Disturbing Bio of Cheney

Sidney Blumenthal tracks the Vice President's Machiavellian rise through Washington's power network. Same cast of characters and the same methods dating back to Nixon. Here's a good example of the way he works: But in 2000, Cheney surfaced in the role of party elder, above the fray,willing to serve as the man who would help Gov. George W. Bush determine who should be his running mate. Prospective candidates turned over to him all sensitive material about themselves, financial, political and personal. Once he had collected it, he decided that he should be the vice presidential candidate himself. Bush said he had previously thought of the idea and happily accepted. Asked who vetted Cheney's records, Bush's then aide Karen Hughes explained, "Just as with other candidates, Secretary Cheney is the one who handled that."