Cheney, Again

I woke up today with a mild hangover, not just from all that Schlitz I drank last night but also that nasty taste in my mouth from eight years of the torture, overreaching executive power, and general malfeasance that was the Bush Administration. That's right, Dick Cheney, the guy who kept a low profile as "vice"-president is making the rounds defending his detention policies and urging President Obama to uphold them.

I 'm not sure what this says about the Republican party, wheeling out a former VP to criticize the current commander -- and there's speculation that Dick is positioning himself for a '12 run (not likely). But this was certainly a desperate moment for a former administration which is urgently trying to recast themselves as 'the ones who kept us safe.'

I'm aware that there is a segment of the population who sees torture and detention policies in the Jack Bauer-school of thought. But we had an election, a pretty decisive one. And these former debates on torture policy should be moot, the country is on a new path. Given, President Obama has not fully accounted for all the details, we still don't know what to do with all these suspected terrorists who can't be prosecuted for lack of evidence. But the big picture is clear: torture days are over, international cooperation is here.

Obama greatest strength has been an ability to re-cast the American image after so many mismanaged policies. And he is the President, whether Dick Cheney likes it or not.