Writing in the TPMCafe today, Larry Johnson believes Dick “Dick” Cheney is on his way out now that he is no longer George Bu$h’s puppet master.

Wednesday's surprising resignation/firing of Don Rumsfeld and the nomination of the CIA chief who served Bush 41, Robert Gates, was a dramatic and emphatic smack in the face of Dick Cheney. While George W. Bush remains stubbornly committed to the present course in Iraq, there should be no doubt that he is no longer willing to be the Charlie McCarthy to Cheney's Edgar Bergen. Cheney's hand is no longer firmly up Bush's ass and Bush is speaking for himself.

This was a stinging rebuke to Cheney, who had brought his mentor, Don Rumsfeld, into the Bush 43 tent over the strenuous objections of the Bush 41 crowd. Cheney and Rumsfeld shared the same world view of the NeoCon crowd, which included a fierce distrust and anger toward the CIA. During the last five years Cheney assisted Rumsfeld's quest to set up a completely independent intelligence operation in the Department of Defense. At least with the DOD intel capability, the Pentagon and the White House could ignore the CIA view.

The most important consideration when reading commentary like this is to remember that it is analysis and opinion. Dick Cheney is a fairly complex creature in many ways, and getting inside his head is not always a simple matter. And, yes, that last line writes its own jokes, but let’s try to be serious, as the future of our Democracy requires.

Mr Cheney has several layers of loyalty; the first to himself and his personal fortune; second (probably) comes his family, indelibly tied to his own best interests. Make no mistake about it, his third loyalty is to Big Oil since that is where he has spent most of his productive life. And, emulating General Motors President Charles Wilson’s opinion about his corporation and his country, Mr Cheney believes that what is good for Big Oil is good for America, so we as a nation come third or fourth, depending on your degree of cynicism.

I think Mr Johnson is right when he says that Mr Cheney is now isolated in the decision and policy-making apparatus of the Bu$h malAdministration. As Larry Johnson observes:

The Gates era at DOD will bring an end to Rummy's reign of terror. Rummy and his coterie of neocons bullied and bashed the military, particularly in the summer of 2002, for its reluctance to accept Rummy's demand to invade Iraq with a light force. Rummy came to the job with preconceived ideas and was unwilling to entertain dissent or alternative views. There is no doubt that the military officers on the Joint Staff are heaving a great sigh of relief these days. Gates, by contrast, will welcome strong briefers and will defer to military recommendations that are fully supported by evidence.

Messers Cheney and Rumsfeld have been running buddies since the early 70s, but it looks like Mr Cheney will soon follow Mr Rumsfeld into well-earned obscurity.

As I wrote here about Mr Gates,

According to his wiki bio, after graduating from college, and getting his Masters at Indiana where he was recruited by the CIA, he spent two years in the Air Force, then there’s a great big blank in his public record until a 1974 PhD. He wasn’t in a closet. The blanks will get filled in, but he’s basically a lifer in the Intelligence community, with a few nice awards.

Mr Gates, coming from the CIA, will probably view the alternate intelligence community built by Messers Cheney and Rumsfeld for the purpose of creating goal-oriented intelligence products with great alarm. An old-liner, he probably understands the danger of a too-prominent military and will be seeking opportunities to curtail their activities in the information-creating and massaging field. As one possible clue, consider that Mr Rumsfeld’s personal reputation protecting website is now four days out of date and there has been lots of negative news reports about the ex-SecDef and the DoD in the last few days.

As Larry Johnson observes:

The Gates era at DOD will bring an end to Rummy's reign of terror. Rummy and his coterie of neocons bullied and bashed the military, particularly in the summer of 2002, for its reluctance to accept Rummy's demand to invade Iraq with a light force. Rummy came to the job with preconceived ideas and was unwilling to entertain dissent or alternative views. There is no doubt that the military officers on the Joint Staff are heaving a great sigh of relief these days. Gates, by contrast, will welcome strong briefers and will defer to military recommendations that are fully supported by evidence.

Messers Cheney and Rumsfeld have been running buddies since the early 70s, but it looks like Mr Cheney will soon follow Mr Rumsfeld into well-earned obscurity.