He's not running for something so much as he's trying to influence the potential jury pool.

Sure, he's running from the possibility of being named as a war criminal by a special prosecutor. He couldn't be elected to any national or state of office, not even in Wyoming.

He aspires to be a kingmaker; being GWB's eminence grise wasn't enough.

Dick is running to avoid the richly deserved condemnation, humiliation, and legal sanctions he sees coming down the pike at him.

Why would the DNC need to work the phones? The "liberal" media is giving him and his family all the free air time he wants and then some. I guarantee they'll all cover it heavily, with Liz Cheney doing the "unbiased" post-speech analysis on at least one news outlet.
And I'm not kidding at all, just you watch.

He's trumpeting Obama's "misguided" policy on terrorism so that when another terrorist attack happens (soooo conveniently for him) Cheney can swoop in for the kill and decimate the Democrats for the next generation -- and possibly be elected President. Think it can't happen? Remember how everyone lost their marbles after 9/11? And don't think he didn't have something to do with that...

Dick loves being the number 1 Republican in the USA. It's almost as good as being President - except you never have to run (and lose)

Oh yes, please, please let Cheney run in 2012. Talk about a permanent majority - for the dems. Palin for Veep, Joe the Non-Republican as Chief of Staff, Huckleberry for SecTheocracy. Please, please make it so.

It's GOP doublespeak: moving on and making room for young talent = poisoning the well to drive out reasonable people and moderates (to the extent any remain in the GOP). He's fumigating the party.

They are Machiavellian and powerful, they have had success at pushing people around and getting away with some nasty things. Here is one thing they clearly are not: smart.

Think about it. Why wouldn't this man believe he can do anything he wants -- including convincing the public that 'torture is good' and necessary. After all, the man shot someone in the face, hid from the police for a day and still somehow managed to keep his job. He also claimed he wasn't a member of the Executive branch - and somehow wasn't laughed out of office. Oh, and I believe he was involved in outing a CIA agent - and that worked out ok too.

Yes, his motive is self-preservation. But he's done it before. Why wouldn't he think he could do it again?

Perhaps he's setting himself up to be the power behind another throne in 2012 but in a Secretary of State type of role. Or as a target dummy drawing fire so as to be a shield to more 'moderate' GOPers. Or as a mentor on how to handle the "liberal media". Or to simply turn the debate on torture into such a muddle no one knows where the handle is? Or to massage a massive ego? Or how about a Limbaugh/Cheney run in '12? Or Palin/Cheney? Or a Huckabee/Cheney run? Or to simply sow doubt and stick a few more knives in place e.g. Powell? Wonder where Scooter is. He hasn't mention Scooter has he? Maybe Scooter will get an editorial position in Philly?

god damn dick cheney's shit-filled soul to hell.

Thank you, Neill! I am quite sure you really do mean it when you write "God damn Dick Cheney's shit-filled soul to hell" but it still makes me laugh. FWIW, I agree with you.

I had read the first few comments and thought to myself, I wonder when Neill will post his comment? I hit refresh and there it was.

Oh, he's just wants to stay on as Viceroy to Imperial Wizard Limbaugh/Great Lord of the Mid-riff/wingnut/

You go Neill - I'm with you every time

god damn dick cheney's shit-filled soul to hell.

Thanks neill. With all the smoke Herr Dick has been throwing up and the chattering idiots on my teevee spinning it silly, your little parable has glued itself to my synapses when confusion creeps in. No more need be said, really.

Look, has Mr Cheney ever let us down. He told us he had proof of WMD's. He told us about mushroom clouds, he told us if we went to war in Iraq we would be treated as liberators and met with flowers
and candy. Who can ever forget when he assured us that the terrorists were in the last throes?
So now we can all agree - Cheney NEVER lies.

Dick Cheney:

Just when you thought the torture was over.. Please have a heart attack already!

He's laying groundwork to point the finger at W.
He's also positioning himself as (someone said) the kingmaker, the "chooser" of the next VP (himself?).
He's freakin' insane.

Take your pick. He's aware of what he's done, and despite not losing any sleep, he certainly does not want to sleep in a federal supermax, which is where he belongs.

Cheney is only interested in profits.

Anyone check Halliburton/Cargill/Bush/whatever stocks lately?

War is gravy, don't f**k with GFY Cheney.

Seems pretty obvious to me. He's betting there's going to be another attack, and that when it happens he (and his supporters) will appear to have been wise and prophetic, and the Democrats will appear to be "weak on terrorism." If no attack, he loses.

I also think that there's a bit of ego involved with Cheney's frequency in the media. People who craved power, had it, and had to relinquish it still feel they have a right to have a voice in shaping policy. He may feel the need to a stay relevant (if not pivotal) public figure, especially if he had an unprecedented amount of influence (for a vice president) for almost a decade. He may not be grooming himself for office so to speak, he's just trying to exert the power he once had. He doesn't even realize how ineffectual he actually is at this point.

Like most ex-presidents and ex-vice presidents, he has the chance to take part of positive activism for the ideals that they feel are important for America and humanity as a whole. Obviously, he is more concerned with his own self-importance. Since he'd rather sling mud after his tenure, it only further illustrates to me that his self-interests trump pretty much any ideal or positive contribution he may be capable of.

He (Dickhead) is writing a book .

Cheney/Palin 2012...also known as...
Gramps and Moron Part Deux.

I personally think Cheney is vain enough to go out to clear his name and rebuilt some sort of Cheney legacy. This is why he has recruited his daughter as well. They can't have the name 'Cheney' disgraced for all of humanity, especially now that they are worth untold millions.

Why are you giving these people space on your blog? Ignore them and eventually they will go away. Let the idiots on TV put them on. Why does anyone have to comment on them? It just prolongs their stay in the public eye. When people stop talking about them they will fade away.

How come no one has aske Dick if the End Justifies the Means when it comes to torture.
Obvioulsy he believes it does, but calling him out on the logic of his argument hasn't happened. We just bogged doewn in hair splitting on what constitutes torture, or false diecotomies like "we have to tortute or Americans die".
Bullshit.
The ends do not justify the means.

Methinks he is running to save his reputation and his standing in history, at all costs,
and perhaps envisions himself and someone like Rush Limbaugh in power in years to come.
Defying age, health, whatever.
It could be Maslow's Hierarchy that we learned in school--self-actualization as the top needed goal.
Still, it appeared he tried to implicate GWBush on Sunday, with his comments,
saying Bush "basically" approved.
Yet he also held back, as if wanting us to believe torture was his own idea.
It appears significant he has not left D.C.
Funny how Democrats questioning the Bush/Cheney policies were labeled as "traitors,"
yet Cheney can appear every Sunday on our tv's with his persistently hostile,
self-serving criticisms of the current president.
I wish he'd graciously get off the stage. The republicans lost the election.
Wonder if he is still tapping our phones.

Next time you see a clip of Cheney, listen for the wheeze. It's not a good sign, and may explain his urgency in trying to justify his now confessed, self-excused record of criminal acts regarding the authorization, implementation, and (so it seems) desire to torture.

MSNBC is doing its part to call out the former vice president on trying to promote torture.
Guest GOP robot Ron Christie, former Cheney aide, thinks torture is simply wonderful!!
David Shuster, covering the Hardball show, and Steve McMahon, Dem strategist, are doing a credible job of saying how ridiculous the torture policy and Cheney's defense are. I also appreciated that Katrina van de Heuval of The Nation Magazine appeared previously on MSNBC's Ed Show, also challenging the torture policy quite exquisitely.
A lot of regular joes watch MSNBC.

Visit crisispapers.org and review the article on Cheney, on a book by Gellman, by Dr. Weiner.

Here's an excerpt:

"...Perhaps the beginning of that fall from unquestioned power came in mid-2005 when, at the height of the bloody civil war of the insurgency in Iraq, Cheney went on TV and said of the rebels:
"I think they're in the last throes, if you will, of the insurgency." Gellman notes that jaws dropped all over Baghdad and Washington.
People wondered "how a man so smart could manage to be, as one of his top aides put it privately, so 'consistently wrong, unyielding and unbending on Iraq'."
A key White House insider summed up the more general problem by saying that "the failing of this administration, because of a fear of admitting error, has been an unwillingness to evolve."

I wonder, Steve, if his polling shows that he fairs better with more contact.

and he is in a fight for his legacy, if not his freedom, both of which will be determined by the public.

the Rasmussen poll shows Republicans improving in the minds of Americans.

Cheney is the only one who seems willing to counter the 24/7 press the Democrats get by selectively releasing documents they think will make their side look better and thus justify whatever political sideshow they want to start. At least someone is speaking up from the other side.

Rasmussen polls favor republicans and are Fox-like.

Here was a poll that daily kos had:

Poll
Do you consider Rasmussen Reports a credible pollster?

Absolutely Yes, they have always gotten it right
7% 7 votes
Yes, but i have some reservation
18% 17 votes
Dont know, i have not followed them lately
8% 8 votes
No, they lean towards republicans all the time
36% 34 votes
Absolutely No, their polls are out there in Space
23% 22 votes
I dont care much about polls
4% 4 votes

"...At least someone is speaking up from the other side." Price @ 8:35 PM.
And all the Democrats, Progressives, and Liberals appreciate it!
Seriously, Cheney's problem is that he is addicted to power; it doesn't matter who (Plame, Libby and who knows how many innocent Iraqis) or what (the US Constitution) suffers just so he can get his next fix. While I don't know if he is hoping for a terrorist attack on the US, I do know (based on his past actions) that if one should occur he will, in a pace-maker regulated heartbeat, take whatever political advantage of it that he can. There'll be none of that namby-pamby, putting party divisions behind us, rallying around the CiC for him!

"It's not like the former vice president holds a unique level or credibility and/or respect with the nation at this point."

But he does. He's uniquely reviled and distrusted.

I wonder if his famous disregard for public opinion is changing, or was always a pose. Maybe it just took him along time -- and the election of Obama -- to realize that years at 19% really does mean that him and his ideas are not respected.

Already said above, but to repeat c'thulhu knows his place and job - to rally the faithful, to reinforce shaken believers through dogged, persistent repetition of koans necessary to those who fail upwards. He's re-setting the foundation, offering those bereft of heart, soul, and courage the gunk needed to spackle over their cracked confidence. Cuz confidence is all they got, confidence and persistence; if they lose that they've lost everything. So LimpDick Chickenhawk's not long for this world? He'll take one for the team. Hell, that's what he's always done. This guy has been used, like a Puritan corncob - what does he have left to lose? Really? So why not let it all hang out, and solidify the proto-fascist base for another day, another 'Reagan?' What the fuck else is he gonna do?

Remember how everyone lost their marbles after 9/11? And don't think he didn't have something to do with that... Posted by: dalloway on May 12, 2009

Not everybody 'lost their marbles', but apparently 99% of the Republicans did.

Isn't it interesting to hear these people who were in the administration talking about a variety of things and it all sounds idiotic. How on earth did the electorate ever go for that?

Talk about a group that lost their marbles...

Still, you've got to give them credit where credit is due. They keep fighting!

Note to terrorists:

Just get Dick near a microwave and hit "Beverage". We'll call it "Waterheating".

(yeah - that's a lame-assed pacemaker joke - sorry)