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A Tale of Two Vice Presidents
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They both served as VP. Faced hordes demanding their imprisonment. Shot people they knew. Colin Powell’s former chief of staff draws the eerie parallels between Dick Cheney and one of American history’s great rogues, Aaron Burr.
Who are the two U.S. vice presidents who have marked themselves indelibly in the book of shame? Aaron Burr and Richard Cheney (Spiro Agnew's peccadilloes are miniscule in comparison), some two centuries apart. Perhaps that speaks volumes for the soundness of the system our Founders designed: A scoundrel every 200 years in that high office is a fair record.
Spiro Agnew's peccadilloes are miniscule in comparison.
In presidential electoral votes, Burr tied Thomas Jefferson in 1801. With the election thrown into the House of Representatives for resolution—as ironically the election of 2000 with Cheney and Bush was thrown to the Supreme Court—it came down to Jefferson's archenemy, Alexander Hamilton, to stun his fellow Federalists and declare his support for Jefferson. That support carried the day in the House and Thomas Jefferson became our third president. Burr was vice president, as was customary for runners-up during our country’s first few decades.
Burr would later kill Hamilton in a duel—after, as some historians record it, Hamilton had averted his pistol shot—and thus send himself into damnation so far as most of his contemporaries were concerned. Oddly, Cheney would only manage to shoot a friend while quail hunting and, apparently, on the booze a bit too much.
Burr, in 1807 and no longer vice president as Jefferson had rejected him, would be tried for treason and for attempting to incite a war with Spain, among other nefarious dealings. John Marshall, never a friend to Jefferson, so narrowly defined "treason", however, that Burr was acquitted. Today, if Cheney were put on trial the results would likely repeat: If he were tried for war crimes, which he most assuredly could be according to U.S. law, he would be acquitted for fear that a conviction would be too tumultuous for the nation to endure.
But perhaps the greatest similarity in these two vice presidents, Burr and Cheney, is summed up by what Alexander Hamilton described about Burr's actions when Hamilton was at the operational head of the American army during the heightened period of tension with France.
"General, you are now at the head of the army," Burr told Hamilton. "You are a man of the first talents and of vast influence. Our constitution is a miserable paper machine. You have it in your power to demolish it and give us a proper one and you owe it to your friends and the country to do it." Hamilton replied: "Why Col[onel] Burr, in the first place, the little army I command is totally inadequate to the object you mention. And in the second place, if the army were adequate, I am too much troubled with the thing called morality to make the attempt." Burr then said: "General, all things are moral to great souls."
That last sums up Cheney's view perfectly.
Col. Lawrence Wilkerson was Colin Powell’s chief of staff while he was Secretary of State during George W. Bush’s presidency. He has served as director of the U.S. Marines Corps War College, and on the faculty of the U.S. Naval War College, the College of William and Mary and The George Washington University.
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KristaJulieva
Of all the ink that has been spilled trying to capture the scope of Dick Cheney's awfulness (figurative ink, nowadays, for the most part) this does the job with devastating brevity.
KEVROY1
L.WILKERSON ,WHAT LAW DID CHENEY BREAK ,AND YOUR REF TO DRINKING IS JUST A SLIME TRICK Aaron Burr was a tratior revisinoist history is always your way
muddog
????????????????????.....
The list of potential legal breaches is, of course, enormous; by one count, the administration has broken 269 laws, both domestic and international. It begins with illegal wiretapping and surveillance (which in the view of many experts violated the Fourth Amendment, the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, for starters), the politicization of the Justice Department and the firing of nine US attorneys, and numerous instances of obstruction of justice-from the destruction of CIA interrogation tapes to the willful misleading of Congress and the public. Perhaps the paramount charge that legal experts have zeroed in on is the state-approved torture that violated not just the Geneva Conventions and the UN Convention against Torture but also the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the 1996 War Crimes Act, which prohibits humiliating and degrading treatment and other "outrages upon personal dignity."
Snertly
Kevroy1, your argument is just as persuasive as your spelling and capitalization.
Josh-Narins
The April 2004 siege of Fallujah was undoubtedly, based on what I know, was a war crime of the first magnitude.
Perhaps many armies use this strategy. I'm sure Ghenghis Khan did it. They surrounded the town. Out of niceness, they let the women and children leave. Then they cut off the food, water, electricity and moved in.
If you were innocent, and you starved to death during the seige, them's the war crime breaks.
Ritarita
Two-thirds of the city
Of Fallujah was leveled to the ground.
It was an all out slaughter.
Bush gave the order
But was reportedly amazed
By the destruction.
Ritarita
Kevroy-
I'm scheduling
An eye exam.
KathyTS
Yes, there are many similarities in the dastardly sides of Burr and Cheney. However, there is one very significant difference. Earlier in his life, Burr was a patriot. Cheney never served in the military, having sought 5 deferrments during Vietnam because, in his own words, he had "other interests." Burr, on the other hand, volunteered to serve in the colonial army in 1775. He served under many generals, including George Washington, and became a regiment commander at the age of 21. He spent the winter of 1777-1778 at Valley Forge with Washington's troops, and continued to serve until 1779, when he resigned from military service due to ill health. So he did serve his country in the most courageous way--unlike Cheney, who spent many nights, not in the freezing cold of Valley Forge, but in a warm and protected "undisclosed location."
Johnny-Boy
Beautiful, just a great little comparison between two of the greatest shames of American politics.
I'm also happy to finally see in print, the FACT that Cheney was drunk when he shot his friend in the face, which explains why the authorities weren't allowed on the property until a day after the event, to permit Dick to sober up a bit before explaining everything away with a grunt and a snarl.
Personally I would like to see him investigated and charged with his MANY criminal offenses, but I'm not all torn up that he won't be. I would just be very happy if we could all just stop talking about him. Ignoring people like this always does more harm to their psyche, and beter serves to marginalize them anyway.
Go away Dick, and take your "stepford" Daughter with you please.
Ritarita
Cheney is
He who will not be
Ignored.
Ozone69
To compare Burr's killing of Alexander hamilton in a duel to Cheney's accidental shooting of a friend while hunting is ridiculous. As for that undisclosed location, Joe Biden was smart enough to tell everyone where it is. Beneath the VP's home.
Ritarita
You're right.
I don't think Burr
Was drunk.
muddog
The Dark Lord will not stop until the world is on fire.......
This man is creepy,,,I am a Democrat but so obviously for many reasons glad he is gone but he trully seems to have come mental issues, the guy is just not on planet earth anynmore.
SharksBreath
Dick Cheney telling the world that torture works.
How dangerous is that.
SharksBreath
Lawrence. At the next Daily Beast meeting you might want to have a talk with Nicole.
She's having delusions that Bush is a classy ex President.
Is she off her Prozac again.
This user is no longer registered.
n--Y--alcamadusJosh-Narins
He's not an idiot, but he was remiss in not pointing that out.
HuskyNan
This is a serious question - has there been any inquiry into how much of the $10 billion spent on Iraq each month goes to Halliburton and how much of that might go to Cheney? Has there been any published accounting of the monthly tab at all?
openhand
Aside, there is an interview where Cheney is asked about the estimated cost of the war being - $250 Billion. He angrily rejects the numbers, instead saying the projected cost was $120 Billion. $80 Billion U.S. $40 Billion Allies.
What we now know is the projected cost to be in the region of $3000 Billion.
Ten years before that he said Iraq was not worth more than the lives of 100 U.S. soldiers who died in Gulf War 1.
What we now know is that more than 4000 have died.
This is the kind of leadership you would expect from GM.
easton
Here is something you can't say about Cheney:
during a fierce snow storm on December 31, 1775, Burr distinguished himself with brave actions against the British.
Burr's courage made him a national hero and earned him a place on Washington's staff in Manhattan, but he quit after two weeks because he wanted to return to the battlefield.
Dick Cheney, 5 deferments. Burr was far more the man than Cheney ever was.
ConstitutionalRights
I find the terms "war crimes" and "torture" so easily slung like paintballs it disturbs me. I would prefer that people use facts, not innuendo or personal "feelings" and to legitimately prosecute if that is called for. This constant partisan mudslinging is just turning the nation into Jerry Springer. Lets use the Constitution instead, and stop with the lynch mob.
Progressive2
Torture is a Warcrime
Waterboarding is Torture
People that commit Warcrimes should be prosecuted.
FACTS.
tomdmeyer
Col. Wilkerson --
Your characterizations of Burr are consistently uncharitable to the point of dishonesty.
"Burr would later kill Hamilton in a duel-after, as some historians record it, Hamilton had averted his pistol shot-and thus send himself into damnation so far as most of his contemporaries were concerned."
Though it is clear that Hamilton kept his promise not shoot intentionally at his opponent -- a rather noble, if foolhardy thing to do, under the circumstances -- the idea that Burr killed Hamilton in cold blood has been thoroughly discredited as a smear campaign. Hamilton gave every appearance of intending to shoot, including putting on his glasses at the last moment and practicing his sighting with the pistol. And while Burr had to flee NY and NJ to escape persecution, he had multiple formal balls held in his honor in the south afterwards. See Founding Brothers, pp 20-48.
"Burr, in 1807 and no longer vice president as Jefferson had rejected him, would be tried for treason and for attempting to incite a war with Spain, among other nefarious dealings. John Marshall, never a friend to Jefferson, so narrowly defined "treason", however, that Burr was acquitted."
Again, true on minor points but wrong on the big ones. Marshall and Jefferson did, indeed, loathe each other and Marshall's definition of treason was rather narrow. What you neglect to mention is that 1) America was on the brink of war with Spain at the time 2) Starting a private war with Spain may be illegal, but is not strictly "treasonous" 3) Jefferson was almost certainly aware of the scheme at some level and 4) Jefferson was so set to convict Burr during the treason trial that he actually gave his prosecutor a signed stack of presidential pardons with instructions to use them as he (the prosecutor) saw fit. For the latter, see Lomask, "Aaron Burr: the Conspiracy and the Years of Exile" p 251.
muddog
Cheney knows best what a "lynch Mob" is, ask him.
Read my post abovem the man has clearly broke the law.
He has tarnished the US for decades to come, we will pay the price for his arogance and shredding of the Constitution.
rigel1
Clearly, with deep love and devotion to our Country, Col. Lawrence Wilkerson has joined the growing chorus of those that are speaking out with clarity and conviction about the seriously flawed decisions and wrongdoing of officials in the Geo. W. Bush Administration. We are indebted to him for his courage and particularly strong voice.
As Vice President and as former Vice President, Dick Cheney has been and is a menace to America. Specifically, I hope that others will join Wilkerson in helping to penetrate the opaque fog created by the paranoid Cheney's dissembling.
While we need to recover our honor and dignity, we also need to reaffirm that the rule of law applies to all government officials including the President and Vice President. ~ richard allbritton, Miami, http://rallbritton.blogspot.com
msn04061960
Wow. Mr. Wilkerson is comparing a traitor to Mr. Cheney, I agree. Of course Mr. Wilkerson most probably supports another traitor named Obama, who also thinks the Constitution needs rewriting.
ThisThatTheOther
What a bizarre, completely unfounded statement about the President. Are you mental?
KathyTS
President Obama was a professor of Constitutional Law prior to becoming a Senator. He knows more about the Constitution than you do, moron, and he will stand by its statutes long after you learn to base your arguments on facts rather than silly mud. Grow up.
Hawnzz
This was a very nice piece. I think it is far too kind to Herr Cheney.
Thank you.
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