Cheney: Another Day, Another Mugging

These pics have been lingering on the newswire for a couple of weeks now.  Talk about co-branding.

In contrast to putting the heat on Cheney, or maintaining what, by any other standard, might be called media independence, CBS taped a lame interview with Cheney about Iraq, the surge and the lead up to war (employing the usual method — decent questions with just the pretense of follow up), then launched these images into the media space.  As a “one-day” program promo between taping and air time, the pics have one logic.  As they continue to circulate, now two weeks after air time, however, the pics have a whole different read.

The look (and smell), at this point, is that the network is desperately sucking up (like they have to try?) and that, on his end, Cheney (channeling Ed McMahon and proving he can smile … for a price) is more than happy to bank some credit as a pitchman.

(image: Karin Cooper: AP/CBS Face The Nation. Washington, Saturday, April 14, 2007. Via YahooNews)