Ed Schultz on Dick Cheney: We Ought to Rip Out His Heart, Kick It Around, and Stuff It Back in Him

MSNBC personality and radio talk-show host Ed Schultz had some choice words aout former Vice President Dick Cheney's recent heart problems:

You're damn right, Dick Cheney's heart's a political football. We ought to rip it out and kick it around and stuff it back in him. I'm glad he didn't tip over. He is the new poster child for health care in this country.

... And we want Shooter to make it. Hell, we hope he goes and shoots somebody else in the face. That was a helluva story way back when.

... How come Dick Cheney's health care isn't being dropped? Do you realize that if you had five heart attacks, hell, you wouldn't get past two heart attacks and they'd dump you.

But because you're a war criminal and because you are on the take from Haliburton and you had these executive meetings in 2001 back in the, you know, the days of the rolling blackouts and executive privilege on how we're going to develop energy policy in this country, you do stuff like that, hell, you can get the best health care on the face of the earth.

Nice, very classy. Tony Kornheiser got suspended from ESPN for remarks that were no where near as offensive. I'm sure MSNBC (which by the way, stands for "Must See Nothing But Curling," according to Chuck Todd) will let it go.

POLITICO: Biden Goes on the Offensive Against Cheney on 'Meet the Press'

POLITICO'S Whiteboard got the advance tape of Vice President Joe Biden's harsh appraisal of his predecessor:

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."

Obama's Team Protecting Cheney From Jon Stewart?

File this under the "Huh, which side are you on?" department.

Josh Gerstein of Politico writes this afternoon that the Obama administration wants to save former Vice President Dick Cheney from the likes of Daily Show host Jon Stewart.

That was the thrust of arguments the Justice Department presented Thursday, as it sought to prevent the release of an interview Cheney gave in 2004 to Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald as part of his investigation into the leak of the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson.

A Justice Department lawyer said releasing the records could leave Cheney open to attack by his political enemies, including late night talk show hosts. That, in turn, would make it harder for investigators to get cooperation from future presidents and vice presidents.

U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan didn’t decide immediately whether the summary and notes of the Cheney interview should be made public, but the judge said a declaration from former Justice Department official Steven Bradbury was inadequate to justify withholding the records.