GETTING TOUGHER - AT 3:07 P.M. ET:  Buoyed by a new poll showing his popularity increasing (see our 9:25 a.m. post), former Vice President Cheney tore into the Obama administration today, escalating one of the most intriguing political battles we've seen in years.  Good on Cheney:

Accusing President Obama of giving Americans "less than half the truth," former Vice President Dick Cheney said Thursday tough interrogation tactics worked, and said the tactics had the approval of members of Congress including current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The former vice president said the president's attempt to find a middle ground that angers the right and the left is compromising American security: "in the fight against terrorism, there is no middle ground, and half-measures keep you half-exposed."

Mr. Cheney said tough interrogation tactics "were legal, essential, justified, successful and the right thing to do."

And...

Without naming names, Mr. Cheney said that "some members of Congress are notorious for demanding they be briefed into the most sensitive intelligence programs. They support them in private, and then head for the hills at the first sign of controversy."

COMMENT:  Is this juicy, or what?  The tragedy is that the Bush administration never mounted this kind of defense while in office.  It should have. 

President Obama spoke earlier in the day, defending his own policies and saying he was cleaning up the mess he'd found.  But, if it was such a mess, why is he adopting so many of the same policies, including military tribunals?  He will soon learn that, no matter what he does, the left will never be satisfied.  It will never be satisfied until all our military activity ceases, the war on terror is abandoned, and we admit that it was all our fault.

May 21, 2009