Opinion Focus

Washington Post opinion columnist Eugene Robinson was online Tuesday, June 26, at 2 p.m. ET to discuss his recent columns and the latest news.

'Angler' For Power (Post, June 26) | Discussion Group: Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood

The transcript follows.

Archive: Eugene Robinson discussion transcripts

____________________

Eugene Robinson: Hi, folks, and welcome to our regular discussion (an hour late today -- my apologies). I have a feeling that because today's column is about Dick Cheney, and because the vice president is in the news these days, he'll probably be the main course this afternoon.

_______________________

Waldorf, Md.: Among the many things I don't understand about Cheney's claim to be not part of either the executive or legislative branches is, where are all the conservative pundits? People like George Will should be howling in agony at someone suggesting that, after 200 years, there's a fourth branch of government we hadn't ever heard about before. All the "strict constructionists" should be shell-shocked. Instead: a vast silence. It's amazing.

Eugene Robinson: They probably are sitting in stunned silence. I wonder how the "strict constructionists" on the Supreme Court would rule if Cheney's novel constitutional theories ever reached them in a case...

_______________________

Alexandria, Va.: Is it not unethical to fail to mention that the same members of Congress complaining about Cheney's claims of exemption from certain presidential orders -- because he is a directly elected, constitutionally appointed official and not an employee of the president -- routinely exempt themselves from OSHA, RCRA and many other laws and orders the rest of the citizens have to follow, using precisely the same argument that Cheney is using?

Eugene Robinson: If I understand your double-negative phrasing, no, it is not unethical. Congress does exempt itself from a host of regulations, and in many cases this is self-serving and unjustified. But Congress actually is a separate branch of government, whereas the vice president's office is not.

_______________________

Louisburg, N.C.: The Bush legacy? A start on the remaking of our country and its relation with the world can be corrected by a different administration -- but don't you think his lasting legacy, and one that will endure for several generations, is the Supreme Court? Wasn't this one of the prime objectives of Bush and his legions? (Yes, a legion can be 29 percent.)

Eugene Robinson: This morning, as I tried to digest yesterday's three Supreme Court decisions, I was thinking the same thing -- the impact on the court will be lasting, and unfortunate.

_______________________

Atlanta: Hello, Eugene. What will the Bush-Cheney apologists say if Hilary Clinton is elected President, and "inherits" all the presidential/vice presidential power that they have grabbed, stolen or been handed on a silver platter from a spineless Congress? Will the unitary presidency still be such a great thing? Conversely, what is the likelihood of a Democratic president "repealing" all the various executive orders, torture policy, record secrecy and the like?

Eugene Robinson: That's a good question. My sense is that Cheney is pretty much an absolutist on this subject, and that he would agree that a Democratic president should have equally imperial powers. Republicans in Congress would howl, of course, but that's politics. Now, what would a Democratic successor do with all this power? I would expect and hope that he or she would reestablish habeas corpus, unambiguously forbid torture, etc. But would a Democrat cede all the power that Bush-Cheney have grabbed? I'm not sure.

_______________________

Baltimore: What in the world would Dick Cheney have to do to get impeached? He shot someone in the face and it was laughed off. If he's impeached, will he preside over the Senate during the impeachment trial?

Eugene Robinson: He would probably argue that the Fourth Branch of Government cannot be impeached.

_______________________

Re: Cheney: Yes, Mr. Robinson, you are right about Cheney (scary, scary) but wouldn't every vice president want such power? I see people cringing about this man, but not doing very much. Perhaps he is setting a precedent that every vice president would fantasize about (if only the president would let them get away with it).

Eugene Robinson: The thing is, what president would want a vice president running amok like that? Vice presidents exist to be sent to the funerals of somewhat important foreign leaders, to go out and energize the president's political base, and to preside over "initiatives" that sound good but never amount to much. They do that for four or eight years, and then they get to run for president. What other vice president has come even  to office with such an independent agenda? Even Lyndon Johnson, a man who was never at a loss for an agenda, knew what his job was as vice president.

_______________________

Poplar Bluff, Mo.: I have found The Post's series on Dick Cheney fascinating and disturbing. In Sally Quinn's op-ed piece, counterpoint to your piece, stated that a group of Republicans could possibly try to dump Cheney this summer. Is there really talk among Republicans to try this? Do you believe that The Post's series will just further entrench President Bush in keeping him so he can stay the "Decider"?

washingtonpost.com: A GOP Plan To Oust Cheney (Post, June 26)

Eugene Robinson: I think the "Angler" series on Cheney is maybe the best journalism I've read all year (and I'd be saying that even if it had appeared in the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal instead of The Post). As for Cheney's tenure, there was a time when I thought he might bow out at some point, citing his health, which would give Bush the chance to appoint a vice president who then would be able to run in 2008. But the window for that sort of maneuver is long gone, I'm afraid. For one thing, no Republican who wanted to run for president would think serving for any length of time as GWB's vice president would win votes. And how are Republicans going to shove Cheney out? I'm betting that he's there for the duration.

_______________________

Toronto: Of all the alarming things I've been reading about lately, this is the scariest of all: 41 percent of Americans still think that Saddam Hussein was behind 9/11. I don't know whether to laugh, cry or throw up. How can people be so uninformed?

Eugene Robinson: I feel the same way when people defend the war in Iraq by saying "we have to fight them over there so we don't have to fight them here." Who's "them"? The people who attacked the United States on Sept. 11, 200, didn't come from Iraq. They had nothing to do with Iraq. If we wanted to invade "their" country to engage "them" on their home turf, we'd invade Saudi Arabia.

_______________________

Decatur, Ga.: Vice President = Dan Quayle. That's how it is when the universe is as it should be.

Eugene Robinson: To quote the prototypical veep: "What a waste it is to lose one's mind..."

_______________________

Kensington, Md.: I see where the Post underscored Al Gore's thesis from "Assault On Reason" by inviting Dear Prudence to "argue" with the climatology community on some of its findings. Any word on when Dr. Paris Hilton's invited piece refuting Fermat's Last Theorem will run?

washingtonpost.com: Gloom and Doom in A Sunny Day (Post, June 25)

Eugene Robinson: I hear that Paris found a problem on page 37 of her Fermat proof -- she was scratching it out on the wall of her cell and broke a fingernail, with the result that a minus sign was omitted, so I think that piece will be delayed.

_______________________

Washington: Eugene, lost in all of the outrage about the vice president's view of his office is this simple fact -- he has a legitimate point. The Constitution says very little about the Vice Presidency and gives the office nothing to do other than preside over the Senate and cast the deciding vote in the rare instance of a tie. And the Constitution does not clearly place the Vice President in either the Executive or the Legislative Branch. So he can literally have it both ways -- claim executive privilege to protect his office from congressional oversight and then protect the office from executive oversight by saying it's not part of the Executive Branch. Hate him as much as you want, but he has just been savvy enough to exploit a pretty gaping hole in the document that forms the blueprint for our government. In other words, as the rappers say, "don't hate the player, hate the game."

Eugene Robinson: Hey, I noted in today's column that Cheney is a Playa Supreme! His skill at art-of-war bureaucratic gamesmanship is impressive to say the least. But come on, this "neither fish nor fowl" argument is really a crock: The Founders were very clear on setting up three branches of government, and I'm not aware of any intention they might have had to make the vice president a kind of free agent who is beholden to no one -- not the president's orders, not the Congress, presumably not the Supreme Court either.

_______________________

Baltimore: The Angler series is great, but the Walter Reed exposes were even greater. The Post is certainly hitting some stories out of the park this year.

washingtonpost.com: Walter Reed and Beyond:A Washington Post Investigation

Eugene Robinson: Yes, thanks for mentioning Walter Reed, which vies for "Angler" as the best journalism of the year so far.

_______________________

Winston-Salem, N.C.: I had such tremendous respect for Secretary of Defense Cheney under President George H.W. Bush. From my perspective, it's almost as if a different man became Vice President Cheney under President George W. Bush. Can anyone comment on what his personality and/or philosophy was like in the early '90s vs. today?

Eugene Robinson: Foreign policy wise man Brent Scowcroft, who served Bush 41, famously said he didn't recognize the current Dick Cheney. I've heard all sorts of theories about the impact his heart disease and medications might have on his personality. But people who know him well are quoted in the "Angler" series as saying there has been no change -- he's the same Dick Cheney.

_______________________

Port Orange, Fla.: Given the records of Nixon and Reagan in their second terms and the time-bombs they tried to hide, I'm beginning to think that the Bush administration has one of those bombs -- a biggie at that. And it's somewhere in the vice president's office. Yeah, Cheney is super-smart and very experienced in the ways of Washington, etc., but so were Poindexter (Ph.D, Caltech) and the Nixon boys. Do think I'm right that there is a big scandal out there and will it hit the fan before the Bushies are booted out of town?

Eugene Robinson: I think that's possible, but let's review the bidding: Domestic electronic surveillance without court warrants; indefinite detention of suspects without charges, access to courts or access to the evidence against them; torture of prisoners; leading the nation into a war based on evidence that many experts knew was bogus. What's going to top all of that?

_______________________

Austin, Texas: Can you tell us your opinion on Bloomberg?

Eugene Robinson: Smart, pragmatic, rich. I hope he's smart enough to realize what a long shot a third-party presidential bid would be. But he can just sit back and wait for nearly a year, and see what happens. If people are in a sour enough mood against both parties, maybe he'll be willing to throw in a small portion of his fortune -- a few hundred million, no more than a billion, tops -- and see what happens.

_______________________

Re: Supreme Court Decisions...: Mr. Robinson, please pardon my ignorance, but I have been out of the loop. What three court decisions were you referring to? Does the Post have a news story about these decisions? Thank you...

washingtonpost.com: Top three stories listed here: Supreme Court coverage

Eugene Robinson: Here's a link. One weakened the McCain-Feingold campaign finance limits, one limited speech by students and one said ordinary taxpayers can't challenge the president's faith-based spending on constitutional grounds.

_______________________

Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eugene, my question is, do actually think Vice President Cheney cares about you stupid columns? Cheney thinks you in the media are morons and he is oh so right. The Washington Post is a liberal biased joke and no wonder your sales are in the toilet. You're a pathetic liberal joke ... as much as you hate Bush and Cheney, the fact is they won two elections and you liberal hacks at The Washington Post can't stand that fact.

Eugene Robinson: In answer to your question, I'd say no, the vice president does not care about my stupid columns, or even my smart columns.

_______________________

Hamilton, Va.: While it is apparent that Cheney is a real piece of work, I wonder how Bush has allowed himself to be pushed around like that. The macho strutting Texan he likes to play on TV wouldn't put up with it. What would Chuck Norris do? Bush is Cheney's Blair.

Eugene Robinson: I'd love to understand the dynamics of the Bush-Cheney relationship. If I were to guess, I would say that Bush is indeed The Decider -- but that Cheney controls the menu of options. As in, "Do we invade Iraq in March or do we do it in April," as opposed to "How do we finish the campaign against al-Qaeda we started in Afghanistan?" or "How do we combat terrorism in a way that doesn't just create more terrorists?"

_______________________

Silver Spring, Md.: I think Copernicus, Galileo and the modern astronomy community are all wrong about the sun-centered solar system. I don't have any data, or any particular expertise in the field. All I know is that it bothers me to have people saying we orbit the sun, when I can clearly see it moving across the sky. Plus it is scaring the children to hear people talk about it. Could you tell me how to get an pp-ed piece published at The Post? I hear they have no standards for this anymore. Thank you!

Eugene Robinson: I think there must be a Bush administration science panel that has a spot for you!

_______________________

Washington: What did you make of the Dana Perino meltdown yesterday?

washingtonpost.com: The Cheese Stands Alone (Post, June 26)

Eugene Robinson: People say I have no empathy for the Bush administration, but I really felt for Dana Perino yesterday as she stood there and tried to defend the indefensible. She could have told the truth -- "You're right, this makes no earthly sense, there is no fourth branch of government, I don't know what the hell they're smoking over in the vice president's office" -- but then she would have had to walk back to her office, pack up her things and quit.

_______________________

Eugene Robinson: Thanks, everyone, for a fun and fast-paced hour. I'll be taking a break next week, so our next chat will be on July 10. Happy Fourth of July, and don't forget to celebrate the recent discovery of our fourth branch of government, hidden in plain sight all these years.

_______________________

Editor's Note: washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions. washingtonpost.com is not responsible for any content posted by third parties.