1) He shot a guy. In the FACE!

2) He was hated before long before that happened.

3) I don't think he is thinking about America and the people's interests first. He is about his private investments and oil first and foremost. I think Cheney is a big part of the war in Iraq. As a leader of a country you should not make so many decisions that tie to your personal monetary gains. I don't agree with that.

4) Besides - people have hunting accidents during hunting season all the time - they just don't get media exposure because it normally is a BFF or a cousin that did the accidental shooting. The incident with Cheney only got media because of who he is.

5) Yeah, those no-bid Haliburton contracts make me ill. Not to mention torture and wire tapping... people tend to dislike that sort of thing.

6) He's still around? God, I thought he was dead. Seriously, I don't ever hear anything about him.

My only dislike is that he's a republican and against gay marriage yet has a daughter who is lesbian. His easy way out was to "leave it up to the states". I'm also disappointed that his daughter strongly supported the Bush administration through the 2000 and 2004 elections and waited until two years ago to express her dislike for Bush's stance on gay marriage

7) you don't hear about him because they've hushed him. this administration is catching enough flak without Cheney. Strangely, though seemingly fittingly for the most part, we blame him for all the wrongs this administration has done - I guess we think Bush isn't smart enough to wage this kind of horror on the world and sink our economy from a record surplus to a record deficit.

And, BTW, no one likes him because he is a self-absorbed a-hole who doesn't care about anyone or anything ... so self-absorbed that he can't take the time notice the difference between a quail and man. He is as close to a pawn of Satan as I ever want to see....maybe he finally killed enough people to get his horns, so they had to hide him.

He's a no good turd, plan and simple.

8) Why is he hated? Because he was a successful leader of a large international company and made profits.

Of course, he had no interests in Halliburton when the latest no-bid contracts were awarded. Why were they awarded? Because we needed the services of a company like Halliburton ASAP. No time to waste in filling out RFP forms when lives were at stake.

9) Rick, seriously stop with the bull. It's beyond silly now. No one here hates Cheney because he was successful. I HATE HATE HATE the man for reasons listed below;

1. Violating the United Nations Charter by launching an illegal "War of Aggression" against Iraq without cause, using fraud to sell the war to Congress and the public, misusing government funds to begin bombing without Congressional authorization, and subjecting our military personnel to unnecessary harm, debilitating injuries, and deaths.

2. Violating U.S. and international law by authorizing the torture of thousands of captives, resulting in dozens of deaths, and keeping prisoners hidden from the International Committee of the Red Cross.

3. Violating the Constitution by arbitrarily detaining Americans, legal residents, and non-Americans, without due process, without charge, and without access to counsel.

4. Violating the Geneva Conventions by targeting civilians, journalists, hospitals, and ambulances, and using illegal weapons, including white phosphorous, depleted uranium, and a new type of napalm.

5. Violating U.S. law and the Constitution through widespread wiretapping of the phone calls and emails of Americans without a warrant.

6. Violating the Constitution by using "signing statements" to defy hundreds of laws passed by Congress.

7. Violating U.S. and state law by obstructing honest elections in 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006.

8. Violating U.S. law by using paid propaganda and disinformation, selectively and misleadingly leaking classified information, and exposing the identity of a covert CIA operative working on sensitive WMD proliferation for political retribution.

9. Subverting the Constitution and abusing Presidential power by asserting a "Unitary Executive Theory" giving unlimited powers to the President, by obstructing efforts by Congress and the Courts to review and restrict Presidential actions, and by promoting and signing legislation negating the Bill of Rights and the Writ of Habeas Corpus.

10. Gross negligence in failing to assist New Orleans residents after Hurricane Katrina, in ignoring urgent warnings of an Al Qaeda attack prior to Sept. 11, 2001, and in increasing air pollution causing global warming.

10) Scooter Libby. Enough said!

11) Obamabot,

Are you serious? The war was justified by any number of different reasons including the fact that Saddam violated UN treaties. We definitely had the right to take him out. In fact many democrats claimed he was a threat and called for regime change. So, I aint buying the "unjustified war" theory.

Regarding the bombing of innocents. Guess what, War Sucks. It is tough and innocent people do get killed. Show me where Cheney said, "I see a bunch of innocent civilians over there, lets bomb them." Your theory is so weak it makes me laugh.

Regarding Katrina, like it was Bush and Cheney's fault. Any person with half a brain could have seen the hurricane coming. I would have left several days before and would not have had to wait for the fricking US Govt to tell me to leave. Just a bunch of brain dead fools who stayed there.

Guess what, in time of war, Lincoln and Roosevelt suspended Habeus Corpus too. In fact they did it to US Citizens, Bush did it to the foreigners. No comparison.

Valerie Plame was not covert, so I dont know how you could say that Cheney outed her. In fact, it was Richard Armitage. But dont let those facts get in the way of your argument.

And do you really believe that people dont hate Cheney because he was successful? I have a bridge to sell you.

12) Number 9 on obamabot's list is probably the one that sticks out the most in my mind, although of course the other ones listed there are also contributing factors.

I really don't understand how anyone could actually like (or even support) Cheney after the past 6 or 7 years. He was one of the main public forces for going to war with Iraq. He continued to link Iraq to 9-11 long after it was laughable to do so.

He has generally been a grumpy old man with seemingly no interest in the American people on any level. He tends to live in a cave and stay out of the spotlight as much as possible.

I think more than anything else though, he doesn't seem to be doing anything. What does he do? A person of that power should be doing good, starting good programs and genuinely trying to make the country a better place. If anyone would like to elaborate on some of his successes, please do. But to have such power and influence and squander it would be a true shame.

13) There are plenty of successful people in the country that are well loved, Rick. Success does not beget hate. If that's your sole reason, it's not good enough.

Also Rick, you suggest that the Iraq war was justified and that Katrina was only a natural disaster. Do you seriously see no flaw with the war or how Katrina was handled?

14) Dave,

I strongly believe the war was justified. I disagree with some of the ways that it was handled. For example, I think that we fought with one hand tied behind our back for several years. Not until the surge started did we finally see solid results.

Yes, I think Saddam was a threat and violated UN treaties. He definitely was capable of producing WMD's and you know what, I dont blame Bush for erroring on the side of caution and taking him out.

As a side note, your VP candidate, Joe Biden, who is suppose to be the god on all foreign affairs, voted for the war too.

Regarding Katrina, first, very few people died in it. 2nd, they had a democrat mayor and governor who didnt do squat. But yes, we could have sent in more help after the fact.

I dont think it was the governments fault at all for what happened during the storm. If those fools wanted to stay there, then I feel sorry for them, but they were foolish. Somewhere personal responsibility has to take place and those people in NewOrleans, who stayed, did not exhibit it.

15) About 1500 people died as a result of Katrina ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effect_of_Hurricane_Katrin...). This took very little time to research. That is half the number of people that died on 9-11 (about 3,000). I would not ever refer to that as "very few people," but I guess we'll have to disagree about that.

Biden is not supposed to be "the god on foreign affairs" (but thanks for giving him credit). Also it doesn't do much to fault him for voting for the war when you go ahead and say you supported the war. I don't know what message you're trying to send there. If I have to fault him, then I have to fault you.

16) That's just wrong, Rick. It's so easy to say, just get out of there, Dummy, there's a hurricane coming.
Those folks are po. They can't even afford the or. There weren't enough buses to get those out of there that didn't have a car, anywhere to go, enough money to leave town, etc.
FEMA, like so many other federal programs, had turned into a disfunctional, disinterested organization because the Bushies put people in leadership postitions that they were not qualified to have, so they totally screwed those people due to incompetence. They weren't prepared, they weren't organized, they didn't seem to care...and Bush praised them.
Maybe there weren't a lot of deaths as far as you are concerned, but it must have felt like hell for those people trapped there. Shame on you.

17) Biden on the war...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1op8vwF5UA&NR=1

18) Rick,

Afganistan war is a justified, not Iraq. Please link your source for justification. Saddam was a terrible, but who are we to police the world? Iraq did not attack the US. More effort should have been directed at Osama Bin Laden.

Yes, in the early 90's Iraq was capable of making weapons of mass distruction, but guess what? The sanctions worked just like they're supposed to. No WMD found.

You're excuse for Katrina is pitiful and sad. It reminds me why I'm a Democrat. Not everyone is born whith a golden spoon in their mouth. New Orleans was amoung the poorest cities in the country before the storm hit. You really think everyone could just pack up their car and leave?

And what's your definition for "very few people died"? I believe Katria took the lives of close to 1000 people. It's sad that you consider that to be such a small number.

19) Shame on you is right. Personal responsibility?? The city told those people to go to that sports arena - I can't think of its name right this minute - and then did nothing to help them once they got there.....no food, no water, not adequate toilet facilities, etc. People died there waiting for help. That was the government's fault and, as Matt said, FEMA was run by people who were given their positions for a favor, not because they knew anything about disaster control, from Mike Brown on down.

20) @ Rick in regards to Katrina - people of New Orleans were given very, very, very little time and warning to pack up and get out. They were also not made aware of the ferocity of the storm. Furthermore, it's simple to say, "storm's comin', get out", but if you have no where to go and no means of transportation, then what?

My brother-in-law was there when Katrina hit. He had 10 minutes to pack up and get out - he lost everything but some clothes and his guitar. And he only made it out because at the last minute he was offered a ride by a friend - otherwise my sister was going to try to get to him in time (from Nashville).

It wasn't until months later that they could go back to his apartment, only to find everything moldy and ruined - that water was in his room, on the second floor.

Just saying it's the people's fault that live there - poor, rich, students, professionals, working class, white collar, blue collar is just ignorant. They weren't well informed and they were given little time and no options. Thank God he had that friend who happened to have a car and a seat to spare...but for those that didn't have that extra seat, I feel bad for them - and it's not their faults, the government failed them.

21) PS Sadam was hanged for the death of, I believe 8, people. By that toll, Bush and Cheney should be hanged tenfold for the death and destruction caused by this war based on lies, manipulation and a mourning country.

Biden may have voted for the war, but that's an unfair bit to throw out. Many Americans, politicians included back that "war on terror" based on the lies and manipulations on this administration. They orchestrated this "war on terror" out of a very tragic event that didn't have anything to do with Iraq. They preyed on Americans. And we believed what they told us. That includes congress - and I don't blame those individuals now for what they thought to be the truth then. They were misguided by a veil of sadness and untruths.

22) What is our objective over there? What are we trying to accomplish? First it was to remove Saddam. Then, get rid of wmd. I think if President Bush does not want to fail, he needs to define what success will be. Don't you think?? Well, those were never there in the first place. Then it became about democracy or terrorism or Al Qaeda. But Bush always said that American troops should not be used for Nation Building. There was no link to Al Qaeda and before we invaded when do you ever remeber a suicide terrorist bombing in Iraq?!?! I dunno. What do you think? It seems as though while we are battling Al Qaeda over there, we are also in the middle of a Civil War. President Bush has put this country in a very bad situation, and now McSame wants us to stay there until we achieve this ever elusive success. If we leave now, we have failed. So I guess He is saying that as of now, the mission has been a failure?? It's a joke my friends. And the joke is on us. At least congress is finally trying to do it's job and be a check and balance. Unlike in the beginning. Or in Viet Nam. We cannot just give McSame a blank check to do whatever he wants.

23) I agree about the manipulation and deceit, but I didn't believe any of it for a second, and they should have been able to see through that garbage also. I don't blame Joe Biden for the war. I do blame Bush/Cheney and all the rest of their gang, but I think that most of the responsibility actually should lie with Americans. We have become so indifferent and thoughtless about the consequences of our government's actions that we should hold ourselves accountable as well if we ever expect to have politicians that don't lie and steal from us for a living. The Democrats who vowed to stop the war when they took control of Congress gave up the fight with barely a whimper because they knew the Republicans would paint them as military hating wimps if they cut the funding, and their own interests would no longer be served.
I believe in compromise, but I don't think that's what happened. It has been a cave, and I don't expect them to serve my interests based on their weakness and ineffectiveness.
I want a do-over. Throw them all out. Let Barney Smith be a senator for a term. He couldn't possibly do any worse, but would anyone even care?

24) Ok, Dave seemed to hit the nail on the head for me- "seemingly no interest in the American people on any level. He tends to live in a cave and stay out of the spotlight as much as possible." That to me is what I clearly suspect of him- just too disinterested. Maybe, as someone said above, for political points they put him away for safe keeping. But for goodness sakes, have him cutting ribbons at some new DC Metro Preschool or something and start re-establishing some credibility.

To his credit, he has served (constitutionally) as President of the Senate this entire time, so it's not like he's been playing Halo 24/7 unless the fire alarm rings.

Cheney was SecDef under Bush I, so maybe he can't add to anything but national security.

Also, I can't help but think the two razor-thin wins for Bush/Cheney never really empowered them to accomplish much of anything.

25) the Haliburton thing doesn't stick for me because I just don't know his motives. To say he wanted war in Iraq to make big profits (or for his friends) assumes way more than we have actual knowledge of.

One thing we should never want to do is speak falsely of our political enemies, no matter how strongly we disagree with them.

26) Cheney IS the Axis of Evil.

27) Ha, I love the thought of Cheney playing Halo 24/7. I can just see him sneering at the computer and mumbling profanities.

Aside from all the reasons I pointed out, the Vice President has traditionally been somewhat of a laughing stock. I don't really get that either. Gore - he's awesome now, and maybe he did some cool stuff back then. But you never heard about him. Dan Quayle? No explanation necessary.

28) I'm surprised the term "evil doers" has been used in all of the political discussions. I guess it just doesn't have that ring to it unless "W" utters it :)
Another question for to more well read than I: Does Cheney still have any stock in Haliburton?

29) The "street language" must have been cleaned up because I don't see it here, but you know it's not fair to say that obamabot talks that way because (s)he's an Obama supporter. Are the other Obama supporters here using foul language? You really lose momentum in making your point when you insult people.

30) Get outta my head, Sally. Before I even scrolled down to the comments, my reply (out loud to Mr. Shoo) were your words...exactly.

31) I only edited 2 words from "bot" about 5 minutes ago. I prefer a PG-13 kind of conversation here guys. Thank you that almost all of you understand this as a fairly common code of decency.

Tonight:
Bush- 9:45 via satellite
Fred Thompson- 10:15 PM
Joe Lieberman- 10:45 PM

Lieberman will not be attacking Obama, according to sources. I wonder if he will say anything about Palin, or just completely talk about his friend Johnny Mac.

32) Cheney's assests are in a blind trust. He may or may not still own stock in Halliburton. But chances are that most of us do if we own mutual funds.

33) All I'm gonna say is that I'm ever playing Halo with Cheney, I'm making sure I'm on the other side. Chance of friendly fire is too great.

34) Me owning stock in Halliburton via part of a mutual fund is not the same as Cheney owning their stock, as he is in a position to offer them no-bid contracts. There is a serious conflict of interest in that situation, no matter what side of the aisle you're on. I can say one thing with certainty: my mutual fund did not skyrocket when we went to war. Maybe you guys have been rolling in dough since Bush took office, but that hasn't been the case at my house.

35) Mine either, Dave, that's for sure.

36) Well, we did have a devastating terrorist attack, a housing bubble, soaring energy costs, and an expensive war to bankroll. Bush did a poor job of explaining the sacrifice the war would be for the citizens. Without the war, and if Congress would actually do something about energy (drilling, Pickens Plan, etc.), I assume all of us would be much better off.

2009 poses to be a much better year economically for our nation. A new President will bring a fresh start (whoever wins). With troops returning home, war costs will rapidly decrease. The housing market should stabilize and people will feel comfortable buying again.

37) It's boggling why Cheney is hated, he puts the passion into compassionate conservative.

he was George HW's secretary od defense back in the 1991 gulf war. he used his contacts in the DoD to outsource of military functions to private business. Private business does thing more efficiently right?

The had the vision to setup a secret energy taskforce to secure energy independence, just genius I tells ya, genius.

38) "Regarding Katrina, first, very few people died in it. 2nd, they had a democrat mayor and governor who didnt do squat. But yes, we could have sent in more help after the fact. "

They deserved to die because the voted Democrat, nice. Not the first time I heard that excuse, is someone really thinking for themselves here.

39) RickMonday, thank you for all of your comments and for being one voice of reason on this thread. Stay strong.

As for the rest of you, is Cheney's inactivity so loathsome? Who cares if he doesn't cut ribbons at pre-schools or found petting zoos or whatever else? I came to this page because I wanted to learn, but I've mostly found abstract drivel (obviously not including Rick). obamabot (your handle reveals something about your character I think), can you give specific examples of how Cheney violated everything you listed? I am familiar with some of them (and disagree with you entirely on those), but not all, and would like to know more. Who knows, maybe you'll enlighten me.