Cheney's Opening Salvo
Day 55
March 15, 2009
"When you go back to the law-enforcement mode, which I sense is what they're doing, closing Guantánamo and so forth ... they are very much giving up that center of attention and focus that's required, that concept of military threat that is essential if you're going to successfully defend the nation against further attacks."
—Dick Cheney, former Vice President, criticizing President Obama's decision to close the detention facility at Guantánamo Bay in an interview with CNN's State of the Union
"We'll see the recession coming to an end probably this year."
—Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve Chairman, in a rare interview on CBS's 60 Minutes
The former VP decides not to follow his old boss's lead in staying quiet on the Obama Administration, setting off a firestorm by blatantly attacking the President during his first interview since leaving office. He charges the White House successors with exposing the country to future terrorism attacks by closing Gitmo and changing interrogation rules. But the White House doesn't take the criticism lying down. Press secretary Robert Gibbs dismisses the attack the next day, saying, "I guess Rush Limbaugh was busy, so they trotted out the next most-popular member of the Republican cabal."
On the other hand, Ben Bernanke — the first sitting Federal Reserve Chairmain to give a TV interview since 1987 — tries to soothe those worried about the economy by telling 60 Minutes that the country has averted the risk of a depression.
The rest of the Sunday-show chatter is directed at AIG, as both parties (House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: "Unconscionable"; GOP Senator Mitch McConnell: "An outrage") blast the bailed-out insurance giant for spending $165 million on executive bonuses.