Has VP Cheney been caught with his pants down?

To be taken with as many grains of salt as possible, Wayne Madsen has been reporting of late that Vice President Dick Cheney is among those who frequented DC Madam Deborah Jeane Palfrey’s escort service when he was the CEO of Haliburton. Madsen, for those who are not familiar, runs an interesting political news website that sometimes has reported both rumor and conjecture as fact and often confuses commentary with reporting. But I still find his website to be valuable and an excellent resource for information because of the questions his reports often leave with me. Madsen’s site is an excellent alternate point of view clearinghouse.

Let me begin this posting by saying that it makes no difference to me what sexual preferences any person has. As long as the partner doesn’t walk on hooves or paws and no one is getting hurt and it’s between consenting adults, go for it folks. I don’t necessarily agree with the whole prostitution angle but if that is where you need to go for sexual fulfillment, by all means, do your thing. Where I do have a problem is when people in positions of power frequent or experiment in alternative sexual means. This isn’t a question of ethics or morality, it’s a purely pragmatic stance I have.

When the CEO of a large, international corporation or a powerful politician, who has a family and reputation to maintain, indulges in sexual promiscuity they open themselves up to the possibility of being blackmailed. If the Vice President is dipping his wick somewhere other than Mrs. Cheney, he is opening himself up to being a victim of blackmail from other politicians, business leaders or the Intelligence Community of other nations. In other words, his sexual desires and tastes can damage his ability to maintain his loyalty to the oath of office. This also opens him up to a potentially embarrassing internationally known scandal.

All men and women in positions of power, political and business, cannot underestimate the lengths that other people, people with agendas of their own, will go to in order to get what they want. The more powerful a position in society that a person holds the greater the need for that person to maintain control of their own desires. This is not only applicable to sexual desires but also true for money and notoriety. When a person in power makes a conscious effort to continue their exploration of sexuality by using more discreet means its simply a sign that even they recognize the necessity of their activities being kept secret. In effect, their actions validate the idea that great risk to themselves and their position is at stake.

If the Vice President has patronized the services of this or any other escort service, he should resign his position. Not because his actions are immoral or unethical, but because his actions have made him a risk to the security of our nation and it’s people.