Lame ducks

I could take the easy way out and talk about "Dead Eye Dick (Cheney)". I could use cute little catch phrases like "Cheney's Got a Gun" or "Cheney’s daughter isn't the only one in the family that can't do things straight." But those are all too easy and besides the whole situation is merely a subplot to the much larger story.

As of right now the administration only has 1,000 days left in office. Cheney announced back when he was elected VP that he wouldn't be seeking the office of President at the end of Bush’s term. That means that the administration has already reached the lame-duck period of their time in office.

For those not familiar with the lame-duck concept let me lay out a quick explanation. The world of politics is one of "what-can-you-do-for-me?" If you are not going to be around in few years, I need to start looking for the next sugar daddy that will take care of me in the long term. Which means that everyone loses interest and you cease to be effective in getting anything other that the day-to-day business done.

While the lame-duck concept is supposed to take power from the incumbent, in this case it may actually empower the Bush administration and I think that the way Cheney’s office handled the whole shooting situation displays my point. He completely ignored the national press until the story got so out of hand that he had to respond.

Consider all the unpopular programs the administration has been battered on over the past several years. There were many times they were defeated, Social Security reform for instance, and the reason was because the public reacted to the media reports and demanded action. This is exactly the way our democracy is supposed to work.

But what happens if the people in power are no longer beholden to the citizens? What if they no longer needed anything from us? They would be free to pursue the programs and policies they deemed important and the public be damned.

And that is exactly what I think you’re beginning to see. Take a look at the Dubai port issue that has crept up in the last week. Not only did the White House completely misjudge it from a public relations standpoint, but it refused to acknowledge the concerns from the people in their own party.

In fact, so many people were so upset over it that the congress was going to introduce legislation to stop it. What was Bush's response? "No Problem, I'll just veto whatever they send me." Bush has yet to veto a single law since he took office. This is the equivalent of flipping congress the Presidential bird.

Really, I think the administration has just become the geeky kid in school that somehow seems to be popular because he quits caring what people think. The only downside to this is even the most popular geeky kid was still a geek and no one would ever come to his defense when he was getting his ass kicked.

So do I believe we're looking at a new round of wedgies for the administration? Based on the way that the media, Democrats and even Republicans have reacted to Cheney being a clumsy goof and Bush's bird flipping, I'd say it has already begun.

Of course we still have the mid-terms to deal with which will keep the White House in line for the time being. After that all bets are off. The incumbents in Congress will be free to go along with whatever the administration wants because everyone would be safe for at least the next two years. With Cheney not running and the best hopes for the Republican party's presidential run being moderates in the guise of Rudy and McCain, the current hardliners in the party know that the clock is ticking on all the things they want to get done.

Their hands may finally be free to run the country the way they always wanted to without the pesky media or public opinion involved. That is, of course, as long as Cheney can keep from killing off all their supporters. Come on. You didn’t think I was going to let him off completely.

Brock Tanner is also an aspiring kept woman... at least on the fifth Thursday of every month... for the right amount of money... inquires can be sent to brocktanner@hobotrashcan.com.