Many people have compared Dick Cheney to the villain Darth Vader and John Edwards to the hero Luke Skywalker. It is an easy caricature to make – the old, grouchy, scowling, ex-CEO versus the young looking, upbeat, smiling, trial lawyer.
However, the reference I am thinking of comes from a very short scene in “Star Wars”. Luke Skywalker and his mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, are looking to hire a smuggler. Storm troopers interrogate our heroes, searching for two androids similar to the ones traveling with Skywalker and Kenobi. Surely, the troopers have caught our heroes red-handed!
That is when Kenobi saves the day using “the Jedi mind trick.” “These aren’t the droids you’re looking for,” Kenobi says hypnotically. The trooper agrees. “He can go about his business,” says Kenobi. The trooper repeats those words. “Move along,” finishes Kenobi. “Move along,” says the trooper, waving Skywalker to pass.
“Darth” Cheney has perfected the Jedi mind trick. He continues to mesmerize half the electorate with rosy assessments of Iraq, links between Saddam and terror, and glowing appraisals of his administration’s record, despite all evidence to the contrary.
The moderator’s first question to Cheney asked about the revelations by Paul Bremer that “we have never had enough troops on the ground,” Donald Rumsfeld’s assertion that “he has not seen any hard evidence of a link between al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein,” and a report that showed “no connection between Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and Saddam Hussein.”
Cheney responded by ignoring the question. The 9/11 attacks forced us to go to war. We will go after terrorists wherever they are found. Saddam was a sponsor of terrorism. No response to Bremer’s statement and complete contradiction of Rumsfeld’s and the report’s assertions. His defense is the usual Jedi mind trick.
The moderator asks, “If you get a second term, what is your plan to capture him [Osama bin Laden]?” Cheney responds, “[W]e’ve never let up on Osama bin Laden from day one. We’ve actively and aggressively pursued him…. and I’m confident eventually we’ll get him.”
So that’s your defense? You have – for three years! – been aggressively pursuing a six-foot-four Arab on kidney dialysis, who was cornered in the mountains of Tora Bora, and you could not get the job done? Never mind the fact that they did let up on Osama by outsourcing his capture to Afghan forces. Just keep repeating the Jedi mind trick.
Edwards corners Cheney on the fact that 90% of the costs and casualties of the war are borne by America. Cheney scolds him for not counting the Iraqi Defense Forces. “When you include the Iraqi security forces…” Cheney admonishes, “They’ve taken almost 50 percent of the casualties… which leaves the U.S. with 50 percent, not 90 percent.”
So that’s your defense? One thousand plus Americans dead is not so bad, because a thousand of the people we came to liberate are dead, too? Never mind that the Iraqis are still supporting none of the cost. Just wave the hand and chant the Jedi mind trick.
What about Halliburton’s business deals with Iran, at a time when the US had imposed unilateral sanctions? Cheney defends this by stating, “What happens when we impose unilateral sanctions is… other people move in and take advantage of the situation and you don’t have any impact, except to penalize American companies.”
So that’s your defense? We should not infringe on your profits by forbidding deals with Iran, because foreign companies were dealing with Iran? Heaven forbid we let a little thing like sanctions interfere with profit!
Edwards shines the light of truth on Halliburton. “[T]hey paid millions of dollars in fines for providing false information on their company… They did business with Libya and Iran… They’re now under investigation for having bribed foreign officials… [T]hey’ve gotten a $7.5 billion no-bid contract in Iraq, and instead of part of their money being withheld… because they‘re under investigation, they’ve continued to get their money.” Cheney again goes for the Jedi mind trick. “Well, the reason they keep mentioning Halliburton is because they‘re trying to throw up a smokescreen. They know the charges are false.”
So that’s your defense? Halliburton did pay millions in fines, did do business with two state sponsors of terrorism, and did get $7.5 billion even while under investigation. However, just claim that the current charges may be false and we can just ignore those other three facts.
Cheney claims of Edwards, “…you have a record in the Senate that‘s not very distinguished.” Edwards then points out the irony that as a Congressman, Cheney voted against Head Start, a plastic gun ban, the Department of Education, Meals on Wheels, the Dr. King holiday, and a resolution to call on the release of Nelson Mandela. Cheney replies, “Oh, I think his record speaks for itself. And frankly, it’s not very distinguished.”
So that’s your defense? That is not even a Jedi mind trick. That is the old “I’m rubber and you’re glue” defense.
When asked about creating jobs. Edwards points out that we have lost 1.6 million private sector jobs, lost 2.7 million manufacturing jobs, and added 4 million more Americans in poverty. Cheney’s response: “[T]he data he’s using is old data. It’s from 2003.”
So that’s your defense? Old data from all the way back in 2003? I guess there is no Jedi mind trick that will work on this issue. Iraq is a world away, congressional records are difficult to follow, but any American worker can tell when they are unemployed and poor.
These debates are forcing the administration to confront its own abysmal record. The Jedi mind tricks will not work anymore. Bush and Cheney’s defenses serve as indictment of their failures. They have had four years to catch Osama, find WMD’s, protect American troops, create jobs, revive the economy, and curb health care costs, and have failed every time.
John Edwards said it best last night. “Mr. Vice President, I don’t think the country can take four more years of this kind of experience.”
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_ | "RADICAL" RUSS BELVILLE | Read More at http://radicalruss.net/blog/
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