Vice President Dufus Dick Cheney is way-more than an asshole, more a liar, thoughtless and corrupt and yesterday a bit of this horror came out in spades.
Dufus Dick’s chief-of-ass-scratch, David Addington, paid a subpoeanaed visit to the US House Judiciary Committee and acted like his time was way-too precious to be wasted talking to Congress-people.

According to the Washington Post, Addington played the holier-than-the US Constitution, and being an asshole into one beautiful, turd-like turn:

• There he sat, hunched and scowling, at the witness table in front of the House Judiciary Committee: the bearded, burly form of the chief of staff and alter ego to the vice president — Cheney’s Cheney, if you will — and the man most responsible for building President Bush’s notion of an imperial presidency.
  …
  Could the president ever be justified in breaking the law? “I’m not going to answer a legal opinion on every imaginable set of facts any human being could think of,” Addington growled.
  Did he consult Congress when interpreting torture laws?
  “That’s irrelevant,” he barked.
  Would it be legal to torture a detainee’s child?
  “I’m not here to render legal advice to your committee,” he snarled. “You do have attorneys of your own.”
  …
  And he showed abundant disdain for dissenters, such as Rep. Artur Davis (D-Ala.), who asked whether Addington consulted lawmakers about anti-torture statutes.
  “There is no reason their opinion on that would be relevant,” he answered.
  …
  Cheney’s Cheney continued to dole out the scorn (“You asked that question earlier, today, and I’ll give you the same answer”) until Bill Delahunt (D-Mass.), the last questioner, inquired about waterboarding. “I can’t talk to you — al-Qaeda may watch these meetings,” Addington said.
  “I’m glad they finally have a chance to see you, Mr. Addington,” Delahunt joked.
  “I’m sure you’re pleased,” Addington growled.

The photo that accompanied the Post article showed Addington, along with John Yoo, he of the infamous “torture memo,” smirking like of couple of loudmouth assholes in ninth grade after being hauled into the principal’s office.
Again to the piece in the Post:

• After several such dances around the questions (whether, for example, the president could order somebody buried alive), Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) offered his grudging respect: “You guys are great on ‘Beat the Clock,’ ” he said.
  “I don’t play basketball,” replied the 41-year-old Yoo.
  “That was a game show,” Cohen explained.

This would be very funny, ‘Mad TV,’ or ‘SNL’ kind of shit, except the fate of the US republic rests on the assholes like Addington and Yoo.
Their performance before the committee displays the horror of the last near-eight years — way above the common man and stretched way into the dark of criminals.

The US peoples know, however:

• WASHINGTON — Three out of four Americans, including large numbers of Republicans, blame President Bush’s economic policies for making the country worse off during the last eight years, according to a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll released Wednesday, reflecting a sharp increase in public pessimism during the last year.
  Nine percent of respondents said the country’s economic condition had improved since Bush became president, compared with 75% who said conditions had worsened. Among Republicans, 42% said the country was worse off, while 26% said it was about the same, and 22% thought economic conditions had improved.
  …
  Seventy percent of respondents said the rising cost of fuel had caused hardship for their families, and the pain appeared to be spread across all income groups: 79% of people with incomes of less than $40,000 a year said the higher prices were a hardship, but so did 55% of respondents with incomes above $100,000.
  …
  All together, 82% of respondents said the economy was doing badly, compared with 71% who felt that way when the question was asked in February. And the pessimism has intensified: Fifty percent of respondents said the economy was doing “very badly,” compared with 38% in February.
  The Times/Bloomberg poll, conducted June 19-23 under Pinkus’ supervision, interviewed 1,233 adults nationwide. The poll’s margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Assholes that mirror into a looking glass of arrogance.
One day, buddy boys, one day…