cheney attacking Obama, then saying he didn't

Cheney: 'It's Important Not To Personally Attack The New President. I've Never Done That'

Since leaving office, Vice President Cheney has launched unrelenting and baseless attacks on President Obama -- a stark contrast from his former boss, President Bush. Last month, he told CNN that Obama is "making some choices that...raise the risk to the American people of another attack," referring to the President's decisions to close Guantanamo and end torture. He then suggested Obama was deceiving the American public:

Q: Is the president of the United States trying to brazenly deceive the American people?

CHENEY: Well, I think they’ve taken liberties, if you will, with the arguments.

In an interview with Fox News's Sean Hannity last night, Cheney continued his diatribe against the President. Echoing a frequent right-wing talking point, Cheney said Obama was "so busy apologizing for past U.S. behavior" abroad in recent weeks, and he criticized Obama's conversations with Hugo Chavez. Some highlights from the interview:

-- "But what I find disturbing is the extent to which he has gone to Europe, for example, and seemed to apologize profusely in Europe, and then to Mexico, and apologize there, and so forth."

-- "We've seen a lot of decisions made, especially in this administration with respect to the war on terror, which is no longer a war on terror, it's an overseas contingency operation."

-- "You have millions of people all across South America who are watching how we respond. And if they see an American president sort of cozying up to somebody like Daniel Ortega or Chavez, I think it's not helpful. I think it sort of sets the wrong standard."

But Cheney then offered a particularly puzzling assessment of his recent media appearances. "I think there is -- it's important not to personally attack the new president. I've never done that," he claimed.
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In an interview with Politico shortly after Obama's inauguration, Cheney suggested that Obama officials were "turning the other cheek" against terrorism and were unwisely following “campaign rhetoric” on detainee policy. Cheney claimed that administration officials were "more concerned about reading the rights to an Al Qaeda terrorist than they are with protecting the United States."

But apparently, none of this is "personal" in Cheney's eyes.

Update - Cheney defended the Bush administration’s record, claiming, “I don’t think we’ve got much to apologize for.”

(Think Progress)