It has long been apparent that Cheney's genius

is that he lets Bush get out of bed every morning

actually believing he is the President

In fact, his presidency is run by

the President of the Senate,

for Cheney is its true center of gravity

That fact has become more apparent with

every passing year of this presidency,

and anyone who thinks otherwise has truly

"misunderestimated" our nominal president

and his vice president

Washington insiders have long understood

that Cheney's power stems from his knowledge

of the way the White House and

the Office of the President operate

This is knowledge he acquired

as President Ford's Chief of Staff

With Bush's consent, much of the paper flow

of the White House which heads up

the chain of command toward the President

goes through Cheney's office

In addition, Cheney's staff reaches down

into the executive bureaucracy to shape the debate

before it reaches the White House

Above the Law

Vice President Dick Cheney has regularly claimed that he is above the law, but until recently he has not offered any explanation of why.

In fact, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find a law that Cheney believes does apply to him, whether that law be major and minor.

For example, he has claimed that most of the laws passed in the aftermath of Watergate were unconstitutional, and thus implicitly inapplicable.

His office oversees signing statements claiming countless new laws will not be honored except insofar as the President's extremely narrow interpretation allows.

He does not believe the War Powers Act should be honored by the President. Nor, in his view, should the President be bothered with laws like the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

In fact, it appears Cheney has actively encouraged defiance of such laws by the Bush Administration.

For Cheney, the Geneva Conventions -- considered among the nation's most important treaties -- are but quaint relics that can be ignored.

Thus, he publicly embraced their violation when, on an Idaho talk radio program, he said he was not troubled in the slightest by our forces using "waterboarding" -- the simulated drowning of detainees to force them to talk.

There are serious questions as to whether Cheney himself has also conspired to violate the War Crimes Act, which can be a capital crime.

Those with whom I have spoken have serious doubt

that Bush and the White House staff really knows

what Cheney is doing, why he is doing it, or how he is doing it.

The Vice President's very limited but vital roles are set forth in the Constitution.

He is the next in succession to become President, should there be a vacancy or should the president suffer from mental or physical inability to serve.

And he is the president of the Senate, which means he can preside over the Senate but under the Senate Rules, he cannot take part in debate, and under the Constitution, he can only vote to break a tie.

In the event of a vacancy in the office of the president, under Article II and the Twenty-Fifth Amendment, the Vice President becomes the Acting President.

Also under the Twenty-Fifth Amendment, the Vice President, when acting with a majority of the Cabinet, can also declare the president is "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office."

If he so declares, then after so informing Congress, the Vice President becomes Acting President until the President notifies Congress that he is fine; if there is a dispute, the Congress resolves it.

The only other Constitutional duty of the Vice President is that set forth in Article I, Section 3, clause 4, which makes the Vice President the "President of the Senate, but [he/she] shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided."

Not since the nation's second Vice President, Thomas Jefferson, decided it was a waste of time to preside over the Senate has any Vice President done so -- other than to break ties or for ceremonial events, such as the State of the Union or the tallying of electoral college votes.

Since 1947, the Vice President has been given a number of statutory duties, when President Truman recommended, and the Congress agreed, that the Vice President should be a member of the National Security Council.

This, however, is the most significant of his statutory assignments.

Thus, beyond the limited constitutional responsibilities, and the few statutory tasks, the Vice President's role comes down to whatever the President assigns him.

Vice Presidents can have no role greater than the assignments given by the president -- or in the case of Dick Cheney, whatever he has been able to convince the President he can appropriately handle for him.

The source of Cheney's power: influence, not a formal grant of authority

Washington insiders have long understood that Cheney's power stems from his knowledge of the way the White House and the Office of the President operate.

This is knowledge he acquired as President Ford's Chief of Staff. With Bush's consent, much of the paper flow of the White House which heads up the chain of command toward the President goes through Cheney's office.

In addition, Cheney's staff reaches down into the executive bureaucracy to shape the debate before it reaches the White House.

Power Corrupts; Cheney's Power Corrupts Absolutely

Those with whom I have spoken have serious doubt that Bush and the White House staff really knows what Cheney is doing, why he is doing it, or how he is doing it.

From the outset of this administration, Cheney has been instrumental in placing people loyal to him throughout the Executive Branch.

This is not to say that Bush in not "the decider," for he is, but by shaping the debate and controlling the paper flow, Cheney decides what the decider will decide.

It has long been apparent that Cheney's genius is that he lets George W. Bush get out of bed every morning actually believing he is the President. In fact, his presidency is run by the President of the Senate, for Cheney is its true center of gravity.

That fact has become more apparent with every passing year of this presidency, and anyone who thinks otherwise has truly "misunderestimated" our nominal president and his vice president. John W. Dean