ANALYSIS
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'Cone of Silence' No Longer Muzzles Cheney
He just left—but the former VP is back as opposition voice
By Matt Cantor
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Posted Apr 24, 09 8:46 AM CDT
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(Newser)
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Former vice presidents tend to keep a low profile right after leaving office—not so Dick Cheney, who has been making the rounds as a voice for Republican opposition. When Cheney “sees the current administration making decisions that he believes are making the nation less safe, he does not believe there is any obligation under those circumstances to be silent,” his daughter tells the New York Times.
After years of toeing the Bush line, “it’s about time he had a chance to get his voice back,” said an ally. “There’s no cone of silence now.” Meghan McCain, however, has told Cheney to “go away,” and the White House has brushed him off. Some Democrats, meanwhile, love his return to the spotlight, a reminder “of all the reasons Republicans were turned out of office,” writes the Times' Sheryl Gay Stolberg.