The Aura of Arugulance

by Maureen Dowd

The first thing I wanted to do in the Bay Area was go out to Skywalker Ranch and ask George Lucas about a disturbing conversation we'd had at an Obama inaugural party in Washington.

Lucas, the creator of "Star Wars," had told me that I had gotten Dick Cheney completely wrong, that Cheney was no Darth Vader. I felt awful. Had I been too hard on Vice?

Lucas explained politely as I listened contritely. Anakin Skywalker is a promising young man who is turned to the dark side by an older politician and becomes Darth Vader. "George Bush is Darth Vader," he said. "Cheney is the emperor."

I was relieved. In "Star Wars" terms, Dick Cheney was more evil than Darth Vader. I hadn't been hard enough on Vice!

Lucas was on his way to Europe and didn't have time to elaborate in person. But he sent me this message confirming our conversation: "You know, Darth Vader is really a kid from the desert planet near Crawford, and the true evil of the universe is the emperor who pulls all the strings."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/19/opinion/19dowd.html?_r=1&em