Cheney on credibility issues: “We’ve got issues we need to work through…”

Crooks and Liars...

Schieffer: Does this administration have a credibility problem?

Cheney: I don't think so Bob, ummm…I think obviously we've got issues we need to work through. You do the best you can with what you've got obviously and I think on reflection that indeed the record of the President and his administration will stand up well to scrutiny…

Sorry…I-can't-stop-laughing….Remember Rumsfeld saying:

As you know, ah, you go to war with the army you have—not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time…

He says he has no idea what's going on with the DOJ…OK, sure thing Dick….Gonzo has been preparing like mad so he'll have his talking points together…Well, maybe not… He sure is cramming for the big test though..

Cheney says he hasn't spoken to his BFF Scooter Libby since the trial and when Bob asked him if he feels responsible for Libby's problems, Cheney refused to comment.

LINK: Cheney on credibility issues: “We’ve got issues we need to work through…”

Wow, Cheney usually doesn't slip and admit things like that.
-Mr. Joseph

Four Years in Iraq Today...

In light of the anniversary today, I have three items to post...

TP:

Robert Greenwald’s Brave New Foundation has launched an online war memorial that honors members of the U.S. armed forces who lost their lives serving in Iraq. The Memorial is a collection of video memories from family, friends, and military colleagues of those who have fallen.

Monday marks the four year anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. See our timeline HERE.

VIDEO / LINK: A video memorial to the fallen.

Think Progress's Mailing List, the Progress Report put this together...

IRAQ
Four Years of Chaos On March 19, 2003, President Bush spoke to the nation from the Oval Office and announced that the United States was invading Iraq. "Our nation enters this conflict reluctantly -- yet, our purpose is sure. ... [O]ur forces will be coming home as soon as their work is done." Four years later, the American public is no longer sure what the President's "purpose" was for invading Iraq, nor do we know when our troops will be coming home. Instead of "reluctantly" going to war, "the president and his administration exaggerated, cherry-picked and simplified" intelligence that it then used to tell the American public, wrongly, that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. As a result, approximately 3,200 American troops have died, the military is overextended, and the world is less safe. Violence in Iraq continues to skyrocket, and Bush's escalation seems to be driving the United States into "a much deeper and longer-term role in policing Iraq than since the earliest days of the U.S. occupation." The White House has indicated that Bush's plans for today include "going about business as usual," including "playing host to the 2006 NCAA football champions, the University of Florida 'Gators.'" The Progress Report has put together a timeline looking back over the past 48 months HERE.

IRAQIS ARE LESS SECURE: On March 17, 2003, Bush declared to Iraqis, "The day of your liberation is near." Yet at least 150,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed in violence since the beginning of the war. Car bombings reached an all-time high in January and February, and for the first time, the Pentagon last week acknowledged that "some of the violence in Iraq can be described as a civil war." It was the Pentagon's "bleakest assessment of the war to date." The report also found that two-thirds of the Iraqi people "believe that conditions are worsening, and as many as 9,000 are fleeing the country each month." A new BBC/ABC News poll finds that fewer than 40 percent of Iraqis "said things were good in their lives," compared to 71 percent two years ago. One Jan. 10, Bush announced his plan to send 21,500 more combat troops to Baghdad, promising it would "help the Iraqis carry out their campaign to put down sectarian violence and bring security to the people of Baghdad." On March 6, Bush declared his plan to be working. "Yet even at this early hour, there are some encouraging signs," he stated. But as the Washington Post reported, "Sectarian attacks in Baghdad are down at the moment, but the deaths of Iraqi civilians and U.S. troops have increased outside the capital." Bush also claimed that "Iraqi and U.S. forces have rounded up more than 700 people affiliated with Shia extremists." But according to a military official, Bush's numbers appear "to have little to do with the new strategy. The number is ' based on captures...since July 2006.' ... Bush first reported the same roundup -- citing 600 captures -- last fall." Iraqi officials are also falling behind on the benchmarks of progress it promised to meet. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has announced that will miss his "self-imposed deadline for reshuffling the Cabinet," and just two Iraqi brigades and one battalion of a third have arrived in Baghdad, despite the Iraqi government's promise to employ three brigades.

TROOPS ARE LESS PREPARED: In 2000, Bush stated, "To point out that our military has been overextended, taken for granted and neglected, that's no criticism of the military. That is criticism of a president and vice president and their record of neglect." Yet now, as all signs point to a military that is overextended, the Bush administration is trying to deflect criticism and claim that the military's readiness is "unprecedented." In reality, the U.S. Army's preparedness for war "has eroded to levels not witnessed by our country in decades." Virtually all of the U.S.-based Army combat brigades are "rated as unready to deploy," Army officials say, and a recent Pentagon survey found that troops in Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from chronic shortages of armored vehicles, heavy weapons, and communications equipment. Army and Marine Corps officials say it will take years for their forces to recover from a "death spiral," in which rapid war rotations have "consumed 40 percent of their total gear, wearied troops, and left no time to train to fight anything other than the insurgencies now at hand." "We have a strategy right now that is outstripping the means to execute it," Army chief of staff Gen. Peter Schoomaker recently told the Senate Armed Services Committee. Similarly, troops coming back from war -- with unprecedented levels of mental health disorders -- are facing a bureaucracy unprepared to deal with them, as the Walter Reed scandal highlighted. Seventy-six percent of Americans, including a majority of Republicans, believe the Bush administration hasn't "done enough to care for [Iraq war] veterans." Bush plans to "cut funding for veterans' health care two years from now," even though "the cost of providing medical care to veterans has been growing rapidly -- by more than 10 percent in many years."

WORLD IS LESS SAFE: The Center for American Progress and Foreign Policy magazine recently released their second "Terrorism Index," a bipartisan survey of America's top national security experts. The consensus: the world is growing more dangerous, and America is losing the war on terror. Eighty-one percent of Terrorism Index respondents "see a world that is growing more dangerous for the American people, while 75 percent say the United States is losing the war on terror." Among the 81 percent of experts who believe the world is becoming "more dangerous" to the United States, a large plurality identified the Iraq war as the primary cause. These results are supported by the findings of the National Intelligence Estimate released last fall, which stated that "the Iraq jihad is shaping a new generation of terrorist leaders and operatives," and that Iraq "has become the "cause celebre" for jihadists." Nearly six in 10 experts of all political stripes say the Bush administration is doing the "worst possible job" in Iraq and fully 88 percent of the experts believe the war in Iraq is undermining U.S. national security.

TIME TO REDEPLOY: "For the first time since the Iraq war began, less than half of Americans believe the United States can win in Iraq, a CNN poll said Tuesday. Just 46 percent think the United States will win." Fifty-eight percent of Americans "want to see U.S. troops leave Iraq either immediately or within a year." Forty-nine countries joined Bush's Coalition of the Willing at the start of the Iraq war. By mid-2007, just 20 countries will remain after Britain, Denmark, and South Korea reduce their forces. Even National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley recently acknowledged that some Iraqis want the U.S. military presence to be, "over." The Center for American Progress has a plan called "Strategic Redeployment" that calls for a gradual drawdown of American troops coupled with increased engagement with Iraq's political leaders. The plan goes beyond the debate between "cutting and running" and "staying the course" to show how we can more effectively achieve success in Iraq. The House Appropriations Committee also recently approved legislation to calling for troops to "leave Iraq before Sept. 2008, and possibly sooner if the Iraqi government does not meet certain benchmarks."

Get the Progress Report HERE...(Enter your email address on the right)

And finally, my local Senator, Russ Feingold sent this letter out in his mailing list...

Dear Joseph,

Four years ago today, President Bush embarked on what has become the greatest foreign policy mistake in the history of our nation. The reckless and coercive drive to war, the botched handling of the reconstruction and occupation, and the recent escalation of our presence in Iraq has cost our country billions of dollars, eroded our military's readiness to respond to significant national security challenges, wounded tens of thousands of our brave service members and ended the lives of over 3,200 of our courageous men and women in uniform.

Co-Sponsor My Amendment

I've been working tirelessly to convince my colleagues that it's long past time for Congress to act responsibly and end this war. I was the first Senator, over 18 months ago, to propose a timetable for withdrawal. I also offered a second version of my flexible timetable, calling for complete withdrawal from Iraq by July of this year. Following the Democratic gains in last November's elections, I called on Congress to use its main power, the 'power of the purse', to stop George Bush's war.

Co-Sponsor My Amendment

It has become increasingly clear that the only way we are going to be able to end the President's failed policies in Iraq is by setting a date after which funding for the war will end. Those who argue that we should somehow defer to the President are wrong. The President has sent our country down a failed path and because he has abdicated his responsibility to correct the course for far too long, it's now up to Congress to provide much needed leadership.

Congress has the power and the responsibility to bring the situation in Iraq to an end. I plan to continue to press the issue by offering an amendment to the upcoming supplemental funding bill that would use the 'power of the purse' to safely redeploy our troops out of Iraq.

Co-Sponsor My Amendment

I'm looking to you, on this sad anniversary, to stand with me in our efforts to put this chapter of American foreign policy to bed and to continue moving forward with our focus on fighting the real war on terror and repairing our nation's stature in the world. Thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Russ Feingold
United States Senator
Honorary Chair, Progressive Patriots Fund

LINK: Progressive Patriots

Had to believe it has been four years...

-Mr. Joseph

Libby: Guilty, Guilty, Guilty, Guilty...

Victory! Justice has been served. Congradulations to Patrick Fitzgerald on a case well run.

Think Progress lays the facts down...

Scooter Libby has been found guilty on four out of five counts:

Count 1 - Obstruction of Justice: Libby intentionally deceived the grand jury about how he learned, and “disclosed to the media,” information about Valerie Plame Wilson’s employment by the CIA.

Count 2 - Making a False Statement: Libby intentionally gave FBI agents false information about a conversation he had with NBC’s Tim Russert regarding Valerie Plame Wilson, who is married to Joseph Wilson.

Count 4 - Perjury: Libby knowingly provided false testimony in court about a conversation he had with Russert.

Count 5 - Perjury: Libby knowingly provided false testimony in court about his conversation with reporters regarding Valerie Plame Wilson’s CIA employment.

Libby was found not guilty on count 3, a charge that he gave false statements to the FBI about his conversation with Time magazine reporter Matt Cooper.

UPDATE: Fox News reports from inside the courtroom: “Scooter Libby had a rather sad, resigned smile on his face. The kind of smile you get from resignation, not happiness, obviously.”

UPDATE II: Washington Post: “Under federal sentencing guidelines, Libby faces a probable prison term of 1 1/2 to three years when he is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton. … As the jury forewoman read each guilty count in a clear, solemn voice, Libby was impassive, remaining seated at the defense table, gazing straight ahead and displaying no visible emotion.”

UPDATE III: Fox news legal analyst Andrew Napolitano spins the verdict for the defense, arguing that there is a basis for Libby’s defense counsel to say the jury “misunderstood the nature of the charges” and was “hopelessly confused.”

UPDATE IV: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) calls on President Bush to pledge not to pardon Libby:

I welcome the jury’s verdict. It’s about time someone in the Bush Administration has been held accountable for the campaign to manipulate intelligence and discredit war critics. Lewis Libby has been convicted of perjury, but his trial revealed deeper truths about Vice President Cheney’s role in this sordid affair. Now President Bush must pledge not to pardon Libby for his criminal conduct.

UPDATE V: Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) says the problem is not just Libby.

Today’s guilty verdicts are not solely about the acts of one individual. This trial provided a troubling picture of the inner workings of the Bush Administration. The testimony unmistakably revealed — at the highest levels of the Bush Administration — a callous disregard in handling sensitive national security information and a disposition to smear critics of the war in Iraq.

LINK: BREAKING: Libby Guilty On Four Of Five Counts

RELATED READING...

*MUST READ* LINK: Media Matters CIA leak case "dishonor" roll

LINK: Libby's guilty verdict: Media myths and falsehoods to watch for

LINK: Breaking: Hume, Novak mislead on facts of Libby conviction

LINK: Wilson: My Wife Wept When She Heard The Verdict

LINK: VIDEO: Fitzgerald Speaks Out On Libby Verdict

LINK: Colbert Explains Why Libby Was Found Guilty

CONSERVATIVES (National Review and Weekly Standard) DEMAND PARDON! (While FOX News attempts to distract and distort...)

Weekly Standard editor Fred Barnes argued that Bush will pardon Scooter Libby because “he didn’t really seriously impede the investigation,” and “he’s been a loyal and effective member of this administration.”

LINK: Barnes: Libby Should Be Pardoned Because He ‘Didn’t Really Seriously Impede The Investigation’

There should have been no referral, no special counsel, no indictments, and no trial. The “CIA-leak case” has been a travesty. A good man has paid a very heavy price for the Left’s fevers, the media’s scandal-mongering, and President Bush’s failure to unify his own administration. Justice demands that Bush issue a pardon and lower the curtain on an embarrassing drama that shouldn’t have lasted beyond its opening act.

LINK: NR: Pardon LibbyNewshounds:

Newshounds notes that while Fox News’ conservatives have been spinning the Libby decision, the network’s purported “liberal” legal analyst Greta van Sustern has never mentioned the Libby trial.

Newshounds has more here, here, here, here and here.

Victory! Cheney and Rove may be next if Libby makes a deal...
-Mr. Joseph

Bush's State of the Union 2007

"Congress has changed," President Bush said, acknowledging the new Democratic majority, "but our responsibilities have not." (NY Times)

There was a lot of chatter on the internet after Bush's State of the Union address...

Here are some stories that stuck out to me...

Think Progress conducted a real-time fact-check of this year’s State of the Union address...

VIDEO / LINK: VIDEO: The Annotated State Of The Union

Think Progress also noted Sen. Jim Webb's response...

Transcript:

The President took us into this war recklessly. He disregarded warnings from the national security adviser during the first Gulf War, the chief of staff of the army, two former commanding generals of the Central Command, whose jurisdiction includes Iraq, the director of operations on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and many, many others with great integrity and long experience in national security affairs. We are now, as a nation, held hostage to the predictable — and predicted — disarray that has followed.

The war’s costs to our nation have been staggering. Financially. The damage to our reputation around the world. The lost opportunities to defeat the forces of international terrorism. And especially the precious blood of our citizens who have stepped forward to serve.

The majority of the nation no longer supports the way this war is being fought; nor does the majority of our military. We need a new direction. Not one step back from the war against international terrorism. Not a precipitous withdrawal that ignores the possibility of further chaos. But an immediate shift toward strong regionally-based diplomacy, a policy that takes our soldiers off the streets of Iraq’s cities, and a formula that will in short order allow our combat forces to leave Iraq.

On both of these vital issues, our economy and our national security, it falls upon those of us in elected office to take action.

Regarding the economic imbalance in our country, I am reminded of the situation President Theodore Roosevelt faced in the early days of the 20th century. America was then, as now, drifting apart along class lines. The so-called robber barons were unapologetically raking in a huge percentage of the national wealth. The dispossessed workers at the bottom were threatening revolt.

Roosevelt spoke strongly against these divisions. He told his fellow Republicans that they must set themselves “as resolutely against improper corporate influence on the one hand as against demagogy and mob rule on the other.” And he did something about it.

As I look at Iraq, I recall the words of former general and soon-to-be President Dwight Eisenhower during the dark days of the Korean War, which had fallen into a bloody stalemate. “When comes the end?” asked the General who had commanded our forces in Europe during World War Two. And as soon as he became President, he brought the Korean War to an end.

These Presidents took the right kind of action, for the benefit of the American people and for the health of our relations around the world. Tonight we are calling on this President to take similar action, in both areas. If he does, we will join him. If he does not, we will be showing him the way.

Thank you for listening. And God bless America.

VIDEO / LINK: Webb: If Bush Doesn’t Take The ‘Right Kind Of Action…We Will Be Showing Him The Way’

On a lighter note...

Think Progress and MSNBC's Tucker Carlson (on Hardblogger) note that John McCain had fell asleep...

VIDEO / LINK: TP: McCain falls asleep during the State of the Union?

Tucker Carlson:

"If you’re McCain, who will be over 70 by 2008, you’ll want to make doubly sure to demonstrate your alertness and vigor. You definitely won’t want to slump in your seat, out cold, when Bush starts talking about Iraq. And yet that’s exactly what McCain did tonight, napping on camera for ten agonizing seconds. Lack of self-control? An expression of contempt? Embarrassing in any case."

LINK: Carlson: Lack of self-control? An expression of contempt? Embarrassing in any case.

While McCain slept, Speaker Nancy Pelosi blinked...

"What was worth commenting on, however, was the contrast in blinks per minute between Pelosi and Cheney. While Pelosi clocked a good 25-30 blinks per minute, Cheney barely mustered 3 or 4."

LINK: Watching the SOTU Speech on ABC

And, of course About Political Humor got some great videoes regarding the speech...

"Check out a funny State of the Union spoof video by Bush impersonator James Adomian (a worthy sequel to last year's version), plus watch President Bush talk tough and threaten the world in this remixed version of one of Bush's previous State of the Union addresses.

See also: The Daily Show's preview of the State of the Union address, featuring a matchup between two bitter rivals: Bush and words.

Late-Night Jokes
"President Bush addressed the nation tonight. He talked about how we can save energy, how we can still win the war in Iraq and then gave a beautiful rendition of 'Wind Beneath My Wings.' Randy and Paula were in tears." --Jimmy Kimmel

"Down in Washington, DC, there was the annual State of the Union address. ... The speech was so dull. Behind President Bush, Nancy Pelosi and Dick Cheney were making out." --David Letterman

Read more late-night jokes..."

LINK: State of the Union Parody Videos

And then this...

"From the official State of the Union Drinking Game...
Every time Bush says:
“nukular” – 1 drink
"Bring it on" = Arm-wrestle the person next to you; loser drinks
Detainees = 1 drink, with your hands behind your back
"illegal immigration" = 1 shot of cerveza/tequila
"sectarian violence" = 1 Car Bomb
“Mark Foley” = one shot of Scotch, aged 16 years
"macaca" = Invite George Allen for a drink - he doesn't have anything better to do
Every time Bush...
praises a Democrat by name = 1 drink
....if that Democrat is not Joe Lieberman = 3 drinks
Every time the camera shows...
a close-up on Nancy Pelosi = 1 shot, taken without moving any facial muscles

Read more at Drinking Game.us, plus check out alternate State of the Union drinking games from political comedian Will Durst and Wonkette. Or if you prefer to cry in your beer in the company of like-minded lefties, you can partake in a Drinking Liberally State of the Union Party, featuring bingo cards.

State of the Union: The Bushism Version
With the help of our Bushisms collection, the San Francisco Chronicle presents an amusing State of the Union address parody, constructed entirely from classic Bush verbal gaffes and other inane presidential utterances:

Mr. Speaker, Vice President Cheney, members of Congress, distinguished citizens and fellow citizens:

This is historic times.

The past is over. There may be some tough times here in America. But this country has gone through tough times before, and we're going to do it again...

I think the American people -- I hope the American — I don't think, let me — I hope the American people trust me. Read more...

The State of the Union and Groundhog Day
This one originally circulated a couple of years ago, but is making the rounds again:

This year, both Groundhog Day and the State of the Union address occur on the same day. As Air America Radio pointed out, "It is an ironic juxtaposition of events: one involves a meaningless ritual in which we look to a creature of little intelligence for prognostication, while the other involves a groundhog."

Read more funny forwards..."

LINK: State of the Union Drinking Game

Just think, he only has one more after this...

-Mr. Joseph

VP Cheney's Lesbian Daughter is Pregnant

Crooks and Liars and Think Progress documented the worst parts of this controvesy...

The Washington Post reported that Mary Cheney and her partner of 15 years, Heather Poe, are expecting a baby. The right wing is already on the attack:

Janice Crouse of Concerned Women for America described the pregnancy as “unconscionable.”

“It’s very disappointing that a celebrity couple like this would deliberately bring into the world a child that will never have a father,” said Crouse, a senior fellow at the group’s think tank. “They are encouraging people who don’t have the advantages they have.” …

Carrie Gordon Earll, a policy analyst for the conservative Christian ministry Focus on the Family: “Just because you can conceive a child outside a one-woman, one-man marriage doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.”

Cheney and Poe will also face discrimination from Virginia state law. According to Equality Virginia:

While there are no specific Virginia laws addressing the custody and adoption rights of gays and lesbians, Virginia courts have routinely discriminated against gays and lesbians by finding that the parent’s status as gay or lesbian is not in the “best interests” of the child.

The result, according to Jennifer Chrisler of Family Pride, is that Poe will “have no legal relationship with her child.”

“In the state of Virginia, it’s very difficult for lesbian couples to have children together,” says Chrisler. “Heather Poe will have no legal relationship with her child. She can’t adopt as a second parent. She won’t have her name on the birth certificate.“

Asked what the couple could do to give Poe some legal rights as a parent, Chrisler advised: “Move to Maryland.”

LINK: TP: Mary Cheney’s Partner ‘Will Have No Legal Relationship With Her Child’ Under Virginia Law

...

On the Situation Room, after a brief statement from Focus on the Family, Paul Begala and Terry Jeffrey talked about the impact Mary Cheney's pregnancy may have on the homosexuality debate in this country. Jeffrey's response was both predictable and ridiculous. These people just love imposing their hypocritical views of morality on others, don't they?

Jeffrey: When you take two people of the same sex and artificially insert into that relationship a child, you are depriving that child of a fundamental god given right that every person born in this world has.

John Amato: Why do the Christian Conservatives hate their main man Dick Cheney so? via email:

Janice Crouse of Concerned Women for America described the pregnancy as "unconscionable." "It's very disappointing that a celebrity couple like this would deliberately bring into the world a child that will never have a father,"said Crouse, a senior fellow at the group's think tank. "They are encouraging people who don't have the advantages they have."

LINK: C&L: Right-Wingers Weigh in on Mary Cheney’s Pregnancy

-Mr. Joseph

The 4th Annual Stupidity Awards

2006 World Stupidity Award Winners

THE DUMBEST MOMENT OF THE YEAR

1) Zinedine Zidane head butts Marco Materazzi in the World Cup final and is ejected.
2) Vice President Dick Cheney shoots friend
3) Britney Spears speeds with her baby’s head close to steering wheel
4) Danish Newspaper Jyllands-Posten publishes the controversial Mohammed cartoons
5) Protesters violently demonstrate against the Danish Mohammed cartoons

STUPIDEST MAN OF THE YEAR

1) Donald Thompson – District Judge – a.k.a. Oklahoma Penis Pump Judge. The judge operated a powerful penis pump underneath his robes during at least three trials while court was in session (two of which were murder trials). Convicted June 29, 2006 on four counts of felony indecent exposure.
2) Michael Brown - former director of FEMA
3) Kim Jong Il - North Korean dictator
4) Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - President of Iran
5) Dick Cheney - Vice President of the United States

Great website...

-Mr. Joseph

Cheney's Approval in Perspective...

This is a great article from The Washington Post...

These must be sobering days for Vice President Cheney as he reflects on recent events from his secret Fortress of Solitude.

Iraq teeters on the brink of civil war. The Bush agenda is in tatters. And one of his friends is recovering from an accidental gunshot wound inflicted by Cheney on a hunting trip. A particularly unfortunate mishap, as we learned last week, because Cheney wounded one of the rarest birds in America: someone who actually likes the vice president.

The latest CBS News poll found that only 18 percent of the public has a favorable view of Cheney. How bad is a rating of 18 percent? According to a quick review of polling archives, it arguably makes Cheney:

· Less popular than singer Michael Jackson , bedmate of little boys and world-class screwball. One in four Americans -- 25 percent -- told Gallup polltakers last June they were still Jackson fans after the onetime King of Pop was found not guilty of child molesting.

· Less popular than former football star O.J. Simpson was after his arrest and trial for murdering his estranged wife and her companion. Three in 10 -- 29 percent -- of all Americans had a favorable view of Simpson in an October, 1995 Gallup poll.

· Less popular with Americans than Joseph Stalin is with Russians. In 2003, fully 20 percent said Stalin, blamed for millions of deaths in the former Soviet Union during the 1930s and 1940s, was a "wise and humane" leader. Thirty-one percent also said they wouldn't object if Uncle Joe came back to rule again, according to surveys conducted by Russian pollsters.

· Much less popular than former Vice President Spiro Agnew in his final days in office. Forty-five percent approved of the job that Agnew was doing as President Richard Nixon's veep in a Gallup Poll conducted in August 1973, little more than a month before Agnew resigned and pleaded no contest to a criminal tax evasion charge arising from a bribery investigation.

· Far less popular than former New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey days after he announced in August 2004 that he had engaged in an extramarital affair with a man and would resign. His job approval rating bumped from 43 to 45 percent.

But take heart, Dick. About 35 percent of those interviewed by the CBS poll didn't offer an opinion of you. Perhaps some of your supporters were shy. And other polls released later in the week pegged your popularity considerably higher.

Besides, even at 18 percent you're not the least popular public figure in America. You're slightly better liked than that fabulously blond and brainless party girl Paris Hilton. She was viewed favorably last June by 15 percent of the public, according to Gallup.

LINK: 18%?

-Mr. Joseph

Brit Hume pats himself on the back.

FOX "News" anchor Brit Hume apparently thinks highly of himself after that softball interview with Cheney. It is pitiful.

Here is the story from Media Matters for America...

On the February 19 edition of Fox Broadcasting Co.'s Fox News Sunday, Fox News Washington managing editor Brit Hume gave himself high marks for the manner in which he conducted his exclusive February 15 interview with Vice President Dick Cheney -- Cheney's first public appearance since accidentally shooting his hunting partner, Texas attorney Harry Whittington, on February 11. According to Hume, "[t]he last thing in the world that Dick Cheney needed on that day was a soft interview," and "my job was to simply sit there and walk through this episode with him and ask all the relevant questions. ... That's why, you know, there's no problem about asking about the drinking."

In fact, Hume neglected to ask a number of "relevant" questions, as Media Matters for America noted. For example, Cheney appeared to accept responsibility for shooting Whittington ("Well, ultimately, I'm the guy who pulled the trigger."), but Hume failed to ask Cheney why he allowed surrogates -- without challenging or correcting them -- to publicly blame Whittington for the accident. Also, following Cheney's admission to drinking a beer prior to the accident, Hume did not ask about statements by Katharine Armstrong -- the owner of the ranch where the incident occurred and Cheney's designated spokesperson -- that were mutually inconsistent and appeared to conflict with Cheney's admission. Moreover, notwithstanding Hume's evident pride in "asking about the drinking," the Fox News website withheld the portion of the interview dealing with Cheney's drinking, despite promising visitors streaming video of the "full interview," as Media Matters documented.

From the February 19 edition of Fox Broadcasting Co.'s Fox News Sunday, which featured host Chris Wallace:

WALLACE: Let me just -- because -- before we leave this subject, Brit, I -- you became part of the story this week with your interview, the only interview with the vice president, and some of our colleagues in the press said -- compared it to "Bonnie interviewing Clyde", "a Soviet leader sitting down with Pravda." How do you respond?

HUME: You know, I thought there'd be more of that than there was, actually, but that kind of thing completely misses the point of what was going on here. The last thing in the world that Dick Cheney needed on that day was a soft interview, because he was trying to get this thing over with. And the only way to get it over with was to answer every question that anybody might have, within reason. So, you know, I was headed down to the White House to do the interview that day, and I was thinking, you know, I've had interviews with Vice President Cheney in which he has not been tremendously forthcoming, and I thought God, you know, what am I going to do if he does that?

And then the more I thought about it, the more I thought there's no way he was going to do that. But my job was simply to sit there and walk through this episode with him and ask all the relevant questions, because he was ready to answer them and needed to answer them. That's why, you know, there's no problem about asking about the drinking, no problem about any of it. And that was why the interview, I think, came out as it did, because he was ready to talk, and knew he needed to, and to get it over with, and I think that, you know, except for the -- except for the shouting here that goes on in the little aftermath and the silly news weeklies -- this thing's over.

LINK: Fox's Hume congratulated himself for kid-gloved Cheney interview
That's it!

-Mr. Joseph

"Cheney's Got a Gun!"

From CNN...

Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot and wounded a campaign contributor during a weekend quail hunt on a friend's South Texas ranch, local authorities and the vice president's office said Sunday.

The wounded man, 78-year-old Harry Whittington, was in intensive care at a Corpus Christi hospital after being hit by several pellets of birdshot Saturday afternoon, hospital spokesman Peter Banko told CNN.

"He's doing well and in stable condition today," Banko said.

Whittington, an Austin attorney who gave $1,000 to President Bush's 2000 campaign and $2,000 to his 2004 re-election bid, was among a handful of people accompanying the vice president when the accident occurred Saturday afternoon.

Cheney, 65, visited him Sunday afternoon at the hospital, "and was pleased to see he is doing fine and in good spirits," Cheney spokeswoman Lee Anne McBride said. (Watch when Cheney's office decided to release information -- 1:23)

The shooting occurred about 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Kenedy County Sheriff Ray Salinas said. He said his deputies are investigating the shooting but consider it an accident.

Cheney, an avid hunter, was shooting at a covey of quail on the Armstrong Ranch near Kingsville, about 30 miles southwest of Corpus Christi. The ranch's owner, Katharine Armstrong, said Whittington was about 30 yards from Cheney when the vice president fired.

Armstrong, who was with the group when the accident occurred, said Whittington was "peppered" with birdshot. Pellets hit him in the face and chest, but he never lost consciousness, she said.

She said Whittington had just shot a quail and had dropped back to retrieve it. He was hit upon rejoining the group and "apparently came up unannounced" as Cheney prepared to fire.

Whittington, a prominent Texas Republican, has been active in state politics since the 1960s and served as chairman of the state Board of Corrections from 1979 to 1985.

In 1999, then-Gov. George W. Bush named him to the state Funeral Services Commission, which had been stung by allegations of widespread corruption and mismanagement in the industry.

Armstrong told CNN that Whittington was a guest of hers, not someone Cheney invited, and she did not know whether the two men had met before.

The vice president, his Secret Service detail and other companions rushed to the wounded man's aid, Armstrong said.

Similar accidents occur "not frequently, but often" among hunters in the area, Salinas said. He said an ambulance that was posted at the ranch while Cheney was visiting took Whittington to the hospital.

Armstrong said Cheney was firing a 28-gauge shotgun, a small-bore weapon commonly used for hunting birds. Cheney has come to her ranch to hunt quail once a year for at least 15 years, and she called him "a very conscientious hunter."

"I would shoot with Dick Cheney everywhere, anywhere, and not think twice about it," she said. But she said, "The nature of quail shooting ensures that this will happen. It goes with the turf."

LINK: Cheney accidentally shoots fellow hunter

Astounding what a vice president can get away with. Al Gore never would have done this.

The best part is, Cheney didn't even havew a license!

If the guy dies, will Cheney be charged with homicide or manslaughter?

-Mr. Joseph