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Cheney on 2/3 of Americans Opposing Iraq War: "So What?"

Posted by Amanda Terkel, Think Progress at 11:15 AM on March 19, 2008.


This opposition to the war is not a "fluctuation" (as Cheney calls it) in public opinion.
Cheney On Two-Thirds Of The American Public Opposing The Iraq War: ‘So?’

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This morning, on the fifth anniversary of the Iraq invasion, ABC's Good Morning America aired an interview with Vice President Cheney on the war. During the segment, Cheney flatly told White House correspondent Martha Raddatz that he doesn't care about the American public's views on the war:

CHENEY: On the security front, I think there's a general consensus that we've made major progress, that the surge has worked. That's been a major success.
RADDATZ: Two-third of Americans say it's not worth fighting.
CHENEY: So?
RADDATZ: So? You don't care what the American people think?
CHENEY: No. I think you cannot be blown off course by the fluctuations in the public opinion polls.
This opposition to the war is not a "fluctuation" in public opinion. The American public has steadily turned against the war since the 2003 invasion. According to a new CNN poll, just 36 percent of the American public believes that "the situation in Iraq was worth going to war over -- down from 68 percent in March 2003, when the war began."

Even though he doesn't care what the American public wants, Cheney still thinks he is able -- and entitled -- to speak for the American public. Last month, Cheney declared, "The American people will not support a policy of retreat." If Cheney were actually listening to the "American people," he would know that 61 percent actually supports the redeployment of U.S. troops.

Digg!

Tagged as: iraq, cheney

Amanda Terkel is Deputy Research Director at the Center for American Progress and serves as Deputy Editor for The Progress Report and ThinkProgress.org at the Center for American Progress.


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That was not a so what
Posted by: JSquercia on Mar 19, 2008 11:17 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
That was not a so what it is more of a Screw Them they can't STOP us

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

I hope this piece of shit lives long enough
Posted by: hurricane hugo on Mar 19, 2008 11:43 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
to be tried and convicted for at least some of his numerous war crimes.
And his back-loaded puppet, too.

jdfu!

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

I hope this piece of shit lives long enough
Posted by: hurricane hugo on Mar 19, 2008 11:43 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
to be tried and convicted for at least some of his numerous war crimes.
And his back-loaded puppet, too.

jdfu!

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

oh, they're listening
Posted by: KaptainSpiffy on Mar 20, 2008 2:38 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
ya better watch out!

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RE: Cheney listening!
Posted by: Dadster3 on Mar 20, 2008 8:13 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
And vice-versa....

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Indict the War Monger
Posted by: Rosasharn on Mar 19, 2008 1:55 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
No, Dick, we won't be caring bout you, either, when you're first indicted for your murderous ways, and then, after you spend the rest of your greedy life in prison for crimes against humanity. We will, however, care very much that you are waterboarded daily. Oh, and we won't be caring when you're impeached for bringing you're filthy plans about Iran to the world. And let all historians remember forever the evil you brought to the planet. No, we won't be caring as you eternally roast in that place your spending eternity in.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: Indict the War Monger Posted by: Turiye
» RE: Indict the War Monger Posted by: Doubtom
» RE: Indict the War Monger Posted by: Rosasharn
» RE: Indict the War Monger Posted by: shd1230
Wow
Posted by: Suz on Mar 19, 2008 2:25 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I wish I had the luxury of utterly disregarding the opinion of MY boss and the people who pay MY salary.

He's really an amazing creature--with each passing day, he continues to find fresh and innovative ways to live up to his name.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

I have a cunning plan....
Posted by: gallery on Mar 19, 2008 2:58 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Let's all go down to washington armed with garage door openers and press the button at the same time.
Maybe we can short circuit that mechanical pile of junk he calls a heart.

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» RE: I have a cunning plan.... Posted by: Longdream
» RE: I have a cunning plan.... Posted by: isnamthere
» RE: I have a cunning plan.... Posted by: AMERICAN VETERAN
» pfft! beautiful! Posted by: KaptainSpiffy
Cheney Belongs In Prison Or on The Guillotine
Posted by: left_libertarian on Mar 19, 2008 4:13 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Fcukin A!

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Raw talent.
Posted by: Longdream on Mar 19, 2008 5:40 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
That's all there is to it.

This monolith, this stone snarl on the roadside of history is the master of offhand contempt. He had to be born with the ability. Nobody but Cheney could flip off two-thirds of the country in cold blood without a second thought.

He's the man of steel, and will not let phony conventions like loyalty to his party members who are trying to get elected stand in the way of his savoir faire. That tiny heart clacking in little Dickey's infant breast was made of granite.

Keep it up, Dick.

Barack can use the support.

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» RE: aw talent. Posted by: Suz
He is a very sick man, they are all sick
Posted by: foreverhope on Mar 19, 2008 7:34 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
and I truly believe he will be indicted, a special counsel will be appointed, and God only knows what will come out. What we know is only the tip of an enormous iceberg.

They are really sick people, that is all I can say or think. "let them eat cake", that is their motto. MCPAIN has tied himself to this?

ALSO FROM GOOD MORNING AMERICA

"Why should we hear about body bags, and deaths...I mean, it's not relevant. So why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that?"

~First Lady Barbara Bush
Mrs. Bush spoke these words on ABC's "Good Morning America," March 18, 2003

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the public is to blame
Posted by: metoo on Mar 19, 2008 11:55 PM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Yes Dick is a dick but he's right, the government can't decide on the whims of a chicken hearted population.

Now that y'all are scared, you don't make rational choices.

Don't give Cheney too much credit here, the American People put him in office twice. If you want to call someone a toadstool, look around.

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» RE: the public is to blame Posted by: isnamthere
» RE: the public is to blame Posted by: blitzmesser
» RE: the public is to blame Posted by: mainspark
» RE: the public is to blame Posted by: AMERICAN VETERAN
» RE: the public is to blame Posted by: Doubtom
Other Priorities?
Posted by: clawjack on Mar 20, 2008 5:58 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Cheney was the ultimate 1960's draft dodger who said that he had other Priorities" when called up to serve in the military for Vietnam. That this contemptuous coward would send our military now into a civil war for the sake of profit and revenge is a remarkable miscarriage of justice. No wonder he was chosen by the Fly Boy who headed the ticket; the one who spent his military tour of duty in the air defending the Golf Coast from invasion and working on a Republican election campaign. Obviously the only priorities these two stupid gets have is making money on the blood of others.

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» RE: Other Priorities? Posted by: rinthy
And now for something completely different...
Posted by: mainspark on Mar 20, 2008 6:17 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
"CHENEY: No. I think you cannot be blown off course by the fluctuations in the public opinion polls."

Hey, Dick!

You might want to pass that info along to John McCain. It looks like there's going to be a fluctuation in the public's opinion in November. He would be wise to take heed of your statement.

And, Dick? Go fluctuate yourself.

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And Conservatives wonder...
Posted by: bloggeddowninMKE on Mar 20, 2008 6:37 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
why liberals are so enraged by this guy? I saw this clip on the news last night with my wife and both of our jaws hit the floor when he said, "so?" We both looked at each other as if to silently say, "Did he really just say what I think he said?"

The next time I hear someone question why liberals hate Cheney and Bush so much, I'm going to play this clip for them. Pompous, arrogant, above the law, murderers, liars and cowards!

All you atheists out there might want to think about, at least temporarily, converting to a belief that includes some kind of an afterlife, because there is no way justice can be meted out to these guys here on earth - there just isn't enough time.

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» RE: And Conservatives wonder... Posted by: mainspark
» RE: And Conservatives wonder... Posted by: blitzmesser
Go, Dick, go
Posted by: QCao009 on Mar 20, 2008 6:49 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Memo to Senator Mac:

Forget the Prez. Take Dick on the campaign trail with you. He's another "maverick" who is not afraid to speak his mind. He'll surely envigorate crowds and they will turn out in droves for you.

Better still, walk outside the Green Zone without your Blackwater guards and tell us just how safe it is !!! You started Iraq, you can stay there. Just don't expect us to continue to clean up your mess.

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» RE: Go, Dick, go Posted by: Longdream
A democratic government is an elected dictatorship ...
Posted by: harryf200 on Mar 20, 2008 7:11 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
And that's a fact! Loath the man or hate him, he's got you all by the b#lls with this. Once a Government is elected, they have the mandate of "the people" until "the people" vote them out at the next (if they vote them out) at the next election. Elected dictatorship: That;'s democracy. So, he is under no obligation (save for a moral one) to acknowledge what opinion polls say, although he's stupid not to do so, or says so publicly cos its remarks like that which could lose the Republicans the next election. But then again, may be it won't! Y'get the Government y'deserve in a democracy.

And he's right about one thing. Opinion polls are only good for one thing - showing just how fickle is the general populace, as they are generally not very good at measuring REAL publc opinion anyway. Only elections can do that.

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The oil is too important...
Posted by: manderson on Mar 20, 2008 7:33 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
...as a profit maker and power source (political and societal) to be left to an American public who can see with both eyes closed that it would be cheaper (for us) to just pay for it and not steal it, and create a sustainable energy policy, and live in harmony with the rest of the world. Send the bastard on a hunting trip with Hugo Chavez.

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Dick Cheney....Before he dicks you
Posted by: larryracies on Mar 20, 2008 7:37 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
That's my slogan.
Pass it on.

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bigtime
Posted by: pnut on Mar 20, 2008 7:45 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I agree we the American people are not smart enought to make any choices at all, we have to be the but hole of the world, to elect this man 2 times not to even think about his boss, if some one from another world came here and looked at this mess we the people of this once great country have made of this world, I think they may go back home and tell their leaders that no intelligence exist on that world. I think I will not have a grave marker as I do not want any one to know that I lived in these times and did not die trying to change the mess Mr. Bush & Co. have made of this world. I have failed man kind as I just sit here on my ass and let Mr. Bush & Co. do as they dam well please. What a ass I have been. Bill Davidson

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» Dead Dick Posted by: GeorgiaBlue
Delusional Dick
Posted by: neilemac on Mar 20, 2008 9:11 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
How dank must Amerika become before the 'impeachment' of the liars in power is an option???

This is America. While our nation was supposedly founded on the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, there is no right to a job. There is no right to a warm, dry home. There isn’t even a right to eat. And all across this country, even in the nearly unknown city of Ontario, California, the Republicans, neo-cons and libertarians are leading us toward their version of the future. Leading us forward, to the 1930's.

Source: AMERICA'S TENT CITY

The hypocrisy of 'Dick' and the American people is that you allow him to continue.

Where are the so called 'brave' now???

Oh, that's right, they're Winter Soldiers who are now revealing the truth about what's going on in the true arena of the neo-con 'war on terror' and the farce of its supposed delivery if 'freedom & democracy in the middle east. But you won't hear about it in 'corporate' media.

But the rest of the world is watching thanks to online sites like Democracy Now.org and The REAL News; while sadly, American as well as Canadian corporate media haven't as yet made as much as a 'peep' about it.

The secrecy has to end.

If Dick and cabal are so gung ho to proliferate 'freedom and democracy;' why isn't it practiced in America. Begin at home, guys; please.

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So???
Posted by: curiousdwk on Mar 20, 2008 9:22 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Shortly before we invaded Iraq with our Shock and Awe offense, there were 5 Million people in the streets on the same day saying the same thing: "Don't attack now". (They weren't even saying "Don't attack", they were saying "Don't Attack now") This was the largest demonstration in history. And what was the response of the Neocons then of Cheney, Bush, et al? Actually it was more silent than "So?", as the only response was their collective social finger.

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Dick gives us all...
Posted by: Quannah on Mar 20, 2008 9:23 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
a big "Fuck You." That is what the "So?" really meant.

I'm so pissed I can't type anything else.

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» RE: Dick gives us all... Posted by: Doubtom
» RE: Dick gives us all... Posted by: blitzmesser
» RE: Dick gives us all... Posted by: peacefullaim
THANK YOU MRS. PELOSI:
Posted by: jwpa13 on Mar 20, 2008 11:11 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
for taking impeachment OFF THE TABLE. It has really helped; but helped who?

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AgelessAnnie
Posted by: AgelessAnnie on Mar 20, 2008 11:32 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I have lost count of the number of websites dedicated to The Lefty/Progressive View and includes some which have petitions (which I always dutifully sign)to initiate--again-- Impeachment for Bush/Cheney--Yeah Let's Do It!!
Alas, nothing ever comes of it, as far as I can tell. These two people--or whatever they are--are cited with TEN counts of malfeasance, crimes of treason and so on and so on, all of which are charged to "Darth and Dubya". Isn't that enough to get started, time is marching on, right? Why aren't people riding on the bandwagon and getting something done?

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Somebody bitch slap that prick!
Posted by: DaBear on Mar 20, 2008 8:24 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I live for the day when old man Cheney is needin' a drink of water in a small town and his entourage stops and the cook spits in his waterglass, the dishwasher pees into it, and the waitress throws it in his face and then bitch-slaps the old asshole senseless.

Jail is too good a punishment for such an arrogant, viscious, souless sack of shit.

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Wait a minute. FLUCTUATIONS?
Posted by: Longdream on Mar 20, 2008 8:47 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
What does he mean fluctuations?

The approval rating dropped like a piano from the nineteenth floor. I don't recall any "fluctuating", just a stark plunge straight down.

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Call the psychpath to account.
Posted by: wisegalah on Mar 21, 2008 7:30 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Where is the congress in all of this?
Why is there no outrage by members of both houses? Why is there no outrage expressed in the media?
How can this pair of psychopaths (Bush and Cheney) get away with this?
Primarily I think because of the incredibly ponderous and absurd political process that a person has to go through to get elected to the Presidency.
Make it simple.
In Australia for example we recently had a change of government. The whole process took six weeks. (Short, simple and clear, and I did not like the outcome!) It works because the potential chief executive(s) is/are exposed to the public gaze in the parliament over a period of years, rise to lead their party and automatically become chief executive when the party gains the greater number of parliamentary seats.
The other reason why it works is because of preferential voting. In the first past the post system that you use a person like Nader can take votes from the candidate who most closely matches his views. Means the the two main parties have an easy ride in that they know that in the event of a third candidate they only have to get a fraction over 33.3% of the vote.
In a preferential system the second choice of th voter is counted so that their vote counts if a person votes first for A second for B and definitely does not want C. A much more democratic system.
No dramas. No degrading campaigns going on for months. Some horse trading and some unsavoury behaviour but nothing like the wasteful, demeaning and tasteless process which procedes through about half of each political cycle in the USA.
For the sake of sanity create a new and workable structure. Your constitution is not holy writ. It is a document which suited the time in which it was written but it usefullness is now questionable particularly when you have a president who has dispensed with the parts which does not suit his criminal aims.

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