I think there is a most impolite word that could be applied to Cheney's assertion. Otherwise, we can just assume it is more of his same effort to turn the presidency into a dictatorship. He is like a kid standing in defiance of authority saying, "Catch me if you can, nyah, nyah." Smirking as he sees no one can stop him. Sadly, he has won. We see the results of his thinking and manipulation in all aspects of our nation. Aren't we all pleased with all he has done for us.
Challenging Cheney
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Is too much government business conducted in secret?
One of the things I've reflected on lately is that I truly believe we need to introduce a new balancing test. In the past, we've looked at it as, 'we have to balance national security against the public's right to know or whatever.' My balancing test would be national security versus national security: yes, disclosing information may cause damage, but you know what, withholding that information may even cause greater damage… And I don't think we sufficiently taken that into greater account.
The global struggle that we're engaged in today is more than anything else is an ideological struggle. And in my mind….that calls for greater transparency, not less transparency. We're in a situation where we're attempting to win over the hearts and minds of the world's population. And yet, we seem to have a habit—when we restrict information, we're often times find ourselves in a position where we're ceding the playing field to the other side. We allow ourselves to be almost reduced to a caricature by taking positions on certain issues, oh , we simply can't talk about that.
(Note: Asked for comment, Lea A. McBride, spokeswoman for Cheney, pointed to recent comments by Cheney in an interview with the online publication, Politico, on his office's dispute with the National Archives. In the interview, the vice president specifically referred to his position that, because he serves as Secretary of the Senate, his office was not an "entity" in the executive branch governed by the executive order relating to classified information.
"I'm aware of the kerfuffle here a few months ago — is he or isn't he; is he part of the executive branch, part of the legislative branch?" Cheney said. "And the answer really is, you've got a foot in both camps. I obviously work for the president. That's why I'm sitting here in the West Wing of the White House. But I also have a role to play in the Congress as the president of the Senate. I actually get paid — that's where my paycheck comes from, is the Senate. So I try to keep lines open to both sides of the Congress, both the House and the Senate.")
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