My search function currently doesn't, so apologies if this has already been posted; I went back several pages in the diaries and didn't find it.
For the second time in a week, Dick Cheney has made a public statement that wasn't in line with the administration's policies, official or otherwise. This time, it's Kerry's war record:
Vice President Dick Cheney said Tuesday it would be wrong for him to judge Sen. John Kerry's service during the war or his anti-war activities later, given that he avoided military service altogether.
Cheney was asked if Kerry should apologize for saying that troops in Vietnam committed atrocities, testimony that riled some officers who served with him.
"I didn't have to serve in Vietnam and I try to make it a point always to thank those who did for their service, regardless of what their views are or exactly where they served during that period of time or under what circumstances," the vice president said on "The Sean Hannity Show," a syndicated radio program.
"I really don't think it's for me to be trying to judge his behavior then," he added.
This is a suspiciously classy response. In combination with last week's comments about gay marriage, I have to think these "lapses" are deliberate.
If Cheney were younger and healthier, I'd think he was trying to distance himself from Bush, make himself sound more moderate in preparation for a future run himself.
But since we all know that's not it, Cheney must be trying to placate the moderates again. Which tells me that despite the public face of things, both Bush's anti-gay stance and his Kerry-bashing are turning off ever-increasing numbers of moderate Republicans and independents.
Now if only Cheney's comments are too little, too late, and their disenchantment lasts until November 2.