MSNBC: Does attacking Cheney 'diminish' President Carter?

10/11/2007 @ 11:47 am

Filed by David Edwards and Muriel Kane

Vice President Cheney has been coming under attack from all sides lately, with former President Jimmy Carter's calling him "a disaster for our country" who "still maintains somehow that Saddam Hussein was involved in the 9/11 attacks" and that "Iraq had weapons of mass destruction."

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has also challenged Cheney's desire to take a harder line with North Korea and Syria following recent unverified Israeli claims about a transfer of nuclear technology between those two nations.

MSNBC's Dan Abrams suggested on Wednesday that regardless of whether the Israeli claims are accurate, "Cheney has no credibility any more. None." He added, "I don't agree with Jimmy Carter on a lot of things, but applaud him for speaking out against Cheney."

Pat Buchanan, however, cautioned that Cheney's lack of credibility may not matter because "he still retains enormous influence with the president of the United States" and "the president very much tilts towards his thinking." Buchanan believes that President Bush is likely to follow Cheney's lead and bomb the camps of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard despite what anyone else in his administration advises.

"That is absolutely frightening if what Pat is saying is true," Abrams commented.

Washington Post reporter Dana Milbank largely agreed with Buchanan, noting that "there's a lot of people who are indeed very frightened of Dick Cheney, although he is becoming increasingly marginalized." Milbank explained that even with fewer ideologues and more realists in the administration, "it would be very premature to write off this vice president" as long as he maintains his influence over Bush.

Abrams then asked whether Carter's statements are helpful to Cheney's opponents or if they might serve as "fodder for the right to simply mock Carter and also then mock the entire issue of Cheney and his influence."

Joan Walsh of Salon.com did not see that as a problem, but Milbank suggested Carter has "become like Michael Moore" when he calls this "the worst administration in history."

Buchanan agreed with Milbank that attacking Cheney personally by calling him "a militant who avoided any service of his own in the military" is not appropriate for a former president and "diminishes" Carter. "The job he's doing should be done by Howard Dean," Buchanan stated.

(And was any of what Mr. Carter said untrue, Mr Buchanan?)

Abrams then played a clip of Presidental Gerald Ford criticizing Cheney and Rumsfeld in a statement released after his death. "That is sad," responded Buchanan. "The man was over 90 years old."

"Are you saying that he wasn't of sound mind?" asked Abrams.

"I think that diminishes Gerald Ford," insisted Buchanan.

(I think Pat Buchanan diminishes this country?)

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