Well, if there's anyone severely qualified to know about undermining troops, he's the guy.

Anti-war lawmakers in Congress are "undermining" U.S. troops in Iraq by trying to limit President Bush's spending requests for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, Vice President Dick Cheney said Monday.

You don't suppose that whole "not-exactly-being-greeted-as-liberators" thing could do that, do you?

BTW, the Associated Press-that well-known bastion of liberalism-dropped the ball all over this story. It's almost a textbook example of why people like me have lost almost all our faith in the so-called "credentialed" media.

Take a look at that first paragraph.

"Anti-war lawmakers." No, there are no-or very few-"anti-war lawmakers" in Congress. There are a lot of lawmakers-and even more of a country-who know that this criminal war needs to be ended ASAP. Because our leaders cannot be trusted to run it. That is not the same thing.

Now dig the second paragraph.

Hitting out at lawmakers who profess to back the troops but oppose Bush's plans in Iraq, Cheney said proof of their commitment would come as they consider legislation to provide nearly $100 billion for the rest of this year's costs of the wars.

Emphasis mine. Get that? Two paragraphs in, and this AP story is saying that if you don't trust Bush-for some reason-you're only pretending to care about the lives of the troops.

"When members of Congress pursue an anti-war strategy that's been called 'slow bleeding,' they are not supporting the troops, they are undermining them," Cheney said in a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

"...that's been called slow bleeding." Yeah, it's been called that...by Republicans. As Media Matters has documented, "slow bleeding" is a label that was invented by a Republican and exclusively used by Republicans. Who then at least muddy, and at worst flat-out lie, about the truth of its origins.

Am I being hopelessly naive to think that's the sort of the thing the press-Associated or not-should keep up on?

This one, however, is my favorite:

Speaking before a packed crowd at the Washington Convention Center, Cheney said it was one of several disturbing "myths" that one could support the troops and at the same time not give them what their commanders say they need to win.

Now...given what we now know about the lack of armor provided to the troops, which is so bad that parents are having to raise money to provide it themselves. And the fact that from the beginning we went into this war with less troops than the commanders said they needed to win.

Can you think of any reason why for saying such things, Dick Cheney shouldn't be forced to get all his health care from now on at Walter Reed, before moving to Guantanamo? Me, neither. But the Associated Press just reports it like if the Vice-President said something, it must be true.