Apparently, Condi Rice wasn't the only one who decided that the worst natural disaster in our country's history was the perfect time to go shopping. Rice, of course, was spotted on Fifth Avenue paying reportedly thousands of dollars on a pair of Ferragamo shoes. Cheney stayed on vacation while Hurricane Katrina struck. He stayed on vacation on Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday and Friday and he was finally spotted back in Washington on Saturday. This was such a gross dereliction of duty that even liberal bloggers struggled for a reasonable explanation. Surely Cheney was deathly ill and simply incapable of doing what any decent human being would do during such a terrible disaster? Nope. Maureen Dowd says Cheney was house-hunting:
The vice president has at long last lumbered back from a Wyoming vacation, and, reportedly, from shopping for a $2.9 million waterfront estate in St. Michael's, a retreat in the Chesapeake Bay where Rummy has a weekend home, where "Wedding Crashers" was filmed and where rich lobbyists hunt.Dick Cheney was SHOPPING FOR A MANSION DURING THE WORST NATURAL DISASTER IN OUR NATION'S HISTORY. Unbelievable. If this isn't the first question for any government official who gives a statement to the press until we get some answers, the MSM should just pack up and go home. I now apologize for bending backwards to assume Cheney was ill -- perhaps from his weak heart -- and offering my heartfelt thoughts for his family while insisting he'd have to step down. I made the rookie mistake of assuming Cheney had a heart.
NOTE: Now what do I say? The Washington Post did a story on Cheney house hunting on Chesapeake Bay on Monday, a week after the hurricane struck. It quoted people saying the deal would close yesterday or today. How could The Washington Post CONCEIVABLY do a light, fluffy article about Cheney buying a mansion when he was AWOL during the worst natural disaster in our nation's history? Why aren't they demanding to speak to Cheney? Why aren't they asking for a complete itinerary of everything he did last week while the waters were rising and people were dying? Why aren't they asking Cheney about the grotesque contrast of him buying a mansion after hundreds of thousands of people watched their entire lives wash away and Cheney did nothing. NOTHING. How could the Washington Post run an article like this in this context? It seems there is no report of Cheney literally shopping for his home last week, but who knows? The Washington Post didn't ask and they used the facts to run a "cute" feature instead of recognizing his insulting refusal to get to work when this country needed him most. Write the Washington Post with your opinion of them running a story like this two days after Cheney FINALLY was spotted at the White House and let them know what questions you want answered. letters@washpost.com
