A former aide to Secretary of State Colin Powell went on the offensive, saying in an interview with ABC News that Cheney was de facto president during the first term of Bush's presidency.

"He wanted desperately to be president of the United States," Lawrence Wilkerson said. "He knew the Texas governor was not steeped in anything but baseball, so he knew he was going to be president and I think he got his dream. He was president for all practical purposes for the first term of the Bush administration."

Watch a video interview with Wilkerson on Cheney's new book from Democracy Now below:

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