Time and again, all we’ve asked of our government is simple honesty. In the war with Iraq, we wanted an honest assessment of the situation. According to the top CIA Middle East analyst, the administration cherry-picked information to support its drive to war.

According to Michael "Heck of a Job" Brownie, the administration knew about the breach of the levees in New Orleans long before Bush & Co. decided to end their vacations. Little has been done to alleviate the people’s suffering. The relief effort has been surrounded in Halliburton-like chicanery and corruption.

Now, as we’ve now learned, the first Vice-President in 200 years has shot someone and failed to inform the public for a day. But why should he? No one has held him accountable for the Energy Commission. And the government is planning to add $7 billion to the oil companies’ Olympic sized profits. No one has held him accountable for releasing Scooter Libby to smear Joe Wilson’s wife. He skulks while his chief of staff faces prison.

In all of Cheney’s gunfire of the last couple of days, we have simply seen another case of the reckless machismo of this administration. Shoot first, blame others later.