Cheney's Manipulations

Paul Krugman's new column today, Delusions of Power, gives us yet another reason why Dick Cheney doesn't deserve the reputation for quiet competence that has somehow become his trademark. Focusing on the 2001 California "energy crisis", Krugman notes that Cheney was sure the problem was due to excessive government regulation; the manipulation of the energy markets by companies like Enron had nothing to do with it. But "everything Mr. Cheney said was wrong."

In fact, the California energy crisis had nothing to do with environmental restrictions, and a lot to do with market manipulation. In 2001 the evidence for manipulation was basically circumstantial. But now we have a new report from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which until now has discounted claims of market manipulation. No more: the new report concludes that market manipulation was pervasive, and offers a mountain of direct evidence, including phone conversations, e-mail and memos. There's no longer any doubt: California's power shortages were largely artificial, created by energy companies to drive up prices and profits.

The important thing to take away from Krugman's piece, though, isn't just that Cheney blew it; rather, the key is why he blew it, and why he will continue to blow it.

One answer is that Mr. Cheney made sure that his task force included only like-minded men: as far as we can tell, he didn't consult with anyone except energy executives. So the task force was subject to what military types call "incestuous amplification," defined by Jane's Defense Weekly as "a condition in warfare where one only listens to those who are already in lock-step agreement, reinforcing set beliefs and creating a situation ripe for miscalculation."

Another answer is that Mr. Cheney basically drew his advice about how to end the energy crisis from the very companies creating the crisis, for fun and profit. But was he in on the joke?

I don't see anything in Cheney's makeup that would indicate that there won't be a lot more "incestuous amplification" in his future. And I'd like to have an answer to that last question, please.