Reply #6: Lining the pockets of the energy sector

[teryang]

...and reinstating colonialism is a piss poor excuse for foreign policy. Cheney is so vulnerable on his conflicts of interest and secrecy virtually any democratic candidate could wipe the floor with him. Remember his world tour to drum up support for war in Iraq? A huge failure. His pre-emptive war based upon lies was Machiavellian but is still a failure.

The real challenge is to have a vice president who can sniff out and deter the covert operations shennanigans that take place in the national security establishment, particularly the intelligence agencies. These secretive agencies are virtually beyond oversight, and conduct their own foreign policy regardless of who's president, or what the electorate has stated by its vote. They will deliberately sabotage any sitting President who doesn't adhere to their agenda or who fancies himself a real, "commander in chief." A competent VP will have the national security background to cover the Presidents back effectively so that he can successful pursue a substantial domestic agenda and implement his own foreign policy.