August 01, 2007
Cheney Gets The Larry King Treatment
Vice President Dick Cheney made a rare television appearance last night, sitting down with CNN's Larry King at the Old Executive Office Building to discuss everything from progress in Iraq to what branch of government he really belongs to. The interview was short on earth-shattering revelations -- yes, he stands by Alberto Gonzales; no, he doesn't care what the polls say -- but chock full of the usual Cheney quotables.
Some of the highlights:
Executive decision-making. Does the veep "ever, as an intelligent person, look in the mirror and say, maybe I'm wrong?" No. "The way you have to operate in these jobs.... You have to do it on the basis of what you think is right and what's best for the country." And "if you looked simply at public opinion, for example, a lot of the key decisions in our history would never have been pursued or followed through on."
What branch is it, anyway? The vice president is "sort of a weird duck," Cheney explains. "I have a foot in both camps" -- executive and legislative. But does that mean he can claim not to be held accountable by either? That's a possibility, Cheney concedes, but he tries "not to do that."
Iraq. Cheney admits he was "wrong" in 2005, when he said the insurgency was in its "last throes." But he claims the surge is working, and he predicts the anticipated September progress report is "going to show that we will have made significant progress" -- something the president has been hesitant to do. What about that summer vacation the Iraqi government is taking? "It's better than taking two months off, which was their original plan." Plus, "our Congress, of course, takes the month of August off to go back home." Touche. And memo to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton: "We don't get into the business of sharing operational plans" with Congress.
Iran. Nothing to see here, folks. He's "not going to speculate about prospective operations."
Guantanamo Bay. Ditto. He doesn't want to close Gitmo, and by the way, "we don't do torture."
Attorney firings probe. He doesn't expect White House adviser Karl Rove to testify under oath. "There has been, I think, a bit of a witch-hunt on Capitol Hill, as they keep rolling over rocks, hoping they can find something," Cheney says. "But there really hasn't been anything come up that would suggest there was any wrongdoing of any kind."
Cheney on Cheney. The veep's not endorsing anyone for the GOP nomination, and he's got "no plans to seek office" after his current term is up. "I have had a great tour, Larry..... But there is -- time comes when you need to recognize it's over. And for me that'll be January of '09."
Legacy. "I think when the history is written that, in fact, it will reflect credit upon this president and upon his administration."
CNN has a transcript of the interview and a video excerpts of the exchange.
Posted at 11:43 AM
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