For some reason, this is really bugging me.

This article in the NYT really points up how much Cheney thinks that he is a force unto himself, sees himself, not as the #2 in command, but on equal footing with the office of the President. Of course, this comes as no surprise to those of us who have been paying attention since the day Cheney, put in charge of finding a suitable running mate for George W. Bush, chose himself.

The past three days have underscored, in public, what has always been clear in the Bush White House: Mr. Cheney plays by rules of his own making. It is the freedom that only a political figure who knows he is in his last job — he often says he will never run again — can get away with.

"What he did was not an irrational thing," said Mary Matalin, Mr. Cheney's former communications adviser, who spoke to him Sunday morning. "This was a very close friend this happened to. Everyone was shaken up about it. When I spoke to him, it was all about Harry, worrying about him," not whether he should get a statement out, or let his South Texas host tell a local newspaper.

Oh, fer cryin' out loud, this is just so much bullshit.

To others, though, it is a telling example of the cocoon Mr. Cheney has created within the White House.

Even at the most secure meetings in the White House situation room, Mr. Cheney tends to ask questions but leave the participants guessing about his own views — largely, his colleagues say they suspect, for fear of leaks. His movements, once hidden for security reasons, are now often cloaked out of habit. Several senior members of the administration said they were not told of the shooting accident until late Sunday.

Several White House officials said no one among the White House staff, including the chief of staff, Andrew H. Card Jr., felt empowered to dictate how news of the accident would be handled.

What?? Andrew Card did not feel "empowered to dictate?" Huh? And the chain of command is where? Does Bush hold the #1 position or not? No need to answer that.

And then there is this:

Ari Fleischer, Mr. McClellan's predecessor, said Tuesday that he suspected the reason Mr. Cheney failed to say anything publicly was because he viewed the hunting trip and the accident as part of his private life, not his public one.

So, let me get this straight. A blow job in the oval office is impeachable, but potentially blowing someone's brains out is just a private matter. Got it. I know, I know. IOKIYAR.

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