Via ThinkProgress, here's VP Cheney in the Washington Times:
"In my mind, the foremost obligation we had from a moral or an ethical standpoint was to the oath of office we took when we were sworn in, on January 20 of 2001, to protect and defend against all enemies foreign and domestic. And that's what we've done," he said...
"I think it would have been unethical or immoral for us not to do everything we could in order to protect the nation against further attacks like what happened on 9/11," Mr. Cheney said.
Notice anything weird about what he said? I did.
First, here's the oath of office taken by the President and Vice President of the United States:
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
Nothing about protecting and defending the country, nor is there anything about "enemies foreign and domestic." That comes from a different oath of office, one that the VP never himself took:
"I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God." (Title 10, US Code; Act of 5 May 1960 replacing the wording first adopted in 1789, with amendment effective 5 October 1962).
That's the oath of enlistment into the US military. It is not the oath that Cheney took when he became Vice President.
The President and Vice President swear to protect and defend the constitution, and not the people of the United States. That's not a minor or insignificant difference.
