, his former supporter. Cheney's freshman-year roommate, Steve Billings, agrees: "If I could ask Dick one question, I'd ask him how he could be so unempathetic."

Enjoy it all here.

New New Jersey Senator?

In January newly elected New Jersey Governor John Corzine gets to appoint someone to finish his term in the Senate. The list of possible appointees so far circulated is pretty bland. Here's another suggestion.

Jon Corzine needs to appoint Bruce Springsteen to the United States Senate.

Crazy? Not any crazier than a violent action-flick actor from Austria with steroid use and groping allegations who can't even properly pronounce the name of his home state getting elected as its governor (a job with a lot more responsibility than a senator, by the way). Or not any crazier than electing a retired pro wrestler to the statehouse. And not any crazier than another rock star from across the pond coming within an eyelash of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Read the whole article here, Link.

via Atrios