Cheney: One of Bush's worst errors

By WILLIAM McKENZIE
DALLAS MORNING NEWS
No matter how anyone spins it, "Scooter" Libby's conviction was not a good moment for the Bush administration. Not only did Dick Cheney's chief of staff get nailed for perjury, his trial highlighted the three worst mistakes of this presidency.
They are linked together by a trust-us attitude. And for those of us who have wanted his presidency to succeed, these mistakes have undermined Bush's pledge to unite America and seek a humble presence around the world.
First, there's the selection of DickCheney as vice president.
I wrote recently that putting him on the ticket was the worst move of Bush's career. At the time of the choice, I could see the reason: Cheney gave Bush cover with those who worried that the Texan was over his head.
But Cheney sprinkled the administration with a peculiar Washington type: Beltway pros who are blessed with intelligence but cursed by conceit. Like Dean Acheson and the Wise Men who directed the Cold War until they fumbled in Vietnam, Don Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz and Douglas Feith knew the world before Cheney helped them land jobs at the Pentagon. They also belonged to the neo-conservative band that believed everyone should trust them.
Rumsfeld typified this attitude. Cheney has, too, particularly during his "Meet the Press" appearances when he explained why we needed to stop Saddam Hussein. No matter that Colin Powell had other thoughts. Cheney and his pals just knew.
Until, that is, people like Ambassador Joseph Wilson started questioning them. Cheney dispatched Libby to tell reporters that Valerie Plame, Wilson's wife, sent him on a CIA trip to Niger. Wilson crossed those who knew and paid a price: His wife was identified as a CIA agent.
Ultimate in loyalty?
Of course, Libby paid a price, too. He may go to prison for not telling a grand jury when he knew about Plame's identity. In Dick Cheney's world, this may be the ultimate in loyalty, but this episode has fueled the impression of an administration on a crusade.
Second, there's the personalizing of 9/11.
Texans I've talked to say George W. Bush is pretty much the same guy he was before becoming president, except for one big shift: Sept. 11, 2001. Flying back to Washington that horrible day, looking down at the smoldering Pentagon, he became possessed with stopping the next terrorist attack.
That's an honorable passion. Who wouldn't be transformed if they were reading the same daily intelligence reports?
But his personal pursuit has come with a costly downside. Civil liberties? Sorry, I need those phone records. Knock off Saddam Hussein? You bet, now. Geneva Conventions? Forget it.
By personalizing the attacks, Bush has made the same error as Cheney and Libby. The president asked the rest of us to trust him because he knew best. Unfortunately, that has come to haunt him as others, including the conservative Supreme Court, have pushed back against his overreaching Justice Department and a hell-bound Pentagon.
Third, bringing Karl Rove into the White House.
There's no question Rove is brilliant, and Bush could have used his advice as a consultant. But putting his campaign strategist on the White House staff set the president up for a fall.
Interested in winning elections, Rove knew his client needed only 51 percent of the vote to win another term. The simplest way to get there was to emphasize policies that revved the GOP base.
That political play undermined Bush's pledge to unify the country. It also fostered an us-vs.-them mentality at the White House, particularly during the run-up to Iraq. Rove, according to most accounts, also was out there letting people know Plame's real employer.
Fortunately for him and the country, Bush has time to overcome these mistakes, which he has started to do.
Cheney and Rove have moved to the background. The president appointed the practical Robert Gates to run the Pentagon. Bush has worked closely with leaders of different stripes in his Latin American trip and in corralling North Korea and Iran. And he's leading a bipartisan effort toward a new immigration policy.
This open, practical style sold many people on George W. Bush when he was governor. Sadly, his worst mistakes kept it under wraps for too long.
William McKenzie is an editorial columnist for The Dallas Morning News. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.