Now that the Democrats are in the midst of speculation about a vice presidential choice, the president seems to have once again fallen in love with Dick Cheney. After rumors surfaced that the vice president had become a liability with Middle America soccer moms, the buzz emitted from the Beltway was that Cheney must go.

A list of names was enumerated; a Republican dream team was fantasized; bumper stickers were imagined. But then the president shushed all the rumors, announcing that Cheney had once again been put in charge of the vice presidential selection team and that he had once again recommended himself. The Bush/Cheney 2004 bumper stickers that have already been slapped on those oil-guzzling SUVs are now safe from potential obscurity. Cheney, health permitting, will be on the ticket.

The give and take of the Cheney rumor produced an unusual amount of introspection --- not just about Cheney but also about the oil industry, Halliburton and war profiteering. Somehow, these are topics that have been overlooked in the discussion about the Iraq war. Finally, folks were outraged about Halliburton.

Or were they?

A series of recent blunders has embarrassed Halliburton:

Last year, a Pentagon audit found that a division of Halliburton had been systematically overcharged the government for oil. The Department of Defense is conducting an investigation.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Halliburton overcharged the government by $16 million on a bill for the cost of feeding military troops in Kuwait.

A recently unearthed Feb. 3, 2001, National Security Council document shows that the newly installed Bush administration planned to merge to seemingly unrelated areas of administration: operational policy toward rouge states and capturing new and existing oil fields. When the captains of the oil industry met behind closed doors with Cheney's Energy Task Force, a potential war in Iraq was a major component of the new administration's "energy policy." (No wonder Cheney didn't want the public to know what was discussed at these meetings!)

In January, Halliburton was forced to admit that two of its employees had taken kickbacks resulting in overcharges of $6.3 million. Kickbacks are, of course, the oldest form of corruption. So it's good to see Halliburton finally doing something conservative.

Even as the scandals mounted and the dark clouds of war profiteering became visible on the horizon of greed, a sense of apathy washed over the voters. Nobody seemed to care about the problems of Halliburton. Cheney's position on the ticket was safe, and Bush, once again, fell in love with Halliburton Dick.

The day after Halliburton admitted its employees had taken kickbacks, the Pentagon awarded it yet another contract --- this one giving Halliburton $1.2 billion to rebuild the oil industry in southern Iraq. Nobody seemed to notice or care that Halliburton was creating a disaster for America's reputation abroad or that Cheney was making money in the process.

The defense one often hears about Halliburton is that it received the secret no-bid contract because it is the only company in the world that could do the job in Iraq. But this is because during the Bush 41 administration --- when Cheney was in charge of the Pentagon --- he engaged in an orgy of privatization that placed many of the military's services in the hands of Halliburton.

Toward the end of Cheney's reign at the Department of Defense, Halliburton got a giant contract worth $3.9 million to plan how to prepare food, do laundry and clean the latrines. Essentially, Halliburton created its own market for privatizing many aspects of military life. Then it got $5 million to do a follow-up study. Not surprisingly, after Cheney returned to private life, he was installed as the CEO of Halliburton. In 2000, the oil services company was kind enough to let its CEO act as chairman of then-Gov. Bush's vice presidential selection committee.

Halliburton is probably not the only company that can get the job done in Iraq. Because Halliburton was given the opportunity without granting other companies to bid on Iraq reconstruction, it's tough to know for sure. Why the favoritism? Some have suggested a personal profit motivation on the part of the vice president, who continues to receive deferred compensation worth $150,000 a year. He retains Halliburton stock options worth more than $18 million.

Clearly, what's good for Halliburton is good for Dick Cheney. But what about the rest of us?

This administration's raw greed is not new to American history. Witness the Credit Mobilier scandal, Teapot Dome or Vice President Agnew. But the Halliburton scandal of the early 21st century will probably bring disgrace upon the image of the United States for decades to come.

As of now, Vice President Cheney will be on the ticket for 2004 --- and cashing in on the Iraq war.

Mike Pope is the letters editor of the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him at 599-2173 or mpope@tallahassee.com.