Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency

by Barton Gellman

Book Overview

The landmark expos of the most powerful and secretive vice president in American history

Barton Gellman shared the Pulitzer Prize in 2008 for a keen-edged reckoning with Dick Cheney's domestic agenda in The Washington Post. In Angler, Gellman goes far beyond that series to take on the full scope of Cheney's work and its consequences, including his hidden role in the Bush administration's most fateful choices in war: shifting...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0143116169
• ISBN13: 9780143116165
• Release Date: August 2009
• Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
• Length: 512 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.3" x 8.5"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

You can't understand the Bush presidency unless you read this book!

The best book of 2008, none I've read thus far even compare. Angler is an incredibly illuminating book into the most unique vice presidency in American history. I would also argue, after having read about a dozen books on President Bush and his Administration; that you cannot truly understand the failures of the Bush Administration and the woeful performance of the GOP in the past eight years without having read this book. My perspective is one that had me voting for Bush in 2000, primarily in hopes that a Republican president and Republican-majority Congress would lead to authentic tax reform as proposed by most economists of that time if one wanted to sincerely optimize economic growth (i.e., a national sales consumption tax that supplanted all other federal income and wealth taxes based on a 1997 study). While I was aware that Bush was not the most competent person to be running for the job, his nominating Dick Cheney as his running mate pulled me over to supporting and voting for Bush in 2000 (though certainly not in 2004). The Dick Cheney known by his friends and even his opponents was one of intelligence, competence, patriotism, analytic skills, institutional knowledge of the Executive Branch without peer, and judgment. This perception, shared by many both inside and outside the party, including Democratic colleagues, begs the question in retrospect: How could such a competent VP who had the ear of the President lead to such incompetent results? Gellman shows his mastery of many topics in providing the answers and he does provide the answers. Gellman's findings are stunning given the opaqueness of the Bush presidency. Gellman was provided access to enough of the players and coupled with his functional expertise in understanding constitutional law and the machinations of the Executive Branch, provides a thorough account of several initiatives that Cheney decides to engage. The book is not a complete biography of the Cheney vice presidency, but instead an analysis of his performance by studying several key areas, such as his transforming intelligence activities post-9/11, fighting to increase the power of the Executive Branch while avoiding the checks of Congress and the SCOTUS, getting Bush reelected in 2004 by pushing for unsound economic policy that is partly the reason this recession will be deeper and longer than need be, to becoming a culture warrior in the war against science to promote certain business interests, and more. There are no bad chapters, in fact each chapter is a masterpiece of reporting. Each is rife with explosive revelations: from the process to win the nomination without being vetted, to staffing allies in certain positions beyond the office of the Vice Presidency that allowed him to virtually control the content of their respective department's work in his areas of interest, to how Cheney circumvented the law, the constitution, and its ideals, to insuring an extremely lazy Bush was presented with only

Tales of power from the Bush Administration

This book chronicles the means and methods that Dick Cheney has used in order to become far more than just a vice president in the Bush Administration. The material presented here is probably only a small selection of what has actually happened behind the scenes. If the well-known wall of secrecy behind which Mr. Cheney has operated were torn down, there would probably be much more to examine. As it is, the author has relied upon a number of interviews, some of them from anonymous sources, and many of them from associates the author says took substantial risks. After reading no further than the first chapter concerning Governor Frank Keating, the reader can get an idea of what is meant by substantial risks. Beside the amazement and then outrage at the way Cheney has managed to control just about every major policy issue of George W. Bush's presidency, the reader can come away with clues as to what is driving this man. The author makes a case that he is not motivated by enrichment, regardless of the way Halliburton has been favored. It's much more a matter of principle and a kind of dogged determination to view the world in a certain way. By Cheney's view, if the choice is to be between the carrot and the stick, he would choose the stick. So, in foreign policy it is a mistake to reward one's enemy in advance because it only encourages aggression. Strength is what matters most in this contentious world and it is only in a strong "unitary executive" that the interests of the United States can best be served. Being tough in this way means that there is no acknowledgement of a mistake: that would be weakness. Never mind that a disaster has been created in a place like Iraq, just continue to tough it out. From what the author relates, the obvious conclusion is that Cheney virtually ran the government during Bush's first term. As head of the search committee, he basically chose himself as Bush's vice presidential running mate; and then hit the ground running by heading the transition team that chose cabinet officers. Once the term started, he went to work rolling back the touchy-feely stuff - the "compassionate conservatism" - of the Republican campaign. He confronted Christine Whitman at the EPA when she wanted to do something about global warming. He went about setting energy policy by establishing an exclusive task force of industry representatives that decided policy in strict secrecy. He threw out the window concerns about fiscal responsibility ("deficits don't matter") and adopted a strict supply side model. It would seem as if he hijacked Bush's agenda. But by running as an outsider, George W. Bush knew very little about the workings of Washington and had no inclination or ability to master the details of the job. He allowed the vice-president to conduct unprecedented meetings, take the lead on headline issues, and control the flow of information. Even more Cheney than Cheney has been David Addington, Cheney's long-time legal counsel. After 9/

Dick Cheney: A Presidential Shield Gone Bad?

Dick Chaney, perhaps the most powerful man ever to hold the office of Vice President, began as President Bush's personal shield, confidant, mentor and ideological soul mate. However, this tidy arrangement, predictably, was to go horribly awry. As this timely book reports, Cheney's experience as a master wheeler-dealer of behind the scene backroom bureaucratic negotiations and Machiavellian manipulations, proved overtime to be more a liability than an asset to the Bush Presidency and appears especially likely to leave an indelible if not a very ugly stain on the 43rd president's legacy. The book, well written and skilfully organized, began as a series of Washington Post Articles. It gives a careful account of Cheney's rise to power, and then captures in almost overly melodramatic terms the best and the worst of Cheney's role as VP: Undoubtedly the best of times was during the early days of the Bush's presidency when Cheney's role throughout the first campaign was heavily relied upon and was then both respectful and circumscribed; a time in which Bush relied on Cheney's political instincts as well as his policy advice. The crescendo of the book is when the worse came: toward the end of the Bush Presidency, in a series of vice presidential missteps best exemplified in the "shootout" at justice over the wireless wire taps, in which Cheney all but arrogated Presidential power unto himself, keeping the President in the dark and "single-handedly" precipitating a revolt by Justice Department lawyers. The upshot of the book is that Cheney, remains a truly scary figure in the annals of American Presidential history, not just because of his Svengali like influence over our "not too bright President," but also because he was in his own right a devious spin-miester and die-heart ideologue who lacked no compunction are moral restraints about end-running the President, and then manufacturing "after-the-fact" rationalizations and justifications to cover his machinations and to cover-up even the most excessive and improper of his actions - such as his hidden hand in the Valery Plame incident. His utter lack of sensitivity to the meaning of the Constitution and the notion of a balance of powers among co-equal branches of the government is so aberrant as to border on being treasonous. In the run up to the 2008 election, where questions about the current VP selections has caused the U.S. electorate to collectively hold its breathe, the Dick Cheney experience is a cautionary tale about the possible harm a weak selection of a VP can have in undermining the political process and American political institutions. Bart Gellman, in not taking sides, or completely "throwing Dick Cheney under the bus," when it would have been so easy to do so, has done this nation proud. Five Stars.

Excellent Material!

"Angler" is the code-name used by the Secret Service to refer to V.P. Cheney. "Angler" the book tells the story of V.P. Cheney's role in the Bush administration - from his selection as candidate, his initial moves before even taking office, to his ability to influence decision-making throughout the Bush term, and does this in a calm, credible manner. Selecting a Running Mate: Bush asked Cheney early on, and was turned down. This, per Gellman, only increased Cheney's appeal. Bush II had witnessed tensions between his father's White House staff and those looking out for Dan Quayle's future; Cheney, in addition, had told him about problems between Nixon-Ford, and Ford-Rockefeller. Bush did not interview a single candidate before settling on Cheney. Further, Cheney negotiated his expanded role at the beginning - "I want to be a real partner in helping you reach decisions." Cheney's Role in Staffing Positions: Cheney's commanding role on major appointments was without precedent. He recruited candidates, pre-interviewed them, and escorted them for Bush's approval in Austin. For State, Bush already set his sights on Colin Powell, and Linda Chavez for Labor (she withdrew after a nanny-scandal). Cheney brought in Rumsfeld, Whitman (EPA), and O'Neill (Treasury). Cheney did not stop at the cabinet - 2nd and 3rd ranking officials (eg. Hadley, Bolton) could be vital allies. In policy fields he cared about Cheney placed people even deeper in the bureaucracy. The list did not include most of the Friends of George from the Republican Governor's Association. "Scooter" Libby was made national security advisor, chief of the V.P. staff, and assistant to the president. Cheney Gets Personally Involved: Early on (12/03/00), Cheney got his imprint in on the economy by suggesting a recession looked likely - setting the stage to blame Clinton and cut taxes. Cheney also attended almost all NSC meetings and briefed Bush afterwards (Rice did also - separately.) Cheney joined the regular Wednesday lunch of the president's economic team (secretaries of labor, commerce, and treasury, also the budget director), and the National Economic Council, the weekly Senate Republican caucus (LBJ was the last V.P. that tried - he was blocked by the Senators; Cheney pointed out that he was President of the Senate). Also, the White House created a panel called the Budget Review Board, with Cheney as chair. Overseeing the budget was exactly the find of serious, boring work that Bush disliked, and Cheney thrived in the vacuum. Conflicts with OMB went to the Board, and no one appealed further to Bush. Cheney also usually sent a staff member to Norquist's Wednesday anti-tax luncheons. Cheney had abandoned Milton Friedman's "no free lunch" maxim for Laffer's supply-side economics - despite serious objection from his long-time friends Paul O'Neil and Alan Greenspan. Unlike most of his rivals and even the president, Cheney knew what he wanted. One of his first assignm

Now we know why.........

Now we know exactly why President Gerald Ford said he believed Cheney to be "pugnacious" ! But it is worse than America thought, or the news media cared to illuminate. (I guess getting put in a back row of the press briefing room is a fate worse then death for the major news players. So they tow the line.) I'm assuming Cheney is one of those humans who does not have a soul. Since a true human's spirit guides the soul, and the soul speaks through the conscience, Cheney must not have a soul. By this method of deductive reasoning, humankind can better see the dastardly reasoning of the atrocities committed by the "monsters" of human history. The author conveys the point that Cheney saw in Bush, a kind of person easily led by persuasion. Cheney picked himself Vice President because he knew he could establish and follow-through on his own agenda without interference from a man of strong character. Worth the money...........