The venerable Dick Cheney has said so many memorable things in his long career that have been long digested and discussed, but my most unforgettable quote was regarding the Vietnam War, that Southeast Asian conflict that he unflinchingly supported.

When asked why as a young man he did not serve in what he constantly described as a noble conflict and used every college deferment he could muster to stay out of it until that approach dried up, after which he impregnated his wife to bring the issue of potential service to a close, his answer was short and to the point:

"I had other priorities."

Cheney's history on Vietnam is a textbook paradigm for the master plan of the chicken hawk: