Who really runs the White House? Bush or Cheney?

'The Wizard of Oz Letter'
Bush pulls back the curtain on who really runs the White House

WEB EXCLUSIVE
By Eleanor Clift
Newsweek
Updated: 1:50 p.m. ET April 02, 2004

April 2 - This was the week the curtain got pulled back on the Bush presidency. In exchange for allowing Condoleezza Rice to testify under oath, President Bush gets to bring along his vice president when he appears privately before the commission.

A top Republican strategist dubbed the legal document striking the unusual deal “the Wizard of Oz letter” because it strips away the myth that Bush is in charge. Until now, it’s been all speculation about Vice President Cheney’s influence. With the revelation of the tandem testimony, nobody with a straight face can deny Cheney is a co-president or worse, the puppeteer who pulls Bush’s strings.

Aside from being fodder for the late-night comics, the arrangement confirms Bush’s inability to articulate anything without a script--or a tutor by his side. There’s a reason lawyers don’t take testimony in groups. The whole idea is to get individual recollections and then compare stories to uncover contradictions. Try thinking about it this way: can anyone imagine Bush’s father in a similar situation bringing his vice president? (For those who need a refresher course, the elder Bush was a rocket scientist compared to his son, and the vice president was Dan Quayle.)

Even President Reagan testified alone on the Iran-contra scandal. He didn’t insist on having Vice President Bush sit beside him. Of course, Reagan couldn’t remember much of anything. His faculties were failing as a result of Alzheimer’s disease, which he later revealed. Still, Reagan permitted his testimony to be videotaped.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4653858/

Guess we always knew Cheney was in charge. Now we have proof. I love this piece by Clift.

But most people don't pay attention like us DU'ers pay attention.

I'm glad this is hitting the mainstream press in numerous outlets.

people will now see what a weak little weasel this guy is. And the press is playing this too. That in itself is a surprise.

I'm just surprised that he won't be sitting on Mommy's lap while Cheney does all the talking. But he hasn't testified yet, so maybe Babs will be there to protect her precious baby. What a friggin' embarrassment of a First Family. And not once, but twice.

Planned Bush-Cheney Appearance Criticized
Fri Apr 2, 3:39 PM ET Add Politics - U. S. Congress to My Yahoo!


By ERICA WERNER, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi says it's baffling and embarrassing that President Bush (news - web sites) is appearing before the Sept. 11 commission with Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites) at his side instead of by himself.


"I think it speaks to the lack of confidence that the administration has in the president going forth alone, period," Pelosi, D-Calif., said Friday. "It's embarrassing to the president of the United States that they won't let him go in without holding the hand of the vice president of the United States."


"I think it reinforces the idea that the president cannot go it alone," she said. "The president should stand tall, walk in the room himself and answer the questions."

Bush isn't even man enough to stand up for himself??

:hi:

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

The notion is absurd on its face, because everyone knows intuitively that Skippy is not qualified for the office, or for much of anything.

I think we all knew it from day one, but the media has kept it under the rug for over 3 years!

It's about time we took the position the Pugs have been using all these years....repeat, repeat, repeat and it will finally get through!

Good for Eleanor!

opposite the ed. page had a cartoon of Bush and Cheney appearing in front of the 911 commission,Bush was a hand puppet and the dick was
manipulating the puppet.

Shrub has indeed pulled back his own curtain as a toddler will always do and THE DICK indeed is in the wizards chair.....as if we did not know already.... the incompetence of the Smirker is pretty evident....

Dick Cheney's Mortimer Snerd.

The straw man - the man without a heart.