A White House Wrapped in Secrecy

"Of those surveyed, those who said they have a favorable view of the United States fell to 9 percent in Turkey, 21 percent in Egypt and 15 percent in Pakistan, all key players in US anti-terrorism strategy.

"'The US image in Muslim countries is just abysmal,' said Andrew Kohut, president of the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan opinion survey organization in Washington."

Cheney Reaction

Reaction to The Post's four-part series on Vice President Cheney:

The Casper (Wyo.) Star Tribune editorial board writes: "Whatever happened to the Dick Cheney who represented Wyoming so effectively in the U.S. House for more than a decade? . . .

"Comedians used to make us laugh by suggesting Cheney, not Bush, was really running the show. But the joke isn't funny anymore. It seems Bush either turned over many duties to his vice president, or looked the other way when Cheney grabbed them. . . .

"There is still time for Cheney to mend his image before he leaves office in January 2009. But he needs to stop acting as though his decisions mustn't be questioned, and accept that he has made mistakes. No matter how many times Cheney insists Saddam Hussein was responsible for 9/11, it won't change the fact that he wasn't. Too many people regret the Iraq war for anyone to buy Cheney's argument that opponents want to abet terrorism. That's offensive and insults Cheney's own intelligence."

David S. Broder writes in his Washington Post opinion column that "when presidential candidate George W. Bush chose Dick Cheney as his running mate, I applauded the choice," thinking that Cheney would give Bush candid advice. "Boy, was I wrong."

Instead, Cheney turned into "a vice president who used the broad authority given him by a complaisant chief executive to bend the decision-making process to his own ends and purposes. . . .

"It was not illegal, and it was not unconstitutional, but it could not have happened unless the president permitted it and enabled it. And ultimately the president is responsible for what has become, in very large respect, the resulting wreckage of foreign policy, national security policy, budget policy, energy policy and environmental policy under Cheney's direction and on Cheney's watch."

Bruce Fein writes in Slate: "The House judiciary committee should commence an impeachment inquiry. As Alexander Hamilton advised in the Federalist Papers, an impeachable offense is a political crime against the nation. Cheney's multiple crimes against the Constitution clearly qualify."

Matthew Daly writes for the Associated Press: "West Coast Democrats called for a hearing Wednesday into the role Vice President Dick Cheney may have played in the 2002 die-off of about 70,000 salmon near the California-Oregon border."

And a commenter called Helpless Dancer writes at Firedoglake: "The thing that strikes me about the WashPost series is that Cheney was constructing Bush's bubble from the very get go. He has managed to prevent anybody from one on one access to Bush without his approval. Nobody talked to Bush without his approval or his presence. His heavy handed presence managed to kill every effort to inject reality into the decision making process through intimidation. Just think about him staring at Bush from behind the bushes at that presser."

Cheney's Admission

Jim Rutenberg writes in the New York Times: "The White House has dropped the argument that Vice President Dick Cheney's dual role as president of the Senate meant that he could deny access to national archivists who oversee the handling of classified data in the executive branch.

"Mr. Cheney's office had said that his dual role meant that he was technically not part of the executive branch.

"In interviews over the last two days, officials have said that while the vice president does, in fact, have the right of refusal, it is for the very opposite reason: He is not required to cooperate with National Archives officials seeking the data because he is a member of the executive branch, with power vested in him by the president. . . .

"Officials in the West Wing privately expressed frustration with the fallout from the vice-presidential position -- which Mr. Cheney's representatives first publicly asserted last year in The Chicago Tribune -- especially, they said, because it was an argument he did not have to make."

The Value of Exercise

CBS News anchor Hannah Storm did the play-by-play at the White House T-Ball game yesterday, getting her an exclusive interview with Bush. (Well, two, really.)

Storm: "Before the game, I had a chance to speak to the president not about politics or the war, but about his love of baseball and his efforts to get Americans to be more active."

Bush: "Yeah, I'm a baseball supporter, but I'm also an exercise guy. I believe strongly in exercise. . . . "

Storm: "I know you're a big believer in this battle against obesity. . . . "

Bush: "I think the government can do a couple things. One, set examples. I exercise a lot. I exercise a lot because, you know, it's good for my mind and good for my soul. But I hope I set a good example, that -- to others -- that exercise is good for you. . . . I love exercise."

Storm: "You've got a big job, you're a fairly busy guy. A lot of adults complain they're so busy they don't have time to exercise."

Bush: "I don't buy that. I don't buy it. I think you set priorities in life. And if exercise is one of your priorities, you'll figure out a time to do it. . . . "

Storm: "Are you a person that looks back on your life philosophically? Are you that way about age?"

Bush: "Not really. I'm amazed at how young I feel."

After the game, Bush took Storm and her three daughters for a tour of the Oval Office. "He's, like, answering their questions," Storm explained.

And the daughter's questions turned out to be almost as tough as the mother's: "How many floors are there in the White House?" "Is being president fun?"

Doonesbury Poll

The Doonesbury Straw Poll asks: "What should we call Cheney's branch of government?"

Late Night Humor

Jon Stewart, in his new regular feature, "You Don't Know Dick," reports: "While the White House and Capitol appear crystal-clear on Google Earth, the Naval Observatory, the vice president's official residence, appears only as an obscured mass of pixels."

Cartoon Watch

Tom Toles, Tony Auth, Dwane Powell and Walt Handelsman on the CIA's "family jewels."