[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Pxz695OdJE]
Keith Olbermann has responded to Dick Cheney’s claims to be outside of the Executive Branch, as well as above the law. The video is above and Think Progress has some highlights.
Yesterday I noted that this story was not new as bloggers such as Josh Marshall had written about Cheney’s view of the Vice Presidency in February. I’ve subsequently found that Digby also pointed this out yesterday, quoting from her own excellent post on the topic from February 4.
Steve Benen also discussed this and asks to make sense of this, noting, “It’s interesting — and if anyone can explain the reasoning, I’m all ears — but the same important story that was ignored in February is suddenly fascinating in June.”
Actually the reasoning, while not satisfactory, is fairly clear. The media, unlike the blogosphere, doesn’t care about abstract stories about Constitutional issues. That’s why we see so little about problems such as the break down of the checks and balances of government, the abuses of the K Street Project, and the violations of separation of Church and State. However, once Cheney’s view became significant in the coverage of a political battle between Cheney and Congress it suddenly became news. The news media which has little interest in ideas does always love a good fight.
