Chilling, chilling I say, Cheney chart

After graciously enduring 90 minutes of Liberal propaganda (The Darkside), I can't believe the ingratitude of some Liberal readers. But one element of the "documentary" merits additional comment, I think.

The Charts.

You're familiar with the technique . . . slowly spinning camera as it zooms or pans out from a chart illustrating the point being made. Oooo, powerful. Nice visual aid. Here is the one on "Vice President Cheney's Network."

This chart highlights how Cheney aggregated power at key national security centers -- the Pentagon, State and White House -- and lists the positions his friends and allies have held during the time period leading up to the 2003 war in Iraq.

This chart is only impressive if you assume that political lightweights (read: Dan Quayle, John Edwards) are the only people qualified--it's ironic I know, to be Vice President. Of course he has "connections" and an incredible network . . . he was the Gravitas to this ticket, remember? Of course the majority of those in his vast right-wing, er, network are from the right wing.

This reminds me of the Nightline episode during my first year in law school that showed this sinister organizational chart/network that circuitously connected Judge Ken Starr with some lawyer that worked for Clinton-accuser Paula Jones because . . . they both had been members of (cue sinister music) . . . The Federalist Society. Imagine my dismay when I realized there was no chapter at my law school (a deficiency soon corrected). But back to the subject . . .

I can just hear the questioning now at the upcoming Electoral Mandate Impeachment (EMI): "Are you, or have you ever been, an acquaintance or co-worker of Dick Cheney?"