Dick Cheney Luncheon

Brief description from Dick Cheney's fundraiser inside the Riverside Convention Center

The day has come and gone, and so has Dick Cheney. His brief visit here sparked much sound and fury, but signified little. About one-hundred and seventy people attended the Vice President's fund-raiser at the Riverside Convention center. Each paid one-thousand dollars a plate to listen to the VP's speech which lasted about twenty minutes before being whisked away in his motorcade. During his speech, Cheney made the usual re-election bids and also towed the party line concerning the war on terror and the occupation of Iraq. Among these was a reiteration of the connection between Iraq and Al Queda which becomes less and less plausible with each day. "Iraq is now the central front in the war on terror." While the Bush Administration has certainly made this true Cheney goes even further, "Overcoming threats is only the beginning." This statement comes in the wake of Bush's announcement of a provisional Iraqi government by June. This plan has already sparked international controversy due to the lack of United Nations involvement. The administration has been greatly criticized in its handling of Iraq after President Bush announced the end of major hostilities on May first. Cheney, before moving on to the economy, made this comment, "We are standing with the Iraqi people." The death toll of American soldiers in Iraq has reached two-hundred and thirty six casualties since the cessation of major hostilities according to the BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3019552.stm.