Shit happens, like Bush-Cheney and the economy

By Michael J.W. Stickings

It's been a gloriously Cheney day here at The Reaction -- see here and here for posts on Cheney's remark that Obama is making America less safe -- and here's more from his interview with CNN's John King.

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John King, for once, asked a tough question, and he asked one of Cheney: "So what would you say to someone out there watching this who's saying why should they listen to you?"

The topic under discussion was the economy, and King noted what had happened to the economy under Bush-Cheney:

Unemployment rate: Rose from 4.2 percent to 7.6 percent

Poverty: Jumped from 32.9 million individuals to 37.3 million

Uninsured: Escalated from 41.2 million individuals to 45.7 million

Budget deficit: Inherited budget surplus of $128 billion and left office with $1.3 trillion deficit

Cheney's response? "Stuff happens." Stuff like 9/11 and Katrina -- you know, because Cheney always pulls out 9/11 to justify everything.

And that's what he did here. All that "stuff" justified the gross mismanagement of the economy that saw not just a ballooning deficit/debt but the increased in the number of unemployed, poor, and uninsured -- as if all that had to do with 9/11 and Katrina.

The Bush Administration went into "wartime mode," and, well, fuck everything else.

The right answer to King's question: There's no reason to listen to Cheney. No reason at all.

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For more on the national security part of the King-Cheney interview, see Taylor Marsh.

And watch the "stuff happens" bit, if you want: