Dick Cheney

Only one out of five Americans is willing to describe himself or herself as a Republican these days, and frankly I am tempted to become one of them. For the variety, and because they need me, and because when I heard former Vice President Dick Cheney talk about the meaning of Republicanism the other day - "We are what we are," he said - I felt drawn to the simplicity and dignity of that. And I have never been a Republican, just as I've never been to South America, and that makes it tempting.

On March 26, the literary world marked the 50th anniversary of Raymond Chandler's death. The author of The Big Sleep and Farewell, My Lovely was, along with Marylanders Dashiell Hammett and James M. Cain, a creator of the cynical, hard-edged private eye. His characters knew that politicians had something to hide, cops were on the take, women were dangerous distractions and whiskey kept a man sane. Chandler's writing was simple, straightforward: "I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a vacation, I needed a house in the country.

No one in the cadre of national environmental activists seemed much surprised to learn last week that Vice President Dick Cheney is orchestrating the rollback in federal protections that marks the Bush administration's stewardship of America's natural resources. Most stunning about The Washington Post's revealing peek into Mr. Cheney's behind-the-scenes machinations was the depth and breadth of his involvement in a policy area not regarded as a key part of his portfolio. His many years in Washington - serving in three administrations as well as Congress - gave Mr. Cheney an intimate knowledge of how the place works, allowing him to put the government in service to his ideological and political goals.

Seriously, now is the time for a real intervention. Those close to President Bush, people whose faith and loyalty he cannot doubt - first lady Laura Bush, his parents, perhaps an elder statesman or two, his preacher - need to assemble in his White House quarters one night soon, lock the door and sit the president down for a serious, forever-secret talk. Unlike the YouTube "intervention" parody on the Internet, the subject would not be the Iraq war, at least not primarily. The focus needs to be on Vice President Dick Cheney.

Orioles fans can be a chronically grumpy lot. They tend to roll their eyes and sigh loudly when the subject of baseball comes up. That's what perpetual fourth-place finishes can do to otherwise decent people. (To this one can only add, thank heavens for the Eastern Division's last-place Tampa Bay Devil Rays, without whom our collective mood would be left in the dark spaces reserved for the latest American Idol reject and Dick Cheney.) But today is different. It's Opening Day. Opening Day does strange things to baseball fans.

WASHINGTON --Tom DeLay, the fiery former House majority leader, knows why his party lost control of Congress last year. And he is not to blame. In his new book, DeLay, a polarizing figure whom Democrats sought to make a symbol of Republican corruption, attributes the Republican defeat in November to frustration with President Bush, the war and "a general perception of Republican incompetence and lack of principles." "I would suggest that Republicans lost because they did not communicate their message and their victories with enough strength to overcome short-term, media-fed issues that arose right before the election," DeLay writes in the book, No Retreat, No Surrender, referring in part to the congressional page scandal.

WASHINGTON -- I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's conviction ripped through the nation's capital yesterday like a late-winter storm. Damage was widespread. The White House clearly took the worst hit, but almost all of those involved in the case seemed to have suffered - including Washington's news media and even, at least in the eyes of his critics, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the victorious prosecutor. Found guilty on four criminal counts of obstructing justice, perjury and lying to investigators, Libby was dealt a severe blow by the verdict.

The White House press secretary, Tony Snow, cautions against reading too much into the announcement that the United States will be sitting down with Iran and Syria in a regional diplomatic conference on Iraq, starting later this month. Here's what we read into it: Some people in the administration are realizing that the options on Iraq are running out. The public's patience is threadbare; the military won't stand for a further surge; Republican politicians are jumping ship. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates are wielding more influence within the administration, and they're not as adamantly devoted to saber-rattling as is, for instance, Vice President Dick Cheney - who at the moment has I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's perjury trial to worry about.

HOUSTON -- In this gun-loving state, nearly everyone can enjoy the pleasure of the hunt - even those who can't see what they're shooting at. But now, a Texas legislator is proposing to give legally blind hunters more of a fighting chance by allowing them to use laser sights to target their prey. And no, Vice President Dick Cheney is not a beneficiary of the legislation, although plenty of bloggers and amateur comedians are having a good time joking that he is. Rep. Edmund Kuempel, a Republican from Seguin, east of San Antonio, has introduced a bill to exempt legally blind people from a Texas law that prohibits hunters from using laser sights or lights in hunting.

In the first television ad trumpeting his U.S. Senate bid, Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele suggests he'll be a "different kind of senator" who will criticize both political parties. He does not mention that he is a Republican. The 30-second ad is to run for two weeks on Baltimore, Washington, Hagerstown and Salisbury TV stations. The spot shows Steele, wearing a dark suit and striped tie, sitting casually on a wooden stool and talking directly to the camera. "I know what you're thinking," he says, upbeat music playing in the background.