In My Time – Dick Cheney

I just finished In My Time by Dick Cheney.  I have to say I heart this man.  I also have to say he was the reason that I did not vote for George Bush in 2000.  I knew that my state would go to Bush, so I figured I could go with my gut and not vote for a ticket that I felt had serious issues.  I am sooooooooooo glad that he won.  Gore never would have handled 9/11 the way that Bush did.  Cheney had a big hand in how 9/11 was handled. 

Cheney writes about his youth, his family, and his professional career.  The man has had a very interesting life.  On that there can be dispute.  Cheney was the son of democrats and grew up to be über conservative in virtually all his stances. 

One of the things that  I really liked about the book was the detail descriptions he gives of intel that led us to war with Iraq.  Much of the talking points from the left are false.  The intel that was used, in large part, came from sources that were in place before President Bush took office.  He also goes to great pains to show the stances of the rest of the world.  I know that I hear people say that other countries didn’t believe that Iraq had weapons.  Bullcocky.  Nearly every major intelligence agency across the world believed he had a program to develop weapons.  They just felt that sanctions were working and he was “contained”. 

Cheney is rare bread in a politician as he says what he thinks and what he believes.  Most are too worried about which way the poll winds are blowing.  Not so much with Cheney. 

I was anxiously waiting to get to the parts with Condi Rice and Colin Powell.  I was very disappointed.  I have no idea what the two of them are complaining about.  Cheney gave a dispassionate view of the events as he remembers them.  He doesn’t say anything bad about Condi Rice.  Now it is obvious that he had policy disagreements with her on several issues, but he doesn’t attack her at all.  It is also very obvious that Cheney’s view of Powell changed over time.  He and Powell worked together for many years and through different administrations.  Cheney makes it quite clear that he was happy with the choice of Powell as SoS by Bush.  They disagreed over Iraq policy over time and felt Powell leaving was a good thing.  I think both are being big babies about this book. 

I also didn’t find anything in the book to make “heads explode” as predicted when it was first released.  Cheney is a man of few words but many convictions.  That comes across crystal clear in the pages of In My Time. 

I would recommend the book highly as it has some very interesting information told from a point of view of man who watched the world change a great deal over the span of his life.  He and Bush didn’t always agree when he was Vice President, but he did the job that he was elected to do.  He stood by his president and he stood by the American people who were looking to them to keep us safe after 9/11.