David Axelrod Fights Back: Slams Dick Cheney

Posted by Steve Benen, Washington Monthly at 11:05 AM on April 5, 2009.

Responding to Dick Cheney's assertions that Obama administration national security policies have left the nation less safe, David Axelrod told CNN this morning that he has a different perspective.

"I find it supremely ironic, on a day when we were meeting with NATO, to talk about the continued threat from al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where they're still plotting against us eight years -- or seven years later," he said. "I think the question for Mr. Cheney is, how could that be? How could this have gone so long? Why are they still in business?"

Satyam Khanna has the video.

I have to assume the White House welcomes these kinds of opportunities. The more Cheney takes cheap shots, the more Obama and his team get to respond. The result reinforces the notion that the political fight boils down to Obama's approach vs. the Bush/Cheney approach.

It's also why Republican leaders would prefer to have Cheney stop talking so much.

Tagged as: cheney, axelrod

Steve Benen is "blogger in chief" of the popular Washington Monthly online blog, Political Animal. His background includes publishing The Carpetbagger Report, and writing for a variety of publications, including Talking Points Memo, The American Prospect, the Huffington Post, and The Guardian. He has also appeared on NPR's "Talk of the Nation," MSNBC's "Rachel Maddow Show," Air America Radio's "Sam Seder Show," and XM Radio's "POTUS '08."