Saruman-esque! that's excellent! Although I can't really see Cheney being so subtle as to use a stilletto or a garotte. He seems more like a "choke with his bare hands" kind of guy.

That Gray (sic?) guy surely looks ... harmless (at least compared to Cheney)

i was really bummed that cheney didnt swear at him and threaten to pin his ears back.

I'm with Hans - definately a "with his own bare hands" kinda guy but I'd cast him as Sauron-esqe not Saruman-esque.

I now find myself reflecting on the nature of evil. In Tolkein's universe, great evil is certainly equated with greed and lust for power, but it also has a potent, if hubristic, intelligence. In our own world, I can't help but equate great evil with great stupidity rather than intelligence. Therefore, I can't think of Cheney or Bush or (even) Osama as Sarumanesque or Sauronesque. More like orcs or balrogs or that big spider....

You use such big words...

I do not think these are stupid people...well maybe one is...but their intellegence is overwhelmed by hubris. The magnitude of the hubris of neo-cons is the astounding thing. The idea what all of human existence can be distilled into market factors and manipulated accordingly is bizzare but at the heart of it. When combined with evangelical southern US Protestantism it is toxic in that it leaps into the moral, imposing morality on economics and economic factors into faith. The simple tenents of belief disappear and imbue into fact and whole complexity of the community gets painted with the nice pastels. Accordingly, it is expected that everyone in countries we send the army to will love us as both Jerusalem, Paris and Wall Street has ticker tape parades for the angels, the liberating heroes. Opponents, likewise, are the utter opposite of our own utter good...they must be. Hence, they will be involved with every bad thing if they are not us because we conquered the market on good and there is none left for anyone else making "us" the winners and them the "losers". In the mean time, the economics have been screwed and international relations are screwed but others are left to pick up the pieces. Neo-cons are not big on their own personal responsibilities, just pumping up those of others.

I'm not sure I'd agree with casting either as dimwitted. Cheney is highly intelligent, and Bush while dimmer than Cheney and missing the ideological fire, is crafty enough.

No, I'd still cast Cheney as Sauronesque. I'd call Bush Sarumanesque: a clinger onto power; subordinate to the ideological forces he summons.

As a tangent, isn't it a bit weird that Tolkien chose two such similar names for the two characters? I havent seen the like since Freddy and Eddy Shreddie, the two delightful and digestible cartoon characters from 1990s Saturday morning TV breakfast cereal ads on TV.

One word: Sauronosaur. Talk amongst yourselves.

(Another thing about neo-cons is the inability to recognize facts that disagree with their worldview, as if facts are alterable by sufficient reasoning or the sheer force of pigheaded will as opposed to being objective things which have an actual existence).

What's hilarious is that Edwards was supposedly this magnificent trial lawyer, and when compared to Cheney he looks like he should be carrying Cheney's briefcase.

All I know is that if I was in a dogfight, I'd want Cheney backing me up. Cheney would be rolling up his sleves, while Edwards would be saying:
"You stay here, I'll go and get help!"

that's "sleeves"

No, Cheney would beat the other guys and then beat the crap out of you for fun, too.

Besides, when there is a fight, he is off to community college.

Myabe Cheney reminds people too much of their fathers; you know, "You can't live in the basement, listening to the Clash or whatever that crap is, smoking those funny cigarettes, talking to your friends, the rest of your life, buster" kinda guy. Or the High School "you'll never amount to anything" Vice-Principal.

I think you're right about beating the crap out of you too - but only if he thought you didn't hold up your end of the fight, and he took one too many punches on your behalf.

And then he'd choke your little sister with his bare hands for fun. And then he'd go tell an alcoholic street person that he'll never amount to anything and then go have a belt of scotch. And then he'd laugh. And then he'd go take a few more punches for Bush but he wouldn't take a swing at Bush because Bush gives him millions of dollars. Then he'd brow-beat his daughter telling her she'd never amount to anything unless she stopped dating other girls. I wish he was my Dad.

That's the problem Cheney has: he's got that "asshole neighbour" look about him(everyone has or has had a jerk neighbour who looks like him). Rusty, you forgot to mention the "drowning the kittens" part.

Weird about Cheney taking punches, considering that he got five draft deferrments. First, he went to college. Then, when he was in danger of graduating, he got married. Then when they changed the regulations to be only married guys without children, he was lucky enough to have a kid - nine and a half months later. Funny. What a badass!

Besides, Edwards is pretty cute. And he's got a superb ass. Just sayin'.

By "he's got a superb ass", you meant as a running mate, Kerry, right? No?---oh, I get it!