Thursday, April 9, 2009

Broken In Brief: Obama Administration happy to take time out of facing complex problems to take easy shots at Dick Cheney

WASHINGTON DC—To hear some staffers talk, the crippling realities of the country the Obama Administration was handed in January has led to not only some serious work, but also serious stresses and mental hardships. That’s why in recent days the White House has been abuzz with excitement over former Vice-President Dick Cheney’s decision to start giving interviews criticizing the new foreign policy direction of the country. It is these brief respites from the crushing, toiling, thankless work of correcting problems caused by the previous administration that has senior staff glad to have small opportunities to pick the lowest hanging fruit possible.

After the former Vice President claimed last week that the reversal of several Bush-era foreign policy strategies had made the country less safe, a nearly euphoric David Axelrod was seen to stagger out of his office yelling “Cheney said that? ‘Torture Dick’? He criticized our foreign policy vis-a-vis terrorism? Marge, cancel my two o’clock and tell a staffer to go fill a barrel full of fish and to bring me my shotgun and shooting hat. It’s time to go clear my head.”

After a round of television interviews where he gleefully mocked the former VP, Axelrod was said to have told Rahm Emanuel that he had quote “never felt so rested and relaxed” and suggested that someone send a flower bouquet to Dick as a show of gratitude for the first easy afternoon he had in months.

Privately some are hoping that Cheney decides to tour the full circuit of right wing radio and television shows and that this wasn’t a onetime event. Ideally other staffers and high level advisers will get a chance to take a much needed mental break that responding to anything Dick Cheney says provides.

No comments: