Tom Engelhardt: The Cheney Effect in the Obama Administration

Back in September 2001, Dick Cheney was, according to Jane Mayer in "The Dark Side" being chauffeured around Washington "in an armored motorcade that varied its route to foil possible attackers." In the backseat of his car, just in case, adds Myer, "rested a duffel bag stocked with a gas mask and biochemical survival suit." And lest danger rear its head, "rarely did he travel without a medical doctor in tow." Ah, weren't those the days? How quiet, how boring his life must be now, his new ticker in place, hosting fundraisers for Mitt Romney in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, auctioning off lunches with himself for charity, and, for a little genuine excitement, slamming President Obama as an "unmitigated disaster." And yet, what if thousands of miles from Washington, years from his "taking off the gloves" heyday, promoting "enhanced interrogation techniques," and plunking for invasions in the Greater Middle East, his ghost still lives in the nation's capital, and not in some vague way somewhere in the Republican opposition, but deep in the beating heart of the Obama administration. It's the sort of thought that should take you aback, and yet Michael Klare, TomDispatch regular and author, most recently of "The Race for What's Left: The Global Scramble for the World's Last Resources, makes the case that the Cheney ticker is beating hard right now in President Obama's chest. Don't believe it? Then, take a deep dive into Obama's world. Is Barack Obama Morphing Into Dick Cheney? Four Ways the President Is Pursuing Cheney's Geopolitics of Global Energy!