On the tone-deaf Cheney...

Can a former veep be more tone-deaf than Dick Cheney? As discreet (rare comments, much like Alan Greenspan when he's Fed Chief) as he was, these guys just won't shut up. We have Greenspan who just keeps talking and talking and can't shut up. Now, we have Cheney expounding on everything from defending Bush administration, to disparaging Powell and the current Obama administration.

These guys are embarrassing. No doubt they have some diehard fans (probably more so for Cheney than Greenspan). But the guys belong so decidedly to yesteryear, clinging to the past practices (more so for Cheney too). And yes, "cling" is the right word. If the GOP wants to follow Cheney's advice, picking Limbaugh as GOP face and voice, it's marching itself down the death valley.

Even though I didn't vote for Obama, his administration has taken the pragmatic approach to issues that I'm happy to observe from afar. Even the most obvious things like, getting some "data" (however useless it might be in reality) to support policy, as in the case of conducting bank stress tests in order to ascertain their health, one would have thought that it should have been done long ago. Why didn't Hank Paulson think of that when he first demanded blank checks from Congress and taxpayers to bailout banks, based on nothing more than the trust-me approach? While the Obama team is largely extending on almost all policies from the Bush administration (more bailouts, same defense secretary), the new team is able to put out a bit more justification for its actions, which is so unlike the Bush team who took action when they "saw fit", with few questions answered.

In a way, Obama's relative clean-slate approach to Washington is indeed a plus. If it has been Hillary Clinton, the moment she mentioned the word healthcare, GOP is going to mock her with with the failure of HillaryCare, among other things. Now, every time Obama speaks, people listen, and GOP is completely immobilized, too stunned to find its voice.

As time progresses, as GOP leans more towards its loyal diehard fan base, it's going to reduce itself as a regional, more radical party. And the Party of No mantra is going to stick. It's quite amazing to see the GOP disintegrate in front of our eyes, after they lost the election.