Just a note from a reader of "Angler" [me]. Gellman’s portrait of Cheney is hard to put down and hard to pick up. I was on a weekend trip to South Carolina, a fascinating visit with the Bear Clan of the Cherokee to see some of the vestiges of the "lower villages" [gone since the late 18th century]. But I read "Angler" in the down moments. Gellman’s view of Addington and Cheney adds a dimension or two to the picture – particularly their global pessimism. They were pessimistic that anyone else knew anything, could do anything right, would do anything right, but also, that anything good could happen in general.
There was another thing I didn’t know – Cheney was intimately involved with the fiscal policy of the Bush White House – operating with "supply side" economic theories that promoted escalating the debt, promoting tax cuts, and fostering deregulation. In fact, to my surprise, the vignette that most demonstrated Cheney’s deceitful manipulations of Bush had to do with his second round of tax-cuts.
And, if Gellman is right, Addington was directly involved with the drafting of Yoo’s Memos – and they were kept in Addington’s office safe, unknown to most of the DoJ Staff. You couldn’t make this stuff up! [Joy says I have to read "The Dark Side" next, so I ordered it]…
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