by Terri Firma

Vice President Dick Cheney has revealed that the administration proponents for the Iraq war have sought to have the words “defeatist” and “resignation” classified as definitions that characterize Democratic positions on national defense. Democratic lawmakers have sought to combat the suggestion by Cheney that their positions are those of defeatism just because Cheney says this is so. They argue that their positions are simply alternative positions, not on an opposite spectrum of ideas from a supposed position of strength. Cheney has been increasingly reliant on this argument in recent weeks at several fundraising appearances, one of which had him sharing the lectern with Ann Coulter, who baited Democrats with the argument that they support and love the Taliban and Al Qaeda, and “should just go ahead and marry them.”

Cheney’s strategy of redefining the terms of the debate was surreptitiously revealed when, as a guest on Tim Russert’s Sunday program, in response to a comment by Biden, Cheney said “I am afraid that yes, it does, sir. Just look it up in any Webster’s dictionary.”