A new plot possibility is becoming evident in the final fade-out of the Bush administration. The rift between Bush and Cheney, who have spoken only once since Obama took office, may be explained by the tardy realization on the part of Bush that he was played for a fool by Cheney. In his last sorry months in office, Bush may finally have realized that uncle Dick ruined his Presidency, his family name, and his place in history.
But payback is a bitch, especially when dealing with someone as mean and vindictive as Junior Bush. I believe that Cheney was rebuffed by Bush in the final days – not just in the matter of pardoning Libby, but that he was denied blanket pardons of Bush’s whole sick crew, including Cheney, Addington, Libbey, the torture lawyers, and the rest of the Bush White House gangsters who might face prosecution. In short, Bush has left Cheney twisting in the wind. This explains both Bush’s low profile since leaving the White House, and Cheney’s frequent CYA appearances. Cheney is fighting desperately to avoid being dragged into a criminal prosecution with no chance of a Presidential pardon. Cheney’s position is now very vulnerable. He was always a master of back-room maneuvering under the protection of a powerful public figure. Now he must fend for himself, and with each ugly, defiant display of his demeanor, he invites the prosecutors to draw nearer.
I believe that there may be enough surviving documents, emails, and supportable recollections to send Dick Cheney to prison for war crimes. Convicting Cheney would be a fitting repudiation of the loathsome Bush era if Bush was nothing more than a sad little puppet dangling from Cheney’s strings. Perhaps the puppet will have his revenge.
