Don't forget while on vacation .... (politics...)

I usually stay away from political commentary - but this post will be an exception.

Is anyone else bothered that the Cheney fiasco that rose to the headlines in June has all but disappeared, except for the occasional opinion piece.

Okay, I know that the Congress and the president are on vacation, but the issues still need to be discussed!

In June, Vice President Dick Cheney refused to comply with a requirement to provide the archives with documentation meant to safeguard classified national security information. The claim was that he was not part of the Executive Branch and thus not required to oblige.

In his own words: "Well, the job of Vice President is an interesting one, because you have a foot in both the executive and the legislative branch. Obviously, I have an office in the West Wing of the White House, I am an adviser to the president, I sit as a member of the National Security Council. At the same time, under the constitution, I have legislative responsibilities. I’m actually paid by the Senate, not by the executive. I sit as the President of the Senate, the presiding officer of the Senate. I cast tie breaking votes in the Senate. So the vice president is kind of a unique creature, if you will, in that you’ve got a foot in both branches."

Congress threatened to cut his executive funding, but were simply bluffing - and Cheney won the hand. As far as the public is concerned, nothing further has been resolved. Cheney's office is still refusing to operate under the legislation implemented for the executive branch.

Send letters to your representatives in the senate and house. The political power and lobbyists must know that the American public cannot afford to have a potentially rogue politician in the white house, ignoring our laws, and even worse, setting dangerous precedents. What other laws is Cheney ignoring because he feels they do not apply - we'll probably never know, but it is a scary thought.

We wasted an entire congress over the stupidity of Clinton, shouldn't we at least take the time to closely examine the case of a politician that appears to be equally clever at lying, but potentially far more dangerous?