'Backseat' to 'Angler:' Cheney revealed

The Washington Post’s four-part, page-one series, “Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency,” is a must-read.

Post reporters Barton Gellman and Jo Becker have produced an outstanding piece of investigative journalism, a record of how this man, one of the signers of the neoconservatives’ “Statement of Principles,” has wielded power in the Bush presidency.

Links to the series, which appeared Sunday through today, are below, and I hope you will use them to access the articles and read each at your leisure.

THE POST’S INTRODUCTION:

“Dick Cheney is the most influential and powerful man ever to hold the office of vice president. This series examines Cheney's largely hidden and little-understood role in crafting policies for the War on Terror, the economy and the environment.”

THE ARTICLES:

Sunday: Part 1
Working in the Background: A master of bureaucracy and detail, Cheney exerts most of his influence out of public view.
Article, “A Different Understanding with the President,” 24 June 2007: LINK

Monday: Part 2
Wars and Interrogations: Convinced that the “war on terror” required “robust interrogations” of captured suspects, Dick Cheney pressed the Bush administration to carve out exceptions to the Geneva Conventions.
Article: “Pushing the Envelope on Presidential Power,” 25 June 2007: LINK

Tuesday: Part 3
Dominating Budget Decisions: Working behind the scenes, Dick Cheney has made himself the dominant voice on tax and spending policy, outmaneuvering rivals for the president’s ear.
Article: “A Strong Push from Backstage,” 26 June 2007: LINK

Wednesday: Part 4
Environmental Policy: Dick Cheney steered some of the Bush administration’s most important environmental decisions — easing air pollution controls, opening public parks to snowmobiles and diverting river water from threatened salmon.
Article: “Leaving No Tracks,” 27 June 2007: LINK

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“Backseat” and “Angler” are the Secret Service codename designations which have been assigned to Cheney.