Cheney's Lies Tonight

I wasn't thrilled with Edwards but he held his own. Fortunately, Cheney really blew it through lies and obfuscations, especially on foreign policy.

First off, who believes Cheney's claim that the number of suicide bombings in Israel decreased because we deposed Saddam Hussein? First time I've heard that argument. Most people seem to think the decrease in suicide bombings has something to do with the Israelis building a huge security wall and assassinating scores of militant Palestinian leaders.

But then, Cheney often confuses one problem for another. Osama bin laden attacks the US, and Cheney argues for getting... Saddam Hussein. Actually, I guess it's that Cheney often confuses one problem for Saddam. The biggest question facing a second Bush presidency is... who will be their new scapegoat, now that Saddam is gone?

By the way, Cheney says he never suggested a link between Saddam and 9-11. That's a lie.

Cheney claims that the US hasn't suffered 90% of the coalition's casualties in Iraq. His argument: you're leaving out all the Iraqi security forces who've been killed. This is the first time the Iraqi security forces have been defined as members of the coalition that invaded Iraq, by the way. Seems to me that since the chaos there that resulted in those deaths is a result of our invasion and inability to secure the country that any Iraqi police or soldiers killed are... Iraqi casaulties. Coalition casualties would include soldiers from the U.S., Britain, Australia... and wait, I forgot about Poland.

Cheney claimed that everything Edwards said about Halliburton is false. But, Edwards told the truth. Halliburton had to pay millions in fines and to restate its financials on the orders of the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is run by a Bush appointee. Halliburton received $7.5 billion worth of Iraq construction contracts without having to submit competitive bids to the Pentagon. Halliburton traded, through subsidiaries with Iran and Libya while Cheney ran the company. Halliburton is currently under investigation for bribing members of foreign governments. That's all true.

Edwards was fine, he's nowhere near as polished as Kerry and he did seem to stumble a bit. I thought he shuld have waited for a question about his inexperience before throwing his "a long resume doesn't equal good judgment" line. By tossing that line our early in the debate he sucked some of the power from it when it could have really counted and, by addressing the topic of his inexperience without being asked, he seemed defensive. Also, since both Kerry and Edwards have served as senators during Bush's term, they need a solid answer when the Bushies say things like "Hey, you voted for our 'No Child Left Behind Act.'" The answer should be -- "Yes, in the spirit of bipartisanship I gave some of your ideas a chance. I wish I hadn't. Now, let's try it our way."

It was a boring debate, but Cheney exposed himself as a liar. Hopefully, the Democrats won't let people forget that.