I agree partly with TIA and partly with Wolfgang.

On TIA's side, I think Cheney's statement is one of the most blatant uses of Goering's technique that I've seen. I don't think you really CAN replace Cheney with any politician.

Let's try it: Cheney's counterpart John Edwards.

That doesn't work for me; I haven't seen Edwards say anything like this.

Now, on Wolfgang's side, I would say this is "guilt by association" for another reason. When you point out that people are using the same propaganda techniques as the Nazis, it is creepy. But it's mostly creepy because of the OTHER things the Nazis did. In other words, we're associating Cheney with a crowd who murdered--what? Ten million people? A crowd who murdered people for racist reasons. Etc, etc. These are not things Cheney would do.

You could point out that Bush wears the same brand of shoes as Hitler (I made that up of course; just an example!), but it wouldn't mean he'd make the same choices as Hitler in other areas.

So coming to power in a Nazi-like way IS creepy. But we must remember that this does not make them Nazis.

Still, I think TIA's point is valid: that Cheney et al are using manipulative tactics reminiscent of fascism.