As some in the media have pointed out, Dick Cheney seems a lot like a politician angling for re-election with all his brave torture talk and criticism of Obama. Why the sudden torrent of words from Mr. Cheney? One word: fear. What do you do when you're nervous and scared? You talk a lot, you try to justify yourself, you start to babble incoherently and, if the fear is great enough, you may even sound deranged.

When he was veep, Cheney didn't have to worry about this "torture" nonsense. He was in charge and no one would threaten that. So Cheney never talked. He didn't need to. His job was safe and so was he, and Bush could do any talking needed. Cheney got to chill in his undisclosed location.

Now that he's out of power, it's obvious he doesn't feel quite so safe. He's done everything possible to prevent any investigations, something he never had to do as veep. So he's scared. Very scared, if his chattiness is any indication. Despite all his bluster and lashing out, he can't hide that it's purely a defense inspired by fear. He's scared for himself, because all he cares about is, well, himself.

I don't know if there will be any investigations or prosecutions (I support both), but there is something delightful about watching Cheney squirm and try to wriggle his way out of this.