Cheney's cave

When people say "Impeach Cheney first," they know what they are talking about. Imagine impeaching Bush and waking up the next morning to find Dick Cheney on the imperial throne.

Everyone knows that Cheney has always been the principal power behind the Bush throne. Probably not many know how secretive he is. He stamps everyday documents as "top secret." He has never been willing to say who he meets with. (So how many of his fellow oilmen have been scheming in the bunker in the last 79 months?) The man whom Maureen Dowd calls "Vice" won't even release the names of his aides, not even their number.

Maybe the looniest move of all came in June when Cheney declared his office was not an entity within the executive branch. This screwball statement was made in a last-ditch effort to avoid giving required information about his office to the National Archives. (The requirement-an executive order-is part of government-wide rules for safeguarding classified national security information.)

The National Archives had protested Cheney's position by letter in June and August 2006. He ignored the letters, and in January the National Archives asked Attorney General Gonzales to act. Cheney's staff responded by trying to abolish the agency within the Archives that is responsible for implementing the disclosure rule.

And this is just one corner of the secretive cave of chaos. Looking all around, it would seem best to impeach Gonzales first, then Cheney, then Bush. ASAP.