Cheney strikes back at Obama criticism

In addition to serving up a biting criticism of the current president, the latest broadside from former Vice President Dick Cheney effectively reasserted his position as the philosophical leader of the Republican Party. "Barack Obama went before the American people on '60 Minutes' last night and finally showed his true colors," Cheney told FOX News. "Laughing like a hyena, he was, as if there was something amusing about the unprecedented financial crisis into which he has dragged this country. It was embarrassing to watch. I'm not laughing, the American people aren't laughing, why was Barack Obama laughing? Does he see something amusing about thousands of executives across the land losing their jobs or taking pay cuts? We found out the other day that he seems to find Down Syndrome amusing, so I'm not likely to be surprised at any level of misery that might tickle his funny bone." "I'll remind you of what the president said when Steve Kroft asked him if he was punch-drunk last night," Cheney continued, "as though being drunk on national television wasn't shocking enough in and of itself. Obama said it was 'gallows humor' that gets him through the day. Gallows humor. Think about that for a moment. The economy has a noose around it's neck, and this socialist demagogue is getting a big drunken laugh out of it." Cheney was also unamused by Obama's criticism of his own latest condemnations, questioning the propriety of a sitting president responding negatively to what he termed "helpful advice from someone older, wiser, and far more experienced than he'll ever be". "I think that it should send a shiver down the spine of every thinking American when you see the character of a private citizen such as myself subjected to a vicious attack by the President of the United States. I would imagine, however, that Barack Obama sees the situation quite differently. I would imagine that he finds it amusing to go on national television and threaten the reputation of the man responsible for keeping America from being attacked again after 911 and whose work he is frantically scrambling to undo. Either that or he has a funny way of showing bipartisanship."