Vice President Joe Biden told NBC's "Meet the Press" that his predecessor, Dick Cheney, is trying to "rewrite history" with his criticism of the President Barack Obama's terrorism policies.
"I'm not gonna guess about his motive," Biden told "Meet the Press" moderator David Gregory in an advance excerpt released by the network of the interview taped Saturday night from Vancouver, where the vice president is leading the U.S. delegation to the winter Olympics. "All I know is he's factually, substantively wrong. On the major criticisms he is asserting... He either is misinformed or he is misinforming. But the facts are that his assertions are not accurate."
Biden's harsh appraisal came in an interview designed to counterprogram Cheney's appearance Sunday morning appearance on ABC's "This Week," where he is to be interviewed at 9 a.m. by guest anchor Jonathan Karl.
"Dick Cheney's a fine fellow," Biden said. "He's entitled to his own opinion. He's not entitled to rewrite history. He's not entitled to his own facts... It's one thing to criticize. It's another thing to sort of rewrite history. What is he talking about? . It's one thing to be outspoken. It's another thing to be outspoken in a way that misrepresents the facts. .. [I]t's almost like Dick is trying to rewrite history... I'm not being facetious. Maybe he's not fully informed of what's going on.
Here are some of Cheney's comments today as transcribed by The Oval:
Cheney, by the way, was also asked Biden's 2008 opponent Sarah Palin, and isn't sure she's ready to be president. "I haven't made a decision yet on who I'm going to support for president the next time around," Cheney said. "Whoever it is, is going to have to prove themselves capable of being president of the United States."
Here are some other highlights:
Afghanistan.
Cheney: "I'm a complete supporter of what they are doing in Afghanistan. I think the President made the right decision to send troops into Afghanistan. I thought it took him a while to get there."
The Christmas Day bomb plot.
Cheney says "enhanced interrogation techniques" -- including waterboarding -- should have been available for suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmuttalab: "I think you ought to have all of those capabilities on the table. Now, President Obama has taken them off the table. He announced when he came in last year that they would never use anything other than the U.S. Army Manual which doesn't include those techniques. I think that's a mistake."
Biden on conservative criticism over Abdulmutallab being read his Miranda rights: "Let me choose my words carefully here. Dick Cheney's a fine fellow. He's entitled to his own opinion. He's not entitled to rewrite history. He's not entitled to his own facts. The Christmas Day Bomber was treated the exact way that he suggested that the Shoe Bomber was treated. Absolutely the same way."
Iraq.
Cheney on Biden's comments praising Obama's handling of Iraq: "They opposed the surge that was absolutely crucial to our getting to the point we're at now with respect to Iraq. And for them to try to take credit for what's happened in Iraq strikes me as a little strange ... So if they're going to take credit for it, fair enough, for what they've done while they're there, but it ought to go with a healthy dose of "thank you, George Bush" up front."
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