Dick: The Man Who is President (Dick Cheney)

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Summary: A tale of a yellow abdomen: Part II
Review: That the bumper stickers were configured improperly in election/2004 is the subject of this book. Indeed, "Cheney/Bush 2004", instead of "Bush/Cheney 2004", seems appropriate if one is to believe the words of its author. With many references and very well written, it is nevertheless a very painful book to read, for it is a story of how a "quiet American" manipulated his way to the top of the current administration, and now acts as its leader. It is a story of how a man (if one is to call him that) can avoid the draft and still become head of the most powerful military organization in the history of the world. It is a story of cowardice and betrayal, of immorality and power lust. It is a demonstration that a constitutional title is completely irrelevant in the real management of the American government.

But it could be said that the book is also a story of the millions of people who supported the Cheney/Bush ticket. They have much in common with Cheney, very much indeed. These sycophants for the current administration will absolutely hate this book. It does not reinforce their prejudices and will without doubt cause pronounced cognitive dissonance in their belief structures. By elementary logic, it follows that those who support the administration also support the war. But most of these individuals have never participated in one, and so their support is done from a position of comfort. Their living rooms and sofas are to be contrasted with the horror of conflict, which they have never experienced and will never experience.

The vast majority of those that supported this administration in the recent election are indeed true followers of the Cheney/Bush ticket. It should not be believed that they are hypocrites. They are not deviating from their positions and are holding true to them:

1. Like Bush and his boss Cheney (in the Vietnam debacle), they are refusing to put on a military uniform and participate in the current conflict in Iraq.

2. Like Bush and his boss Cheney, they cheer on the troops, and engage in the same drum beating and jingoism, creating a facade of patriotism, but they have no intention of signing up for duty in Iraq.

3. Like Bush and Cheney, their sons and daughters are not signing up for duty in Iraq, and they will not be feeling the pain of having lost loved ones in the current horror.

Like Cheney, they have "other priorities."

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Summary: Mayberry Machiavelli
Review: Credit for the quip above goes to former White House official John DiIulio, who used it to describe the Bush-Cheney administration. Thanks to this hard-hitting book by John Nichols, we can now clearly see who is really running America. As you read along you almost feel sorry for George W. Bush as his image is reduced to that of a figurehead, fronting for the real man in power. Dick Cheney has become the most controlling vice president of all time, as he has moved himself into a position of extreme power through classic Machiavellian tactics. Here Nichols provides us with an often sarcastic and vindictive biography of Cheney's never-ending quest for power from behind the scenes, as he has made a long career of latching onto more publicly agreeable politicians, and consolidating his own power by building loyalties, kowtowing to the rich and powerful, and toeing a strict ideological line.

This biography is not fool-proof, especially because its highly partisan nature will prevent it from being taken seriously by anyone who might have real political ability to curb Cheney's low-key but effective megalomania. Nichols is also prone to overanalyzing the long-term historical impacts of Cheney's actions and non-actions. However, partisan writing does not diminish the relevance of the biographical facts herein, and it sure is fun to read regardless. While much of the documentation used by Nichols consists of politically-charged hearsay that should be taken with a grain of salt, we can still see clearly that the well-being of all Americans is under the control of a power-hungry demagogue who has never let the facts or common sense stand in his way. It's time for Dick Cheney to stand plainly before the American people and to be judged for his actions, but we can see in this cringe-inducing book that he has mastered the art of preventing personal disclosure for decades on end. [~doomsdayer520~]

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Summary: and this guy is our VP??? !!
Review: It is amazing to realize that so many Americans, in voting for George W. Bush, gave Dick Cheney the power and influence he has craved for so many years. This book, which to me was mostly very well researched and backed up by easily verified data, clearly illustrates what happens when a disengaged, unqualified president is "supported" by a stubborn, power-hungry ideologue. The danger that this pairing has put us all in, and the complete lack of accountability for the US's foreign relations status, economy, education and health-care systems, is described well by the author.

The web of intrigue, the devious machinations of a man who has power that he is not qualified for, and the repercussions of his actions (and the inactions of Bush), reads like a spy novel. It is very worrying to see how one man and his cronies can drive a country in to the ground in just 4 years...

Recommended reading - Democrats should be quoting from this book!

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Summary: Well Sourced and Well Written
Review: It seems that many people are assuming this is Leftist propaganda, but I am assuming this is the view of many readers simply because it is a biography of a man very much on the Right, written by a man seemingly quite a bit on the Left. But it is a biography, not propaganda. Yes, Nichols inserts commentary and opinion, but that is also what keeps this book from being a boring account of the life of Dick Cheney. Plus, as both a practiced writer and teacher of writing, I will say that speaking with one's sources while writing a research-heavy piece of writing is what makes that work good, makes it that much more compelling. The author's opinions, writing style, tone, personality, and yes, even political bent may come into play since books are not normally written by robotic beings. The process of true writing must take into account the writer's personality and perspective on his/her world and the world in which he/she lives.

Nichols has a strong command of language, his subject, and his sources. Too often nonfiction, especially biographies, can be just so dry because the author is lost in the telling of the subject's life.

Bottom Line: Nichols does an excellent job with this biography. Nichols should be respected, read if desired, and listened and so should his colleagues more to the Right; everyone who has something to impart to a readership should have that right without being badgered over "but he's on this side of the political spectrum ..." I say, so what. Literature of any kind is to be read and the reader is to respond as he/she does, not b/c of some spectrum invented to divide a country. Literature is a catlyst for thought and discussion, not to put over the coals b/c the author is of a different "side" than a reader.

This is a great book about a political figure who will continue to aggravate, entertain, and intrigue us for many years to come. I am hardly a Dick Cheney fan, but I believe it is good to know what people are made of, especially if they are also running our country ... and he definitely is running it.

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Summary: Garbage, sheer garbage
Review: John Nichols is a little-known writer of sophomoric fiction. He now applies his skills, if skills they could be called, to political biography, if biography it could be called. The result is inane, defamatory and utterly worthless.

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Summary: The Wrong People are Reading this Book
Review: Mr. Nichols sweeps aside the curtain and shows us the real Wizard. Unfortunately for Shrub, Mr. Nichols doesn't ascribe much power to the Presidency. Fortunately, Shrub won't (we hope) have a third term, so Cheney might retire from power. After all, he's 64 years old, with a bad heart. Mr. Nichols is very penetrating in his analysis/biography of Cheney. We may be currently living in a plutocracy, but some elements of democracy remain untouched.

Reading this book explains much about the actions of Shrub, including the famous debate where he interrupted himself to answer somebody(?) And where were the President and Vice President on the morning of September 11? I'm pleased that Mr. Nichols wrote this book, but sad that our President is almost in an exile of his own making.

Why are the wrong people reading this book? I would like to give a copy to every Republican within sight, asking "Who's the President now?"

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Summary: Geez, really?
Review: This book is two things, I think: a brief Cheney bio and an expose of what has to be the worst-kept secret in American political history. In fact, as Nichols suggests, I'm not even sure that they WANT to keep it a secret.

What people might not be aware of is Cheney's extensive history of amoral powergrabbing and immoral policymaking, and Nichols assembles the essential evidence in the case against Cheney in a reasonably compelling way. These days, there's an ocean of books to read about the Bush administration, and rightly so. This one might not be at the very top of the list in terms of fresh insights, but it is quick and worthwhile reading.

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Summary: Is this fellow's last name Moore?
Review: This guy's picture does not show a resemblance to Michael Moore but many of his claims in this book are just as undocumented. It's too bad this book didn't come out ealier before the campaign. Then it could have been used as a referecne guide by Dean and Kerry. Also a film could have been made that would have been great food for the hungry liberals who would eaten these lies. Fortunately, the gullibe people who wee taken by Moore won't fall fo this rubbish. I am returning my book.

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Summary: Pretty Good Biography, Quite Funny Atttack
Review: This is a most interetsing book. As a biography it's just about like all the others: Ancesters came from .... Father worked as .... Went to school at .... In short, the book has all of the things that you's expect in a biography. And it's a pretty good biography. You get a feeling of the man, his capabilities, his goals, desires and abilities.

You also get an insiders view of how the White House works. The author says that Cheney is the hard working driver who actually runs things. It could then be argued that this leavs Bush time to think about the overall goals of his administration. After all, Clinton and Carter were both so detail oriented that they lost sight of the bigger goals and didn't get much accomplished. Reagan was apparently more of a thinker, he would set the overall policy and then take a nap while his staff worked out the details. Perhaps Bush does the same.

In addition, you get an attack on Cheney (and at no extra charge on Bush) that's worthy of a Michael Moore movie. It seems like the author is almost rabid about Mr. Cheney. That's not good, bad for your digestion, your heart, your sanity to be that angry about something. Then again, perhaps this book is written for comedy. It is a very funny book

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Summary: We Invaded Iraq Due to Cheney With Bush Signing On
Review: Two of the most important books to read concerning the 2004 presidential election are Seymour Hersh's revealing "Chain of Command" and "Dick: The Man Who Is President" by Madison (Wisconsin) Capital Times and Nation reporter John Nichols. It was Nichols who penned one of the most informative works on the 2000 post-presidential election pyrotechnics with "Jews For Buchanan."

When George Bush the Elder was concerned about his son the Texas governor not possessing the knowledge and experience to tackle the presidency, while remaining bullish at the prospect of having him in the White House, his thoughts turned toward the veteran Dick Cheney, who had served the older Bush as his secretary of defense during the 1991 Gulf War. Cheney had a long resume, which included becoming the youngest White House chief of staff in history at 34 under President Gerald Ford. He had also served in the House of Representatives from Wyoming, where he achieved leadership in the conservative ranks and compiled an inflexibly right wing voting record.

Cheney was devoid of charisma and his one effort to attract attention in a trial run for the presidency ended with a flat tire before the first primary of 1996. Shortly afterwards, while fly-fishing off the coast of New Brunswick in Nova Scotia, Cheney met executives from the multi national Texas-based oil services provider, Halliburton Corporation. They liked Cheney's government accessibility as a former secretary of defense and congressional leader and were then looking for a new chief executive officer. Cheney and the executives agreed they could help each other and the political veteran signed on.

When the older George Bush came calling as the 2000 presidential election beckoned following the conclusion of two terms by Democrat Bill Clinton, it was to tap the Halliburton executive to lead a search committee to find the proper running mate to shore up the young George's deficiencies. Cheney, an intrigue artist with well developed palace guard instincts, he had been second in command to the more flamboyant Donald Rumsfeld in Republican politics for too long. This time he saw a way to vault above Rumsfeld and place himself in the White House catbird position.

One by one candidates were be screened. Cheney remained on the scene always, and was able to supply the final word without a disparaging word from the Republican Party's presidential nominee. Former Missouri Senator John Danforth, who had become a minister after leaving Washington, was thought by many to have the inside track to become vice presidential nominee, but meanwhile Dick Cheney was shrewdly operating behind the scenes.

There had been earlier grumblings, but when Danforth was also found wanting he joined the chorus, having believed that he, like those considered before him, had been manipulated for Cheney's personal gain. With time running out Cheney proposed an idea to George W. Bush, who by then had become reliant on his judgment. "Why not me?" Cheney suggested.

Bush agreed, joking when he announced the selection that, with Cheney compelled to move back to Wyoming to become a voting resident there to avoid disrupting the constitutional restriction of a presidential nominee and his running mate both residents of the same state, "We didn't do it to win the 3 electoral votes of Wyoming."

The Karl Rove directed Bush propaganda machine, temporarily abandoned the "ah shucks, just plain folks" image showcasing Texas "cowboy" George Bush long enough to spin the word that would be bandied about through the rest of the campaign. Cheney was selected because he had "gravitas," a Latin word meaning seriousness or sobriety of thought.

With Bush failing to know the names of important leaders while making numerous grammatical errors and malapropisms, humor had been used to paper over his deficiencies. Republicans sought to convert negatives to positives by revealing the Texas governor as someone like your next door neighbor, imperfect, not knowing all the answers, but the type of person you would like to invite over for a beer.

An older, more experienced political hand was needed to keep a sometimes-rambunctious George W. Bush in tow and Dick Cheney, after running what Nichols and others concluded was a charade to seek a running mate for the Republican nominee, ultimately tapped himself. An important distinction between the two Republican candidates surfaced in the fall debates with their Democratic opponents. While Bush took a more restrained global political position against what he called "nation building," when Cheney had his lone vice presidential debate against Connecticut's Senator Joseph Lieberman an important distinction arose between the two Republicans.

Oddly, Cheney's stated position in his debate with Lieberman found them in more harmony than was the case when contrasting what he said along with the Bush position as expounded in his appearances with Al Gore. Cheney let it be known that he strongly believed in the U.S. assuming a role as warriors abroad rather than as peacekeepers.

He repeated an argument he had made when secretary of defense under the elder Bush that it would be a mistake to cut the defense budget in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union. He opposed the "peace dividend" then and in the way that he perceived that Bill Clinton had used it. To Cheney it was a big mistake to transfer some budget priorities away from the Pentagon to the domestic sector.

When asked by debate moderator Bernard Shaw about where Iraq fit into his equation, Cheney assumed a hawkish position that would be advanced from the time that he took his office in the White House. As Nichols noted, those who watched the 2000 debates with an emphasis on what Bush was saying about restraint on the global scene were clearly paying attention to "the wrong end of the ticket."

As anti-terror intelligence specialist Richard Clarke and Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill both wrote afterwards in insightful memoirs of the period after Bush took office, the focus from the beginning was on Iraq. The emphasis never varied even after the 9-11 attacks, which, despite Cheney's false claims, had nothing to do with Saddam Hussein.

In place of keeping the emphasis on Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda, Cheney sought to bring Iraq under the umbrella of international terrorism to generate a priority. It was a priority that was shared by members of the energy task force that met in Cheney's office under his chairmanship. Even a lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch failed to pry information out of tight-lipped Dick and cohorts, but a few maps were located dividing up Iraq among the oil elite.

We would ultimately learn that Cheney's old company Halliburton would receive a no bid contract to supply services in Iraq. Another favorite Republican multi national, Bechtel, corporate stomping grounds for George Schultz and Casper Weinberger, also prospered from Cheney largesse.

It was Cheney and not Bush that orchestrated the rush to war in Iraq. Cheney was the one who generated pressure among CIA analysts with appearances that were unprecedented from a vice president to the Langley headquarters. With Cheney leading the drumbeat Iraq was invaded.

Nichols is a crack researcher. After digging and revealing it becomes clear to any perceptive observer that Dick Cheney is the real power in the Bush White House.