If you took every adult in the United States and put them in a big blender and turned it to puree, the substance you would draw off would be pure Dick Cheney ( the foam would be Sarah Palin) Dick Cheney rose to prominence as the former most influential individual in the country for at least eight years. He is the embodiment of all Americans including the populous silent majority - the warm, dark matter, along with all of the pretty people we see on television, in the movies and in glossy magazines. If you are uncomfortable with this you might stop using petroleum products ie stop being an American. You say Cheney is mean spirited? The most friendly of us are a single degree of separation from violence, meanness and greed. Conservatives are not as shy about this as liberals.