White House Fires Back at Cheney

Former VP Dick Cheney accused President Obama of "trying to pretend" the nation isn't at war with terror—and the Obama administration is fighting back via the White House blog. In a post entitled "The Same Old Washington Blame Game," communications director Dan Pfeiffer said not only does Obama understand the gravity of the situation, but he understands it better than Cheney did: "The difference is this: President Obama doesn't need to beat his chest to prove it, and—unlike the last administration—we are not at war with a tactic ("terrorism"), we at war with something that is tangible: al Qaeda and its violent extremist allies. ... Vice President Cheney and others seem to be more focused on criticizing the administration than condemning the attackers, this president is not interested in bellicose rhetoric, he is focused on action. Seven years of bellicose rhetoric failed to reduce the threat from al Qaeda and succeeded in dividing this country." Yowza.