So Man

All cartoons are posted with the artists’ express permission to Pick Wayne’s Brain.
Jeff Danziger, Syndicated Political Cartoonist

When ABC News’ Martha Raddatz said to President of Vice Dick Cheney that two-thirds of Americans say the war in Iraq is not worth fighting, he answered with an astonishing amount of callousness. From the official White House website:

Q Let me go back to the Americans. Two-thirds of Americans say it’s not worth fighting, and they’re looking at the value gain versus the cost in American lives, certainly, and Iraqi lives.

THE VICE PRESIDENT: So?

Q So — you don’t care what the American people think?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: No, I think you cannot be blown off course by the fluctuations in the public opinion polls. Think about what would have happened if Abraham Lincoln had paid attention to polls, if they had had polls during the Civil War. He never would have succeeded if he hadn’t had a clear objective, a vision for where he wanted to go, and he was willing to withstand the slings and arrows of the political wars in order to get there. And this President has been very courageous, very consistent, very determined to continue down the course we were on and to achieve our objective. And that’s victory in Iraq, that’s the establishment of a democracy where there’s never been a democracy, it’s the establishment of a regime that respects the rights and liberties of their people, as an ally for the United States in the war against terror, and as a positive force for change in the Middle East. That’s a huge accomplishment.

“So?”, Mr. Cheney? “So”? Is that how you feel about your role in the government of this country? That what the people you serve want of you is of no consequence? And on what exactly, sir, do you base this perogative that you claim? Because you, and you alone, know what’s best for this country? Has it ever occurred to you that you might have been wrong all these years? We all know that the war was about controlling the flow of oil and, therefore, its price. You are happy that the price is so high, because it helps make your friends (whatever countries they may live in) just that much wealthier. The fact is, Mr. Cheney, you just don’t give a damn about the American people, do you?

“So” Man
Original Words & Music “Soul Man” by Isaac Hayes, David Porter, 1967
Additional Lyrics Wayne A. Schneider, 2008

Going hunting from a dusty road
Good lawyer, he got a faceload
And when he got it, his head sunk in.
Don’t worry, ‘cause I’m drunken.

I’m a “So” man, I’m a “So” man
I’m a “So” man, I’m a “So” man

Got where I am the hard way
And I keep it secret, each and every day
My powers, there’s more you bet
‘Cause you ain’t seen nothing yet

I’m a “So” man, I’m a “So” man
I’m a “So” man, I’m a “So” man

I was bought out back on Wall Street
I learned how to lie before I could eat
I investigated this old heart
When I stop caring, I just can’t start

I’m a “So” man, I’m a “So” man
I’m a “So” man, I’m a “So” man

Just grab the dope and he’ll clue you in
Watch his back and be his only oil man
Yeah, yeah

I’m talking about a “So” man, “So” man
{Ad lib to fade}