Editorial | Cheney: the imperial veep (Philadelphia Inquirer)

How do you turn a job that a Depression-era vice president said wasn't worth a "bucket of warm spit" into a new, fourth branch of the federal government?

Elect one Richard B. Cheney as vice president of the United States - he of the ever-grimacing smile, and the undisclosed location. ~snip~

When the National Archives unit that looks after classification matters for the executive branch showed up at Cheney's office, it was barred from making an inspection. At one point, the vice president's staff even had the chutzpah to propose the ultimate bureaucratic form of revenge - abolishing the archives unit. ~snip~

It's all of a piece with a troubling view of the presidency that affords it expansive powers with few checks. The focus here is on Cheney. But while the vice president may look like a loose cannon, he could not operate as he does - certainly, not ignoring an executive order - without his boss' implicit approval.

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/8144662.html