Dick Cheney On Obama: President's Nominees Are "Second-Rate"

Impact

Former Vice President Dick Cheney has just called out President Obama’s nominations for secretary of state, director of the CIA, and secretary of defense, adding that the U.S. military is not as strong as it should be.

He offered the following sentiment about the situation, claiming that the national security of our nation is being jeopardized, “Frankly, what he has appointed are second-rate people. 

What sort of justification does Cheney have to comment on and then critique another president’s picks and policies, let the alone the administration that came directly after the one in which he served? Cheney has no business calling the nominees “second-rate.” He does not have the track record or the strength of quality political relationships to say these things with any clout. While Cheney’s relevance on Earth has certainly faded since he was Bush’s VP, it is rather humorous for him to come out and condemn Obama’s choices.

The Bush administration, under which Cheney served, was one of the most disastrous in America’s history. Weapons of mass destruction, anyone? Those four words alone are enough to sum up the nonsense that occurred during the eight years that Cheney served as our nation’s vice president. As you may have heard, those weapons of mass destruction have yet to be found.

I’m a fan of sports analogies because they are simple and can resonate with all. What Cheney has done is similar to the following: A head coach of a team is fired after several losing, embarrassing seasons and his entire coaching staff is relieved of their duties as well. A main culprit of the team’s failures comes from its offensive coordinator, whom was known for absolutely awful play calling and not putting the proper personnel in positions to succeed.

A new coach is hired and brings in a new staff with him, including a proven successful offensive coordinator. The previous offensive coordinator, who currently is not play calling for anyone, tells the media that the new coach’s choice for offensive coordinator is “second-rate.”

What basis would the old offensive coordinator have to say this? Many people in the sports world would agree that the claim is fruitless because the previous offensive coordinator was not successful at his job. If you wish to call someone out on a poor performance, it suits you best if you have previous successful performances on your own resume.

Not mishaps, embarrassing moments, invading a country based on a hunch, taking the nation’s economy into the dumps, and shooting a former staff member. I’m certainly not saying that Condoleezza Rice, Robert Gates, George J. Tenet, Porter Ross, and Michael Hayden were bad choices. But the things that happened when they served certainly jeopardized our nation's security at least to the same amount, if not more, than Cheney claims that it is right now with Obama’s nominations.

And I don’t remember hearing George W. Bush calling Obama’s nominations “second-rate.” Just Cheney. Go figure.