Someday I'd like to see a piece on the astonishing deference that's been shown to Cheney over the years. Now that's a news story, somewhere along the line. Washington press corps goes down on its knees so quickly for this guy, it's pathetic.

Count me as someone's who is pleased as hell that the White House is hitting back. And hard.

None of this not-wanting-to-dignify Cheney's comments by answering them.

Let the Repubs know that if they push Obama, the White House is going to punch them in the face.

Bet Cheney never expected to get slugged.

they get the vapors about the spokesperson for the current president, who has been bad-mouthed on more than one occasion by the former vice president, speaking less than respectfully of that bad-mouthing former vice president?

teh stoopid ... it hurtz.

Cheney is a traitor. Can't wait for the "Piss on Cheney's grave" tour.

From a previous post:

Cheney is criminaly insane. We now know that the Harry Whittington shooting was not an accident. Confidential sources are telling the New York Times that Cheney intentionally shot Harry Whittington because, Whittington jokingly called Cheney "Cock" instead of "Dick."

Their sources report that large quantities of beer were consumed by both men during lunch. When Wittington, in a drunken stupor, called Cheney "Cock," the V.P. became enraged and turned his bird gun on Wittington snarling "Go fuck yourself!" as he unoaded in his friends face.

Wittnesses tell the New York Times that the members of the party avoided calling the authorities because they suspected Cheney's blood alcohol level exceeded legal limits.

Perhaps Cheney is becoming bored with retirement.

Perhaps CNN has nothing better to report.

Perhaps those whom the Gods would destroy they first drive insane.

Perhaps all of the above.

Gibbs has got to go. I hate Cheney as much as the next guy, but the press secretary can not act like previous press secretaries, cough, cough, Perino. Let's get a little professionalism on the podium.

Gibbs is rapidly becoming one of my favorite people in the Obama Administration.

Posted by: ScottW on March 16, 2009 at 4:22 PM |

Your concern is noted.

Respect has to be earned, no matter what position you are able to lie yourself into.

"Respect has to be earned, no matter what position you are able to lie yourself into."

Yes, and my mama always told me, 'when they lie to you, it's over. No one is any better than you. They may have a better job, but it doesn't make them a better person.' Cheney lied, he's still lying and he doesn't deserve anything.

Any interviews with Cheney should be done through the space between the bars in his cell. If the the US still supports extraordinary rendition (aka, kidnapping), I would fully support Shrub and Pencil Dick Cheney being whisked off to the Hague for war crimes before he pulls a Ken Lay and croaks before his sentencing.

I knew he would be my favorite press secretary ever after chweing up and spitting out Hannity
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/08/robert-gibbs-confronts-ha_n_132842.html
We're Democrats and we don't take no shit.
ScottW and the rest can clutch their pearls and faint on the couch

Well, with Rick Klein we're talking about a serious moron.

Dear Rick Klein,

I note, with more than a bit of irony, that your name---when translated from the original German---means "small." Now, as to whether the term "small" refers to your spine, or your intelligence, or your truthfulness, or some portion of your anatomy by which you define your gender, I haven't the foggiest idea.

Maybe it's all of the above.

However, demanding respect for someone, merely upon their former position in a particular political administration, leaves one wondering: Would you insist on such deference being given, for example, to Nikita Khrushchev? Adolf Hitler? Pol Pot? Saddam Hussein, or the Ayatollah Khomeini (he of the Iranian hostage crisis of 1979/80), or maybe Kim Jong Il, perhaps?

Note to Klein: The next time you decide to cram your foot into your mouth, you might at least consider taking off the golf shoe. Stupidity via a well-spiked tongue is stupidity on an exponential curve....

Let's get a little professionalism on the podium. -ScottW

Somebody schedule ScottW an emergency stickectomy, stat!

Until Gibbs starts lying with every breath, you can save your Perino comparision; actually, why don't you put it next to the stick?

Joking about the truth (Cheny, Rush, and cabal in the same sentence is priceless) is far superior than lying to the press with every breath.

Love the gibbs response--and really, what other one was there? But remember that the republicans are all about the "les majeste" accusation as long as its about Republicans. Democrats are supposed to just put up with the insults, catcalling, hostility and shit slinging because its "all part of our democratic system."

You see the same thing going on every time Obama, as opposed to Bush, enjoys some privilige of being President. What, under Bush, was considered a normal prerogative of office (planes, special treatment, cost of security) becomes suddenly immoral, greedy, self aggrandizing when the Obamas do it. The hysteria over "the public" paying for the children's swing set (especially when the Obamas were smart enough to pay for it themselves) was intense. The public doesn't seem to notice that Mrs. Bush spent hundreds of thousands of dollars "designing" and purchasing a set of "President Bush" pattern state china that was only delivered in the final weeks of the presidency. Whatever the Obama team says or does about the previous president will be seen to be an outrage, while cheney and bush will slander the present team with no penalty. Twas ever thus.

aimai

Yay Gibbs. Fuck Cheney. And it's about fucking time someone said it.

"Cheney was a national figure who deserves respect by virtue of his former office."

Correction -- former Republican office.

Gibbs owes Limbaugh an apology. Rush is not a conspirator as the word cabal suggests - he's an independent water carrier.

I'm with you ScottW.

I like sand kicked into the face of Cheney as much as the next guy, but you can't do it from the podium of the press secretary to the President of the United States. At least not this overtly!

I suppose the argument is that Cheney was a national figure who deserves respect by virtue of his former office.

Funny how the media never seemed to apply the same standard to Vice President Gore....

Respect for Dick "Big Time" Cheney? (Look up the source of that nickname to see what sort of respect he shows other people.)

I remember how Al Gore and Bill Clinton waited several years -- literally -- before providing their first, timid, criticism of the Cheney administration -- war crimes and ignored 9/11 warnings and all. The response of the village was loud and merciless about how they broke tradition by criticizing a sitting administration.

Funny how things change. Now McCain and Cheney are loud and critical of Obama less than 2 months after inauguration -- frequently including lies with their criticism -- and not a peep from the villagers about how they are "breaking tradition" with criticizing a sitting president.

Why that? As long as it's legal you can do anything up there. Why should free speech end in the white house press conference of all?
Because of some noble dignity long lost in decency vacuum that ruled there for the last eight years?

Cheney counted on throwing shit at the fan, but he would have never expected Gibbs to simply turn around the vent.

Good move. Clever guy.

Klein is offended by Gibbs' sarcasm when he should be offended by Cheney's mendacity.

The "liberal media" strikes again!

Feh.

Cheney got precisely the respect he earned. He can go fuck himself, and so can the concern trolls sticking up for him.
Outstanding work, Mr. Gibbs.

Cheney can have the same amount of respect that the press and Republicans showed V.P. Gore. And not a bit more.

...you can't do it from the podium of the press secretary to the President of the United States. -Ted Frier

Why not? Because you say so? Because you think it unbecoming? Who do you think will call them out if not the new administration? Certainly not the media!

Schedule Ted for a stickectomy right after ScottW.

Love Gibbs. And it's not the first time he gave better than he got; the way he improved on Davie Brooks' "house on fire" imagery was a delight, also. I'm glad he's Obama's press secretary -- he shares the finely honed sense of humour (and a "nice" way with words) with the President, without having quite the same hobble put on his tongue by the office.

Cheney has spoken out a couple of times now, hitting the Obama administration. Usually, the etiquette is that the retired Prez and VP keep their mouths shut about their immediate successors. I'd like to see some references to how Carter, Bush I, and Clinton and their VPs conducted themselves in the first year of their replacements term.

Seems to me that Cheney's shooting off his mouth is highly unusual and would be seen as shocking if it were a Dem doing the talking.

I love Robert Gibbs. Terrific response, again. Gibbs seems very likable and folksy, great choice for press sec'y.

Re Dick C: Gibbs should show respect for a war criminal, Klein? Really? WHY???

"Do Cheney's political allies really want to get into a discussion about respect?"

Bring 'em on!

"Would you insist on such deference being given, for example, to Nikita Khrushchev? Adolf Hitler? Pol Pot? Saddam Hussein, or the Ayatollah Khomeini (he of the Iranian hostage crisis of 1979/80), or maybe Kim Jong Il, perhaps?"

Oh, come on, Steve, give him a hard one. How about Al Gore?

"Wow -- we're talking about the former vice president here."

And, God willing, future indicted War Criminal.

And too, this is the same media that used to treat VP Gore in that atrocious manner -- perfectly "respectable" "reporters" on the Corporate Media excoriated VP Gore as "nutty" "almost deranged" "angry" "vindictive" etc, all because he went public with criticism of the Pretzelnit, wait for it, fully 20 months after the latter seized the WH from the former in a near-coup engineered by the right wing. Rich.

and not a peep from the villagers about how they are "breaking tradition" with criticizing a sitting president.

Yep. My own personal rate of hearing the phrase "respect for the office" has gone from all-the-time to zero. Funny thing.

It's the usual bully's response: No fair doing to us what we did to you! There's a lot of that going around the Republican Party and the media right now.

I guess if VP Biden had told Mitch McConnell to go f*ck himself during a meet-and-greet on the floor of the Senate, that would have been fine, but GOD FORBID the press secretary should make a mild joke at Cheney's expense.

WTF Klein, haven't you been paying attention these past eight years? Are you to journalism what AIG executives are to the derivative markets?

Any journalist who doesn't see the irony of dressing down Mr. Gibbs for his perceived heavy-handedness is a dolt! -Kevo

People often forget that when Cheney was a Congressman he was ranked the 2nd most conservative member of the House. Second out of 435 - he certainly showed his stripes during eight years of the BushChe administration. But now he is seeming senile in his view of the world and history.

Did I miss something? When did Cheney get out of prison?

THE CHENEY INTERVIEW

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs generated some criticism when he was a bit glib when questioned about former Vice President Dick Cheney's interview with CNN's John King. He drew laughs when mentioning Rush Limbaugh and Cheney as the least popular members of the "Republican cabal".

At least one correspondent, and also Pat Buchanan, felt that Gibbs was not showing proper respect for a former vice president. Gibbs seemed to acknowledge this point but I wish that he would have responded that he would have been more respectful if the Vice President had shown more respect for the facts and the truth.

Today, Adrianna Huffington had a great column on the Cheney interview. She illustrated how much more informative it would have been had Jon Stewart conducted the interview. Stewart would have confronted Cheney on the spot when he made spurious claims and accusations.

It should also be pointed out that Cheney showed no respect for the tradition under which former Presidents and Vice Presidents refrained from criticism of their successors. By contrast, Cheney went so far as to accuse President Obama of placing our country in more risk of terrorist attacks.

homer www.altara.blogspot.com