Writing in Madison’s Capital Times, John Nichols takes on the sordid Cheney legacy: “There will be those who question whether the vice president can possibly be serious when he expresses confidence in what remains of Libby’s integrity and describes his longtime aide as “one of the most honest men I know.”

But let’s put this in perspective. After almost four decades of working with the likes of Richard Nixon, the Iran-Contra conspirators, Enron and its accountants, Cheney might actually be telling the truth here.

In the circles in which Cheney has traveled throughout his career, Libby might come off as a paragon of virtue and veracity. That ought not much trouble prosecutors, however. The vice president is his own man, and he plays by his own set of rules.

Just as Cheney has never felt constrained by any constitutional definition of duty to the republic, nor has he ever provided even the slightest indication that he is familiar with the textbook definition of “honesty” – let alone with the notion that an official ought to value that quality in those with whom he chooses to associate.”

Honest Abe

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