Sunday Show Round Up: Kennedy Remembered, Cheney Blasts Obama on CIA

Two topics dominated the Sunday morning talk shows -- the legacy of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy and the Obama administration's decision last week to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the role of CIA officers in past detainee investigations.

Appearing on Fox News Sunday, former Vice President Dick Cheney called Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to investigate the CIA, "clearly political."

"This sets a terrible precedent and is a terrible decision," Cheney said. "It's an outrageous political act that will do great damage in the long term to our national security. It's clearly a political move. There is no other rationale for doing this."

Cheney defended the Bush administration's policies toward detainees. "The enhanced interrogation techniques were absolutely necessary and were directly responsible for no further attacks in the last eight years," he said.

The former vice president went on to say the Obama administration should be debriefing the CIA interrogators rather than trying to punish them for doing their jobs. "We had a track record now of eight years of defending the nation against any further mass casualty attacks from al Qaeda. The approach of the Obama administration should be to come to those people who were involved in that policy and say, 'How did you do it? What were the keys to keeping this country safe over that period of time?''

Wallace followed up, "If folks went outside specific legal authorization, you're okay with that?" Cheney responded, "I am."

On Iran, Wallace asked Cheney why the Bush Administration didn't take out the Iranian nuclear program when they had the chance. Cheney said, "It wasn't my decision." Did he favor military action against Iran? "I was probably a bigger advocate than any of my colleagues on this question."

Cheney's comments became the topic of conversation on several other Sunday shows later in the morning.

On CBS's Face The Nation, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said he supported the former vice president's view on an investigation. "It would be a serious mistake," McCain said. Senator McCain also said he opposes torture and that the Bush policies on detainees "harmed us."

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Cali.), chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told host Bob Schieffer, "I read the 2004 Inspector General report and I was horrified and understand the Attorney General's reaction, however the timing of this is not very good." She added, "Candidly, I wish the Attorney General had waited." Feinstein said the Intelligence Committee is in the midst of a comprehensive review of the CIA's detention and interrogation techniques.

Later, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said he opposes Holder's choice to appoint a special prosecutor, telling CNN's John King on State of the Union, "They are crippling the CIA. I question if this is right."

Finally, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), told George Stephanopolous on ABC's This Week, "Dick Cheney has shown disrespect for the Constitution, for sharing information with Congress and for the law."

Kerry also spoke about the legacy of his longtime colleague, the late Sen. Kennedy, as well as the future of the Kennedy seat and of health care reform, telling Stephanopolous on health care, "We need to do what Teddy would have done." Hatch, also a guest on This Week, said, "Let's be honest, people don't want a government plan...His death won't make us pass health care reform."

Hatch also addressed the future of Kennedy's Senate seat as a guest on State of the Union, specifically whether Kennedy's widow, Victoria, should fill the seat temporarily if the Massachusetts state legislature changes the law to allow an interim appointment. "She ought to consider it," Hatch said. "If Vicki wants to do it, I'm in her corner." James Carville, also on CNN, added, "She is a remarkable woman. It's up to her, but would be a wonderful thing."

Finally, NBC's Meet the Press focused on Kennedy for the full hour, with Kennedy's nieces, Maria Shriver and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, as well as Sen. Kerry, Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), longtime Kennedy speechwiter Bob Shrum and historian Doris Kearns Goodwin remembering Kennedy and discussing his impact in the Senate and on the issues he championed.

Host David Gregory asked Shriver about her uncle's career of public service. She said, "He was the most compassionate, empathetic man. And I think he was that way because he himself was wounded and he himself knew pain, he himself knew struggle, he knew abandonment. He knew all of the things that pain a human being. And so when he saw other human beings in pain, or where their character was questioned or where they had loss, he was always the first person to reach out. And nobody does that who hasn't felt that way themselves."

Goodwin later added, "You know, Hemingway once said, "Everyone is broken by life, but afterward many are strong in the broken places.... He had absorbed, I think, those sadnesses, the pains, the imperfections, the things that he did. And all you can do is to ask that person to become strong and make up for it by doing everything you can."