Just watched Second Lady1 Lynne Cheney's interview on The Daily Show. I thought she came across as a very reasonable and well-spoken lady, speaking quite highly of the current administration and her husband, recalling stories about growing up in Casper, Wyoming, discussing her recent book, and speaking out plainly against a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as being between a man and a woman.
But that small amount of respect evaporated in the final minutes of the interview. Jon Stewart jokingly asked her about her thoughts on Iraq, and when he then tried to steer the conversation to Vice President Cheney's demeanor at home, Cheney insisted on returning to Iraq. Paraphrased, the conversation went something like this:
Lynne Cheney: I think that when history looks back on this era, they'll see that in September 2001, most people feared another attack would come within six months, or six weeks even. But it's been six years and there's been no attack, and that's no accident. I think that this administration deserves a great deal of credit for that.
Jon Stewart (surprised that she wished to engage on the topic): Well in fairness, the previous World Trade Center attack had been <b>eight</b> years previously, so I'm not sure we should get so excited about <b>six</b> years--
LC: ...Except there were other attacks in between 1993 and 2001: the USS Cole, the embassy bombings,--
JS (a bit incredulous): But... but, there have been attacks since 2001. Bombings in Madrid, in London...
LC: We're talking about American interests. [emphasis hers]
JC: [stunned silence]
Audience: [sharp intake of breath]
Jon Stewart went on to express his apparently mistaken assumption that countries like Spain and England are our allies, but the interview ended quickly thereafter.
What really gets me here is how easily the explanation for why the Madrid and London bombings shouldn't count rolled off Lynn Cheney's tongue. This is a viewpoint that I fear permeates a huge portion of America: when our allies don't support an ill-conceived war with no realistic plan for success, they're cowards; but when they're attacked by the same enemy that we're trying to eradicate, we are uninterested.
Shame on you, Lynne Cheney. Though I guess, in the end, I'd expect no better from a person who married your husband.
1 Wikipedia tells me that I'm really allowed to use that title.
I turned on the interview for about 30 seconds, but had to turn it off because I knew at some point it would become too uncomfortable for me to watch. Looks like I made the right decision.
Can you we also dock points from the second lady for spelling her name incorrectly?
Yes, absolutely.
-2 to Lynn"e": poor parental spelling.