Palins Book Tour Continues-Cheney Grandchild Born

Hey Vice-Precedence Fans!

Yesterday morning former VP Cheney became a grandfather once again as his daughter Mary and her partner of 18 years Heather Poe welcomed their new daughter-Sarah Lynne Cheney was born at 8:17 a.m., weighing 6lbs., 14 oz. at Sibley Hospital in Washington, DC. Mary was the birth mother of this child. So "Congratulations" to Mr. Cheney and his family!


In other news, the Sarah Palin book tour for "Going Rogue" is going strong. People camped out overnight to get her autograph at the Barnes and Noble at the Woodland Mall in Kentwood, Michigan. Thousands of people were there cheering, waving flags, wearing Palin hats and shirts, singing along to her theme songs-"Only in America" (which the McCain-Palin ticket used in the campaign) and "Red High Heels" by Kelly Pickler, where the chorus goes:

"I'll bet you want me back now don't you, don't you? I'm about to show you just how missin' me feels. In my red high heels."

Pretty strong message she's sending there eh?

All of them chanting "Sarah! Sarah!" When they saw the CNN truck pull up with Andrea Mitchell and crew, many people booed furiously-but quickly got back into the spirit of the event cheering for their idol.

Palin briefly addressed the crowd saying: "Thank you so much for showing up so that you can read my words unfiltered by the media,"

People who stood and camped out in line overnight for hours got about 5 seconds of face time with their new patron saint when she signed their books. In interviews with British newspaper The Guardian, fans of Palin had the following comments:

"She's about truth, integrity and working for the people. People just have to let her be who she is. That's what she is about," said Robin Case, 44, who is now caring for her in-laws full-time after losing her job in the auto industry, a similar situation for many people in Michigan which has been hit extremely hard in this economic crisis. People like Mrs. Case are sincerely worried about their futures-they see Palin as one of them

"I am here because Sarah Palin gives me hope," said Michael Cesar.

"I didn't vote for him (Obama). But I don't dislike him. He's got a great family," said Mandi Sutton, 19, who is about to join the military.

As for Gov. Palin? "There is no other person in the world I would rather meet. I just love her," Sutton said.

Today thousands more Americans showed up in Fort Wayne, Indiana and Noblesville, Indiana, and more are expected tomorrow in Cincinnati and Columbus. Here is the latest message from former Gov. Palin on her Facebook page:

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone in every stop on the tour, but I'm especially looking forward to meeting our brave men and women in uniform at Fort Hood. I'm joining the efforts of many others by donating my royalties from the book sales during our stop at Fort Hood to the families of the victims whose lives have been forever changed by the tragic events of November 5th. I am humbled to be able to join the larger effort called "Community Response to 11/5," which was established by the Central Texas-Fort Hood Chapter of the Association of the US Army (AUSA). You can read more about their great efforts here:

http://www.forthoodausa.org/.

As I mentioned last week, I'm going back on Twitter, so you can follow our path on SarahPalinUSA. Below are dates, times, and locations of the venues that I'll be referencing. Some other stops are still to be determined. Please contact each venue for more information. I'll see you soon!

- Sarah Palin

These people who are flocking to see Sarah Palin and read her book don't care that Tina Fey made Palin a laughing-stock to the liberal left, they don't care that Stephen Colbert called her book "a steaming pile of shit" on his show last night-or that he also hollowed it out to store his Eggo waffles in during the current Eggo shortage. They consider her one of them-a "Pro-American" who sees the U.S.A. sliding into socialism under President Obama. A lot of people on the left consider Palin a joke-but to millions of Americans-she represents what Obama did years ago-hope for the future. It would be wrong to dismiss her, as her influence is strong and she will be around for quite awhile. Also, I will say this-I applaud what she said about supporting the people at Ft. Hood-good for her for spreading the word on that.

Stay tuned for more VP Blog readers. Thanks for your support.
Matt Saxe

Cheney Grabbag

"The University of Wyoming will open the new Dick Cheney Center for International Students. And really, who loves foreigners more than Dick Cheney?"
Jay Leno

"The GOP has so much momentum that they're already looking forward to who can take down Obama in the 2012 election. Last week, the Wall Street Journal suggested Dick Cheney. Which can only mean one thing: Someone at the Wall Street Journal lost a fiddle contest to Dick Cheney."
Stephen Colbert


I thought it might be fun to come in on a lighter note with all the CIA and doom and gloom that usually follow Dick Cheney news like a burst of sulfur, flame and brimstone. So there you go. I think both of those above jokes are pretty funny.

The article Colbert refers to was written by James Taranto on August 31st, where he says:

"If the Bush administration's policies really did keep us safe for 7½ years, then it stands to reason that the Obama administration's policies may be endangering us now. Certainly that is how the public would see it in the event of another terrorist attack.

If that happens, heaven forbid, Obama will be seen to have failed in the most basic presidential duty, and the Bush administration will be vindicated. As inconceivable as it may seem today, the 2012 election may end up turning on national security. Republicans would be wise to nominate someone with both toughness and experience. Under such circumstances, it's hard to think of a better candidate--assuming, of course, that he could be persuaded to run--than Richard B. Cheney."

So he's at least got 1 vote if he decides to run. Taranto must be part of that infamous 10 to 15% who approve of former Vice-President Cheney's policies. Notice how Taranto makes sure to throw in that "heaven forbid" to show that he positively doesn't want the U.S. to be attacked while Obama is President-he may hate the President, but not that much-and he wants to make sure he can cover himself with that.

On the other hand, on the 8th anniversary of 9/11 two former Marines felt it was their duty to address what former VP Cheney said about torture in that FOX News Sunday interview I wrote about. In the interview Cheney basically said he approved of water-boarding and had no problems with the methods used at Guantanamo Bay. You can see my earlier blog for more detail.

The two Marines who felt compelled to respond to this are no lightweights (as if any Marine is-have you ever met one? They're all as tough as a $2 steak in Vegas), but are former Commandant Charles Krulak and Marine General Joseph Hoar who succeeded General "Stormin'" Norman Schwarzkopf at Central Command. Here's what they had to say:

"... we never imagined that we would feel duty-bound to publicly denounce a vice president of the United States, a man who has served our country for many years. In light of the irresponsible statements recently made by former Vice President Dick Cheney, however, we feel we must repudiate his dangerous ideas -- and his scare tactics.

What leaders say matters. So when it comes to light, as it did recently, that U.S. interrogators staged mock executions and held a whirling electric drill close to the body of a naked, hooded detainee, and the former vice president winks and nods, it matters.

The Bush administration had already degraded the rules of war by authorizing techniques that violated the Geneva Conventions and shocked the conscience of the world. Now Cheney has publicly condoned the abuse that went beyond even those weakened standards, leading us down a slippery slope of lawlessness."

Think of the courage it must take for these two Marines to say something like this. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that I'm pretty sure the majority of their fellow Marines disagree with them about these issues. Still, they went and said this. We should all be grateful that such men serve and protect our country.

Now, as I have said before-in my opinion it is too early to really judge what VP Cheney's legacy will be. History may vindicate the tough decisions he and President Bush had to make. And I have no problem with the U. of Wyoming naming a center after him-he was the major donor, is an alum, and has a long and distinguished service record.

Sometimes I get accused of being partisan here, but I just want to state for the record, that I do my best to look at everything regarding all the VP's from a standpoint of objectivity-from a historians point of view. I've criticized Democratic VP's on the blog here before-like pointing out the racism of Thomas Hendricks. I have said before that no matter what you may think of Cheney's politics, you have to admire the fact that he is so vocal about the issues he believes in and how he really doesn't care about what people think of him-its almost Thoreau like in a way. I think healthy debate without name-calling, the way the former Marines Hoar and Krulak did, is exactly what this country is all about, and is a lot more constructive than just saying "Dick Cheney's the DEVIL!" or "Obama's a COMMIE!" as so many other bloggers and pundits do. Basically what I am saying is: Let's try to elevate the argument above grade-school playground name-calling, and that you can trust "Vice-Precedence" to give you the straight story.

Finally, I ask you all to please keep supporting Vice-Precedence. Get the word out, visit us on YouTube to view the trailer and Rate It with 5 stars and post a response to something you've read here on the blog. Let us know you're out there, because we are grateful for your support and encouragement. It makes a huge difference to know we have your support. Thanks!

Matt Saxe