Dick Cheney has made clear, more than once,(*)that he simply doesn’t care what Americans think.(*) This week, he starkly emphasized his contempt for us during an interview with ABC:

(*)ABC: “Two-thirds of Americans say it’s not worth fighting [in Iraq], and they’re looking at the value gain[ed] versus the cost in American lives, certainly, and(*)Iraqi lives.”
Cheney:(*)”So?”
(*)ABC: “So–you don’t care what the American people think?”
(*)Cheney: “No, I think you cannot be blown off course by the fluctuations in the public opinion polls….” (h/t Dan Froomkin)(*)

Cheney’s protestation notwithstanding, it’s clear that he doesn’t care about public opinion (which he dishonestly suggested has “fluctuated”, when, in fact, 2/3 of Americans have consistently opposed the war in Iraq for more than a year).(*) Maybe(*)it’s useful for the Vice President to dismiss(*)the commoners(*)given that, at times,(*)his approval ratings have dipped below 20%.(*) But Cheney’s comment is deeply troubling.(*) It is, simply, undemocratic to be so dismissive of the consistently held view of millions of Americans who comprise a substantial majority of the population.
One of the many ironies of the Bush-Cheney years is that we are supposedly committed to spreading democracy around the world even as we make a mockery of it at home.(*) Cheney clearly believes that he always knows best.(*) That’s a mindset better suited to a monarchy than a(*)constitutional democracy.(*)(*)
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