And it' STILL All About Cheney

A blast from the past. You may recall that Cheney went all the way to the Supreme Court to stop anyone from finding out about his top secret meetings when crafting United States energy policy shortly after taking office. From then right up until a few weeks ago, Darth Cheney and his aides have been denying that he met with oil company executives to draft that policy.

Ooops.

Document Says Oil Chiefs Met With Cheney Task Force

A White House document shows that executives from big oil companies met with Vice President Cheney's energy task force in 2001 -- something long suspected by environmentalists but denied as recently as last week by industry officials testifying before Congress.

The document, obtained this week by The Washington Post, shows that officials from Exxon Mobil Corp., Conoco (before its merger with Phillips), Shell Oil Co. and BP America Inc. met in the White House complex with the Cheney aides who were developing a national energy policy, parts of which became law and parts of which are still being debated.

Lies about Iraq... lies about Plame ... lies about the energy policy task force. Cheney's popularity in this country is already well below the sinking numbers of his boss. (The last poll I saw had him at an 18% approval rating.) Do you suppose continued news like this will finally push him over the edge and we'll see him retire "for health reasons" soon?

In a way, I hope not. He's doing more to help progressive causes by staying right where he is than an army of Democratic activists ever could. He's been unmasked as the poster boy for evil in the Bush dynasty, and will only help drag down his party's chances next year. Plus, an opening at VP would give Bush the chance to name a new VP (who would become the defacto nominee for President in '08) and give them a three year head start on the election. No... I think I'm liking Cheney right where he is for the time being.